<p>No college or university would require participation in a spelling bee as a requirement for admission, it is not a college level activity. Furthermore, since nearly all word processing software now has spell check even people like me who are terrible spellers can write a paper or report that is free of spelling mistakes.</p>
<p>It does not surprise me that home schooled children are most deficient in math and science. I am a physician with an MD who received an undergraduate degree in Astrophysics and I am not confident that I could teach an AP science course. Many parents who home school are not that well educated themselves and are unable to teach these subjects due to lack of knowledge and when they do try to teach science many actually teach pseudoscience like creationism and intelligent design.</p>