Christian Home Educators of West Virginia
HSLDA recently completed a survey of a representative sampling of college admissions officers in order to find out how many home educated students attended their college and what types of admissions policies they had for home educated applicants. Of the 313 documented colleges and universities in the nation that have enrolled homeschooled students, more than 60 were contacted. Represented were large and small, Christian and secular. The feedback received was very positive.

The current estimate of home educated students in the United States is 1.7-2.1  million (2002-2003). Standardized test results from a sampling of 16,000 home schoolers was analyzed in 1994 by the National Home Education Research Institute, which reported that nearly 80% of home educated students score above the national average, compared to 50% of conventional school

students. Every year an increasing number of these students seek higher education. In the individualized instruction mode characteristic of home education, traditional transcripts are inadequate, grade point average and rank in class are meaningless. The HSLDA survey addressed the ways in which colleges are now evaluating home educated students for admission.  Of the colleges which responded to the survey, only 44% had verbal or written policies for homeschool applicants. 96% of the colleges polled said they had homeschool students currently enrolled. The number of enrolled homeschooled students ranged from 1 to 200 in a given school. Course descriptions or portfolios are accepted in lieu of an accredited diploma or GED by 93% of the schools polled. Several schools had homeschoolers excelling in their honors programs. Among specific responses, Harvard said that they get about 20-40 students a year that were homeschooled.  Stanford, Yale and Harvard admits homeschoolers based on results on the SAT I, and/or ACT, a high school transcript, letters of recommendation and writing samples.  In addition, Princeton, Texas A&M, Brown University, Carnegie Mellon, and the Universities of Arizona, Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii and many others have flexible transcript policies, accept parental evaluations, and do not require an “accredited” diploma or GED. The University of Montana has 50 homeschoolers, as does the University of Kentucky. Hillsdale College has about 90 homeschoolers.

  Educational researchers recently published a study of 789 freshmen at Bob Jones University which found that homeschooled students scored slightly above their public or private schooled peers on critical thinking skills. A similar study found that homeschooled students demonstrate similar academic preparedness and achievement in college as students who attended conventional schools. Oral Roberts University recently reported that about 10% of their student body was homeschooled. ORU has also created a $6000 scholarship especially to attract more homeschooled students.

  Many parents quit homeschooling their children at the high school level, thinking this will make it easier for their children to get into college. The above data is abundant evidence that this is not so.

  In addition, recent articles from newspapers and academic studies around the nation are citing specific instances of homeschoolers doing very well indeed in their college studies. For example, a recent edition of USA Today featured a story on homeschooler Nathaniel Goggans, a National Merit Scholar currently attending Bryan College in Tennessee. He won a Presidential Scholarship to Bryan. Another periodical reported on Daniel Kroboth, a North Carolina homeschool graduate who was awarded Georgia Tech’s most prestigious four year academic scholarship, worth $26,000. In addition, the Columbus, Georgia Ledger-Inquirer and the Atlanta Constitution both in September reported that homeschoolers in the state are now getting the attention of a large number of Georgia colleges and universities. Emily Linn of Detroit, Michigan, is a Regents Alumni Scholar at Michigan State University, and Curtis Stolaas of Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded a scholarship at the University of Alabama. The evidence continues to mount that home education works and the benefits are great for child and parents alike!

High School Extra– Curricular Credits
 
  College applications ask students to list their participation in extra-curricular activities during the high school years. These include community service and involvement, extracurricular and out-of-school activities, and individual endeavors. You will probably want to include many of them over the coming years so your student can indicate participation. Following are some examples that could be easily accomplished through home education:

  • community or service activity
  • volunteer aide in hospital, etc.
  • volunteer on a civic improvement project
  • science project
  • recognition for FFA, 4-H,   etc.
  • performed science experiment
  • completed a computer activity independently
  • public speaking
  • math club
  • drama
  • theatre
  • finished a work of art
  • speech competition
  • exhibited a work of art  
  • foreign exchange
  • photographs, drawings or written pieces published
  • government or political activity
  • special interest groups (chess, stamp collecting, journalism or literary club, etc.)
  • unpublished leadership positions 
  • regular part-time job
  • music (choir, solo,  instrumental)
  • full-time paying job in summer
  • composed music
  • earned money by selling goods or services
  • religious activity or organization
  • started own business or service
  • taught in church or Sunday School
  • managed financial affairs of someone regularly
  • worked with physically or emotionally handicapped
  • supervised work of others


College Entrance Exams
 
  For information on registering and preparing for college entrance exams, contact SAT or ACT and ask for the registration packet or register at their web site. Alternate test dates can be arranged for those whose religious beliefs prohibit Saturday testing.

GED

  General Education Diploma. The term is also used to describe the test taken to get the diploma. This test is usually taken by students who have dropped out of high school. Some colleges require it from homeschooled students. The Promise Scholarship program requires it of homeschooled students.

ACT

  American College Testing Program. The maximum score is 36. Ask for the ACT registration info at your local public library or Christian school, get info at www.act.org  or write directly. Whenever your school code is required, enter 800-000 and your scores will be sent to your home.

NMSQT

  National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, combined with the PSAT. Scholarships based on score are offered by the NMS Corporation and by colleges and universities.

PSAT

  Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test, combined with the NMSQT. When you fill out the form at the beginning of the test, you must use the “homeschooled” code rather than the code of the high school in which you are taking the test.

SAT

  Scholastic Aptitude Test.  This test is taken during Oct. of the student’s junior year in high school.  The high school must be contacted at the beginning of that school year to register for this test.  It is administered at the high school only.  This test has undergone major revisions. It now consists of the SAT I Reasoning Testing and the SAT II Subject Tests. You cannot take SAT I and SAT II on the same day. Most colleges require only the SAT I. Check with the colleges to which you plan to apply to find out if you need to take any SAT II tests for them.


Scholastic Aptitude TestAmerican College Test
College Board SAT Program    ACT Registration
PO Box 6720   PO Box 168
Princeton, NJ 08541-6720      Iowa City, IA 52243-0168
609) 771-7070 (319) 337-1270
http://ww.collegeboard.com     http://www.act.org


College Admissions

By Mike Hutchison
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