Help From Other Homeschoolers

<p>Hello!
I’m looking to hear from anyone who homeschooled and was admitted into the US Air Force Academy, or maybe a parent of someone who has. It would be excellent if I could hear all of their experiences.</p>

<p>Pretty vague…
You are basicallly asking for 1/5th of people’s life stories!</p>

<p>Any specific areas you have questions about?</p>

<p>I am also a homeschooler, but raimius probably has a lot more insight from the academy perspective (since he has been there 4 years longer than I have). If you have any questions about the application process feel free to ask me about it.</p>

<p>raimius, I didn’t know that you were homeschooled, that is pretty cool.</p>

<p>Later,</p>

<p>Brian</p>

<p>Well, 1st, congratulations on recently being admitted, Brian.</p>

<p>And secondly, I’m not looking for specifics, per se. Just things you learned from, participated in, did, etc. that you think may have been contributing factors that have gotten you to where you are now.</p>

<p>I think the biggest thing to focus on are confirming what you do. I took community college classes my Junior and Senior year so that I could show admissions that I do well in the classroom. They also weight the SAT/ACT more because they don’t really have grades from all 4 years of high school. I was also told that I needed to be a varsity athlete, which I realize can be very difficult for some homeschoolers. Try to be involved in some type of physical activity. Also show dedication to a couple extra activities by excelling in them (Eagle Scout, CAP, JROTC, whatever it is, just stay with it). The academy has started to recognize that homeschoolers can be just as competitive as anyone else. If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me.</p>

<p>Later,</p>

<p>Brian</p>

<p>I have the parent’s perspective, not the student’s. So far, so good from this end. </p>

<p>when my sons were at home, they were NEVER bored, and I think that really helped them. In fact, for all my kids, they said the phrase: “I’m bored” only once. And.never.again. </p>

<p>Homeschooling is so different for each family, and for each student. If your question could be more specific, so could my answer.</p>

<p>For homeschoolers, external verification is important. The academy will have a tough time determining your course difficulty compared to others. So, test scores, community college classes, etc. would be a good way to verify your abilities. (Although, you might ask if sending a syllabus for certain courses would help)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars like Scouting, CAP, JROTC, etc are very good to have. Club sports would cover the athletic portion well.</p>

<p>To clarify, I was homeschooled K-5, so my homeschool–>academy experience isn’t really applicable.</p>

<p>As a homeschooler, I also took classes at a local community college to pretty much prove that I could do work with an outside grader/not my parent. Additionally, I had a lot of extra-curriculars and leadership opportunities which worked well for me. You need to be able to show that you are able to basically…function in society, lol.</p>

<p>For me, I was the C/Squadron Commander in my local CAP squadron, taught sunday school, took private music lessons, was a youth leader in my local youth group and had a couple jobs.</p>

<p>Show that you have leadership experience. Show that you have lots of community service. And I’d definitely recommend taking a couple classes at a local community college or maybe at a high school if that is allowed…</p>

<p>Any other questions, feel free to ask. I was homeschooled through high school and applied as a homeschooler…</p>

<p>Karen
Class of 2013</p>

<p>yay homeschooling.</p>

<p>but i’m a hybrid…parochial school for 5 years, homeschool for 4 years, charter school for 4.</p>

<p>what everyone else said.</p>