All Things Hold Together

The other day, I met a woman whose daughter has health problems that led them to homeschool her for the second half of last year.

This year, they decided not to homeschool because she is a high school freshman and was afraid that she could not get into college if she had been homeschooled for high school.

I talked to her a little about my knowledge of homeschoolers getting into college and told her that I would gather some resources for her. I thought I would share those with you.

Many of us homeschoolers already know that homeschoolers do get into colleges and universities, but might still have some apprehension about the process.

The best advice I offered to the woman I spoke about was to trust herself. We all second-guess our ability to provide our children with all of the educational advantages they need to have a successful future. The important thing is to not let those nagging voices (from within and without) get the better of us and sabotage our efforts.

I found that the most important component in preparing your homeschooled child for college is record keeping. Your child will need a transcript to show the admissions office what they learned in their home study program.

The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) has an excellent website dedicated to Homeschooling Thru High School. One of their resources is a PDF pamphlet that simplifies high school record-keeping.

Homeschool Central also has a page dedicated to high school transcripts.

Learn in Freedom has a page of colleges that admit homeschoolers.

On that list, I found my alma mater, the University of Vermont. Here is a link to their admissions policy regarding homeschoolers. (Scroll down about half-way.) They require “documentation that shows what the student’s home-school curriculum has covered.”

Again, we see that documentation is crucial.

Finally, no list of resources would be complete without a link to About.com:Homeschooling. Here’s “help for homeschooling your high schooler. Information on curriculum, planning, transcripts, college, scholarships and more.”

We plan on homeschooling the boys through high school. One option that we intend to use is having them take courses at community college while they are still in high school. This is a great way to demonstrate their ability to succeed in college courses.

I welcome and encourage you veteran homeschoolers to share your experiences, advice, and success stories in the comments section.