College and Homeschool?

Question

I'm a junior and deicided I am going on homeschool. Do colleges have a preference for real public school students? Or does it even matter? I am new to the whole homeschooling thing so I really don't know much either. I live in California and want to go to college here too.

Answer 1

homeschool students are real students, too. "real" is not a term that belongs exclusively to public education.
Make sure you keep immaculate records. Request your transcript from your school, check the homeschool laws for your state, (www.hslda.org), and also check out the admissions policies for the colleges you are interested in. You will also want to look in to whether an accredited program will benefit you or not.
You are currently a junior? In your second semester? If you are in a block schedule you should be able to keep your credits for your first semester, but will not have anything from this semester.
Create a portfolio of all extra curricular activities since your freshman year, gather letters of recommendation, so on and so forth.
It's a lot of work, but totally do-able.

Answer 2

Homeschoolers are starting to become a hot commodity for colleges. We blow the standardized tests out of the water and are incredibly good students.

But you really need to know what you're doing. You need to write papers and take AP classes (you can do that through various long distance interenet course). Also check you local community college. A lot of them let homeschooled highschool students take classes (if you can pass the entrance tests) then you can show colleges how great you've already done in college.

MAke sure you stay active in extra-curricular activities. Socialization has been the 'yeah, but' issue of homeschooling since its inception. In addition, colleges like to see that you are a well-rounded person.

California probably has a homeschooling organization that will let you earn a diploma instead of a GED. (I was a member of PA Homeschoolers Accredation Association). Basically it lays out everything you need to complete four years of highschool as well as any regular school kid (and better than some).

If you do it right, you have an incredible edge as a homeschooler.

Hope this helps

Answer 3

Honestly, it's the same way public or private school graduates get into college (by the way, public schools don't "teach" this, but they do have guidance counselors to help you through the process). Figure out which colleges/universities you may want to attend. Narrow your choices based on what you want to study, what type of school (liberal arts, technical, fine arts, etc.), what size of school (large, small, medium), what locale (near home, out of state, small town, big city). Once you've narrowed the field to your top 5-10 schools, contact each one to find out what they require of homeschoolers. Most will only need the standard stuff (application form, transcript, recommendations from non-related persons, SAT/ACT scores) but some may require or request a portfolio or other "proof" of your homeschool studies. It always looks better to colleges if you have done some type of college-level work (local community college dual-credit program, auditing university classes, etc.) You can also use this as an opportunity to get recommendation letters from your instructors. Once you've narrowed your choice to 2-4 schools, the admissions staff will generally help you through the rest of the process (that's what they're paid for). Make sure you visit the campus DURING the school year on a school day (not over a weekend and definitely not during summer break) so you can get a real feel for what a typical day on campus will be like. Try to sit-in on a (freshman) class or two so you get a feel for class size and difficulty level. This process is usually started in the junior year of high school, so it may take a while. Give yourself time to make sure you choose a school that is a good fit for YOU. But remember, if it doesn't work out, you can always transfer.

Answer 4

a lot of colleges prefer home schooled students as long as they have one of these 2 tests competed. 1. the GED if you are just going to a community college. Or if you are going to a better college either your SAT scores (this is prety much what all schools base their choices on whether homeschooled, private, or public) OR a GED and passing an entrance exam (depending on the college)

Answer 5

If you go through an accredited program, it doesn't matter...in fact, some colleges seek homeschoolers. Either get homeschooling curriculum from your local high school, or use an accredited program, such as the American School or Penn Foster.
www.americanschoolofcorr.com
www.pennfoster.edu

Answer 6

Colleges are not supposed to discriminate against anyone or any particular educational background. You will need to get your GED to get into college. When you apply, make sure you speak to an entrance counselor at the college to make sure they understand that you were home schooled. Otherwise you could be disqualified or put at a disadvantage for scholarships or entrance exams.
Basically, it's up to you to demand that you be treated fairly. Home schooling is definitely worth the extra effort, though.

Answer 7

Junior College in California is open to any high school graduate or ANYONE 18 years of age or older.

If you do 3.5 in JC almost any state college will consider taking you on.

If you do 3.9 you can get into a UC

Answer 8

From what I understand, it doesn't matter too much whether you're privately schooled, publicly schooled, or home schooled. What matters most would be your grades/test scores.
Almost every one of my friends, growing up, were home schooled, and they all got into really good schools. One went to Fresno City College and then Fresno State; one went to Biola, etc. etc.
A lot of them, to this day, have degrees and are doing very well. :)

Answer 9

Depends on the college. Home schooling realy doesn't matter as long as you participate in extra- activites (volunteering, youth group, etc.) In fact some christian colleges offer scholarships based on how many years you've been home schooled

Answer 10

go to ypur state of education website and there should be a list of colleges that accept homeschoolers.