Homeschool and college expectations

Pre-College Issues Home Schooling and College
1

I recently pulled my rising 8th grader out of public school for homeschool. He will be attending an independent study program in CA. Due to several severe learning disabilities I believe that he will have a better chance at success if we spend the next year or two dealing with his dysgraphia, ADHD, and executive function issues. I have no doubt that his chances at being admitted to college and actually succeeding will be greatly improved though homeschool. School is simply not meeting his needs.

I recently met several local homeschool parents and have been shocked at the attitude toward college. Recently one parent told me that most homeschoolers simply understand that they wont be going to college, and that those that do aim for higher education understand that they have to go to community college. This was not one parent, it was three separate families who all seem to feel that college and course rigor for homeschools was something that just doesn’t exist. Needless to say, I was shocked, especially after hanging out here on CC and seeing homeschool discussions.

Now as far as I am concerned, my son, should he choose, will attend a 4 year college. That is the whole reason I am pulling him out, to give him a fighting chance. Yes I would be fine if he went to community college, if that is his choice, but I don’t want him to be limited. My goal is to increase his options, not limit them.

Is this attitude, about not going to college, common in homeschool communities??? Is giving up higher education to gain freedom through homeschooling something that is considered OK in some homeschool communities?

2

There are many homeschool families with a college trajectory in place for their kids. I know of kids with ADHD and learning disabilities that have a new lease on life after deciding to homeschool. Being able to transition at high school is great !..

Get your standardized testing accommodations sorted out early. My son has grand ambitions but big challenges which couldn’t be tackled in a traditional school environment. It can be hard and with a lot of sacrifices but worth it.

Good luck.

3

No. I have been homeschooling for over 20 yrs and have graduated kids from our homeschool in 3 different states. That attitude has not been prevalent any where we have lived.

Just like anything else, it simply reflects whatever group you connected with. Try your state homeschool association and see if they have lists of active locsl groups.

4

Agree with @Mom2aphysicsgeek I belong to a very diverse homeschool group and their expectations after homeschool are varied. Many do go the CC route just because it’s easier but I also know several that go to TAMU and Texas State, both are very homeschool friendly.

Personally we homeschool until high school, if we did not have the option of a very good high school my kids would have done DE courses in homeschool high school and graduated high school with their AA degree.

5

I see a lot a different attitudes toward college among the homeschoolers in our area. (I don’t homeschool myself, but I have a lot of friends who do, thus my interest in this forum.) Some are on a loose college trajectory, where they expect their kids to go to a Christian college, or perhaps CC, or perhaps straight into starting their own business. Some are definitely on a four-year college trajectory, expecting top college educations for their kids. The family of one of my homeschooling friends from high school now have college aged kids; one got her Bachelor’s in Nursing, one is working on her Ph.D. at Ohio State, and one is finishing up her Master’s at our own well-ranked state university. Definitely look for a new homeschooling group, one that better fits your goals for homeschooling.

6

Thanks

Unfortunately, these seem to be the parents who are most involved in the park days and coops. I signed my son up for a science coop class because I thought it would be a good way to add a hands on component to his science learning. When I contacted the head of the coop to get info about the course - does the teacher give work for the rest of the week, should we study the subject the week before the lesson, etc. I was told not to worry about it. That the course would satisfy the charter school. The thing is, I don’t care if it satisfies the charter school. An hour of hands on a week does not satisfy me and my son specifically asked if we could do physical science this year since that was what he was most looking forward to in middle school. He wants more but they are saying don’t worry about it.

The parent who I spoke to last, who is very involved in the state level organization and the local organization, told me that she better talk to me face to face when I mentioned my son was interested in college. She then told me that he wont be able to attend any UCs or CSUs because they don’t like homeschoolers and homeschoolers know this so they don’t worry about it and don’t really bother. WHAT???

My oldest who is a rising senior is in traditional school so I really understand the college process at this point. I also have a friggin masters degree in education with an emphasis in higher education and have worked in a college so I know this simply cannot be true. I just worry about my son picking up this “who cares” attitude if this is what our locals are like, and I want him to be involved with the locals for social reasons. Maybe once I get a chance to start attending the park days I will meet a few others who have a similar attitude as mine.

7

I can’t help you in CA but I know in Austin there are a variety of co-ops some are much more academically challenging.
Here’s one that we really like http://www.reachhmschool.com/ perhaps you could find something similar in your area?

Also check out the forums at http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/ you might be able to find some local like minded homeschoolers there.

8

@3scoutsmom thanks. I have a list of the coops that are local. I will give this one a chance for the first half of the year to see what we end up with. I am glad I started in 8th grade and not 9th. It gives me a chance to feel things out a bit before we have to really get going for college prep.

Once we start with the charter - we get weekly in home special ed services and a teacher who can advise - I will ask what they think about rigor at different coops. I was told by the parent to not trust the charter’s view on california a-g college requirements. Sigh.

I have also started to lurk on Well Trained Mind. They have a pretty active special needs board that I was happy to find.

9

I don’t use co-ops b/c I have never seen one operated to my standards. There are plenty of high-achieving CA homeschoolers attending UCs. I suggest joining the hs2coll yahoo loop. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/hs2coll/info

10

Home schooled children can definitely attend college. My oldest sister got a regular 4-year degree and is one year away from finishing law school. My next oldest sister, who had dyslexia, did start at community college, but that was also because of other factors (cost, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to major in or even if she wanted to go to college, stuff like that) not just that she was home schooled and dyslexic. She graduated from our state flagship with an engineering degree. I’m going to be attending a 4-year university on a scholarship come fall. My younger sister will likely have a bunch of dual enrollment classes because she’s advanced, but will definitely attend a 4-year university once the time is right.

Just make sure you keep enough records in order to make a creditable transcript for them once they are applying to college and stay aware of whatever the entrance requirements for the colleges you are aiming for are.

11

OP,

I can speak to a lot of what you’re saying, as I am a private homeschooler here in California, and have been one for 16 years.

There is absolutely a diverse set of homeschooler in California! And, even within a particular homeschool group, there is huge diversity of thought and purpose.

I am a Christian homeschooler, and yes, I can confirm that many Christian homeschoolers and secular homeschoolers in my area do end up either 1) not going to college (I see kids who work full time right after homeschooling, but I also see kids who go into missions work, try to become professional athletes, and so on), 2) go straight into community college (either early or after graduating, and we have some great community colleges here in California which are relatively inexpensive, so it makes sense to a lot of families), and 3) for the Christian families, I see many that only apply to private Christian colleges.

Now, having said that, I see many homeschooling families that don’t follow any of those paths! :slight_smile: I know both Christian and secular homeschoolers that apply to UCs, Cal States, and private colleges, both here in California and out of state. I will say that in my area and circle (San Diego County), I don’t see as many kids doing this as say, the Bay Area or LA County, but it is done regularly in California.

As for us, my oldest son who was a very high achiever with no disabilities other than ADHD applied only to private schools and two safety OOS schools. He was fortunate to get into all the colleges to which he applied including several Ivies, and is now a rising senior at MIT.

My middle son who has/had a plethera of disabilities, applied to 23 (!) colleges (should have done less in retrospect) because he was an uneven candidate: high test scores, pretty weak course rigor and not straight As (both my sons were dual-enrolled students, so they had a lot of outside grades).

He was admitted to four Cal State schools and waitlisted at one; he was admitted to two UCs (UCI and UCSD) and waitlisted at UCLA; he was admitted to 16 out of 23 colleges, and he will be attending University of Pennsylvania after a gap year. We were totally amazed at the positive results and that he actually got into an Ivy League school.

My advice to you is to go ahead and do classes at this co-op, but be clear in your goals and politely ignore people when they advise you not to think about college. I also second the recommendation to join the HS2Coll Yahoo Group.

12

Hsed kids certainly can and do go directly to 4-year universities after graduating from hs.

You might be interested in an email loop on yahoogroups called hs2coll.

My two older girls went directly to 4-year universities with full tuition scholarships after graduating from hs. They did go to cc also for dual credit and I highly recommend that hs kids take advantage of dual credit as much as they are able. In my cc district, all 11th and 12th graders can take up to a total of 12 classes (lecture/lab are counted as a single class) at no charge, whether the students are in public school, private school, or homeschool.

Because of this, my oldest went to college with 45 credits and my middle went to college with 35 credits. My youngest won’t have as many credits when she goes to university because she has many of the same issues as your ds. She is both dyslexic and dysgraphic. Taking cc classes as dual credit has been very helpful for her to find which accommodations are helpful and which are not. It has also helped her to get comfortable with working with the student accessibility office on campus.

13

My daughter homeschooled all the way through and will be attending a so-called ‘lower Ivy’.

The homeschool landscape, as you’re seeing, is wildly varied and can be complicated to navigate. But keep making connections and trying things out, online and in person, and you’ll eventually find your people.

14

I’m glad to see you’re lurking on the Well Trained Mind Forums. :wink:

BTDT and have three boys who are in (or graduated from) college. It’s no problem at all with the right group to give guidance. Now I hang out there because of the relationships I’ve formed throughout the years and wanting to follow other kids through their lives.

There’s a huge variety of parents, goals, situations, and experiences to glean from on that board.

15

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and advice. I am feeling much better about the homeschool to college idea. I also talked to several admin folks while touring colleges with my public school son (S16) last week and they gave me really positive feedback about homeschool applicants.

Thanks to you all.

16

I have a hs’ed D in college, a private regional LAC. She recd great merit aid and was treated well at all the colleges she applied to.

I strongly suggest you look ahead a few years for your child and think about which colleges might be a good fit. Then check out those schools and their requirements for homeschool applicants. Some are very welcoming and have a smooth path to apply , but others don’t have many hs’ers attending at their college and may not have a high opinion of Hs.

I don’t know anything about CA colleges, but you have time to research and ask questions.

17

In my daughter’s search last year, the application process was pretty similar across all the schools. One common thread is that schools really want homeschoolers to interview on campus, and some require it. SAT subject tests are often either required or strongly recommended by the highly selective colleges. Even when a school requires subject tests but waives that when you submit an ACT with writing, homeschoolers should probably send them anyway. Occasionally schools ask to see excerpts from a lab notebook or a graded paper. My d had many third-party classes with grades and some AP exams. As the school, I submitted a one-page transcript, two-page school profile, and fifteen pages of course descriptions. She had three teacher recs and one supplemental rec from the advisor to one of her main ECs. She was admitted to a variety of schools, public and private, and will be attending a so-called ‘lower Ivy’.

18

Good advice so far about thinking ahead. I’d add that you’ll want to look at college requirements for high school course work, too. Colleges tend to have very specific expectations in terms of classes he’ll need to have, which you can find on their admissions pages. Weirdly, sometimes the state graduation requirements for homeschoolers are lower than the requirements of even the state’s own public universities. So it’s good you’re doing your research now, because that way you can plan the appropriate curriculum. If your community has a lot of folks that are saying “life skills math is fine,” for instance, and your kid is clearly not going in a math direction and would love to do without more math, but your target schools require four years of pre-college math, you’ll want to know that!

Also, make sure your accommodations are in place for SAT, AP tests, etc.

19

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Colleges tend to have very specific expectations in terms of classes he'll need to have, which you can find on their admissions pages.

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@MomOnALaptop - We didn’t find that to be the case - what have you seen? None of the many privates my daughter looked at had anything specific. Some of the state schools had specifics, like UMN-TC wanting global studies and Texas A&M wanting US Government - all, come to think of it, in social studies.

Otherwise, it was all things like ‘four years of English, three years of lab science’, no more specific than that.

20

Oh, that’s what I mean, @hs2015mom – sorry if that’s not clear. I didn’t mean specific class names but subjects (or tracks and variations within the subjects.) Particularly the number of years the kid should take.

For instance, when I said “Life Skills Math,” that’s a different track from college prep (in public schools as well), so a kid with only three years of math in their portfolio, including Life Skills (or Business) Math, could theoretically meet the state requirements to graduate – but, because they only had what counts as, say, two years of college prep math plus one year of life skills math (and not four years of college prep math), wouldn’t meet the requirement for college admission even to their own mid-selectivity state university. I think it’s ridiculous that public universities can have different requirements from their own public school systems; kids in low-expectation schools with poor guidance counseling would run into the same problem and could really suffer from it. But so it goes. (Private colleges often seem more flexible, but not always.)

The same can happen with lab science – that’s a good example, because while some homeschoolers might be doing labs every year because they love it, kids uninterested in science might easily do just one lab science in high school. Or languages – a lot of colleges want more than the basic two years.

Homeschoolers are an independent-minded lot, and it’d be easy to create a curriculum that makes sense to the family, builds a kid’s skills in a range of enthusiasm areas, results in a very well-rounded and happy kid, meets the state minimum requirements in some areas and way exceeds it in others – but isn’t quite a match for the colleges that will ultimately be targeted. Particularly if, as in OP’s case, the local homeschoolers are less college-minded and aren’t focusing on those things.