“Can homeschoolers go to college?” is one of the most important questions to ask if you are considering homeschooling your high schooler.
The short answer to this question is, “Yes!”. The longer answer is, “Yes, but… the admissions process will look different from traditionally schooled students.”
What do I mean? Let’s dive deeper.
The Easiest Path to College for Homeschoolers
The fastest, easiest way for homeschoolers to go to college is to enroll them in an accredited homeschool program like K12 or Abeka Homeschool.
Using an accredited program means the college admissions process will be identical to traditionally schooled teens: fill out the application, have the accredited program send a transcript, send SAT or ACT scores, then wait for your letter of acceptance. 🙂
The downside to this approach is that you may have to forsake many of the benefits that homeschooling provides. Many people homeschool so that their kids can move at their own pace, or take time off for a special project, or choose (and even change mid-year) their own curriculum.
If these benefits do not apply to you, then an accredited homeschool program would provide the path of least resistance for your homeschooler to go to college.
How Homeschoolers Go to College Without an Accredited High School Diploma
Virtually every single college and university in the United States accepts unaccredited homeschool diplomas. There are typically only a few differences in the admissions process.
Step 1: fill out the application just like everyone else.
Step 2: send in a high school transcript. For homeschoolers, this means a transcript created by mom and/or dad.
Step 3: send in your ACT or SAT scores.
Then what? Well, here is where things can get a little interesting for the unaccredited home schooler.
Many colleges will ask homeschoolers to submit SAT II subject tests for History and Science. They want to make sure that mommy hasn’t puffed up the transcript any.
Sometimes, admissions offices may want to see a list of books/curricula used during high school.
In even rarer cases, a college may ask for a high school portfolio, i.e. a collection of term papers, projects, actual tests with scores, etc.
Tip… before even beginning the admissions process, call the college or university admissions office and ask them what they need from homeschoolers. It’s not uncommon these days for admissions offices to have an admissions counselor who works almost exclusively with homeschoolers. Contact them first to get an idea of what the path will look like for you.
Two Tips to Make the Homeschool to College Path Easier
Tip 1: Many colleges will forgo the request for SAT II subject tests if your homeschooler has taken AP classes and received a good score on the AP exam.
Homeschoolers can find AP classes at local co-ops or online. Fair warning… though the AP class may be easy to find, some homeschoolers have a diffucult time finding a school that will let them sit for the AP exam.
Tip 2: Like AP classes, college dual enrollment classes may also help homeschoolers prove they can handle college level work. Not only will the homeschool transcript be more impressive, but the homeschooler could get a lot of college credit under their belt while still a high schooler!
Bonus tip: Go to community college first. Many community colleges are much easier to get into and quite a few don’t even need to see SAT/ACT scores. All they need for admissions is an acceptable ACCUPLACER score (given at the school).
Often, if you can get two years of community college core classes complete, you can transfer to a 4-year school without an SAT/ACT score at all. The unaccredited homeschool transcript will also not be as highly scrutinized.
Not only that, but community colleges are often VASTLY more affordable!
Conclusion
Can homeschoolers go to college? Why, yes. Yes they can! There is no need to worry about homeschoolers getting into college. With the above options, the sky is the limit!