<p>I have a son who was in public school until his 8th grade, and has been homeschooled since then. He will go through college admissions process very soon. Sometimes I worry if my decision to homeschool him would hurt his opportunity to find right colleges at the right level. Do you know where I could find info regarding at what rate, homeschooled kids have been admitted to Harvard, Yale or Princeton recent years? I only remember hearing briefly that Harvard and Princeton admitted 3 and 4 homeschooled kids respectively last year. Were those 3 and 4 homeschooled kids among about 100 plus homeschooled applicants, or 1,000? Many thanks in advance.</p>
<p>PVmusicmom, if my arithmetic is correct, there are 5 homeschooled freshmen at Princeton this year.</p>
<p>[Princeton</a> University | Admission Statistics](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/admission_statistics/]Princeton”>http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/admission_statistics/)</p>
<p>Five attending is not the same as 5 admitted. Probably more than 5 were admitted. We also do not know how many applied. Good luck. I hope you find the information you are looking for, because it would be interesting to know.</p>
<p>The Harvard Freshman Register shows 3 homeschoolers in attendance this year. Again, this does not tell us how many applied or how many were admitted. This has not been too helpful in answering your question about number of applicants, but I wonder if that data is made public anywhere.</p>
<p>Princeton posts tips for homeschool applicants, a friendly and welcoming sign.</p>
<p>[Princeton</a> University | Tips for Home Schooled Students](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/tips_for_home_schooled/]Princeton”>http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/tips_for_home_schooled/)</p>
<p>Thank you very much, Quill Pen.</p>
<p>I’ve talked to admissions officers at some tier one schools including Yale, as research for a talk on homeschooling. What they all say, more or less, is that they want to see what UNUSUAL things homeschoolers can do with the freedom they have. Yale specifically told me that they value seeing “out of the box” work done by homeschooled applicants. </p>
<p>I think that many homeschoolers make the mistake of getting tied up in trying to look like all the schooled kids, and it hurts rather than helps.</p>
<p>From the The New York Times, Dec. 17, 2008:</p>
<p>“Mr. Brenzel of Yale: We see only a few homeschooled applicants, and we do occasionally admit a homeschooled student. Evaluation is usually difficult, however. It helps if the applicant has taken some college level courses, and we can get evaluations from those teachers. We are not keen on homeschooled students where the only evaluations come from parents and the only other information available consists of test scores.”
–Jeff Brenzel, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions</p>
<p>Although he chose to attend elsewhere, my son was admitted to Yale last year. The education was very much outside-the-box, but the transcript was standard, with credits and grades, very much like what the admissions officers would see from any other student. We followed Cafi Cohen’s advice on transcript design in her book Homeschoolers’ College Admissions Handbook: Preparing 12- to 18-Year-Olds for Success in the College of Their Choice. The system had worked well for my older child 5 years earlier, and we used it again. The publisher posts the Table of Contents online.
[Homeschoolers</a>’ College Admissions Handbook by Cafi Cohen - Trade Paperback - Random House - Table of Contents](<a href=“http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl/display.pperl?isbn=9780761527541&view=toc]Homeschoolers”>http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl/display.pperl?isbn=9780761527541&view=toc)</p>
<p>My son had taken two college courses, dual-enrollment, at the time he applied to Yale, and as the admissions dean said, the letter from his English instructor probably made a difference. Son got second letter from a director of a community program that he had been involved in from the age of 10.</p>
<p>My guess about why he was admitted? High achievement and recognition in extracurricular activities, good showing at some national academic competitions, test scores (2 AP exams, 3 SAT Subject Tests), 2 dual-enrollment grades, letters of recommendation, essays, depth and breadth of study in a few subjects. This last point was reflected in the non-standard course descriptions for a highly standard-looking transcript.</p>
<p>Another homeschooler who was admitted to Yale the previous year also submitted a standard, schooly-looking transcript. It did not hurt.</p>
<p>I mentioned that our homeschool applicant asked for one letter of recommendation from the instructor of a dual-enrollment college class and the other letter from a person who directed one of his extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>He had taken two college classes and made grades of A in both, but the math instructor could only have said that he turned in his homework and made A grades on the tests. Not too thrilling. The director of the extracurricular activity had known him for a long, long time, and we judged that he would be a better writer than the math guy.</p>
<p>In case you read me wrong, I did not say that one should not submit a standard looking transcript. Admission offices are familiar with a certain type of language and package, and I do feel it is wise to translate experiences into “educationese” for applications. My point was that homeschooled kids should pursue their passions and not worry too much about trying to duplicate the standard high school curriculum. If a student has spent three years conducting research in a chemistry lab, has founded a non-profit, or traveled across the US on a bicycle, these experiences will help him to stand out from the crowd.</p>
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<p>I am going to respectfully disagree with you. Most colleges now post on their admissions’ page their minimum academic requirements for high school preparation. If the school wants 3 years of lab science, and the student can document 2, that student will be submitting a weak application for that particular college. When you are looking at the schools with the lowest admissions rates, most of the applicants have far exceeded the usual high school preparation. They certainly have not ignored it.</p>
<p>I would never advise anyone not to worry about the standard high school curriculum. In our state, covering the same subjects as the public schools is a requirement of the homeschool law.</p>
<p>It is my experience that a smaller percentage of homeschooled students apply to Ivies than to LACs or even to Flagship U. I tend to think that’s because homeschoolers want real value for their money, which one does not always get at HYP. Not that the education is sub-par, it’s not. It’s just that many homeschooling families recognize that dollar for dollar, the Ivy League may not get them the most bang for their buck.</p>
<p>Just an opinion. As a long-time homeschooler, I have known only two kids who went to Ivies. I have known close to 100 who have gone on to other colleges, some very presitigious, some mediocre. I even know one who started at a community college at age 16 and is now finishing up her last year at medical school.</p>
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<p>fencersmother, this is absolutely true for families not eligible for need-based aid, but are you familiar with Harvard’s financial aid policies for middle-income and low-income students? Very generous. Good need-based aid is not unusual at the Ivies.</p>
<p>[Harvard</a> announces sweeping middle-income initiative | Harvard Gazette Online](<a href=“http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2007/12/harvard-announces-sweeping-middle-income-initiative/]Harvard”>http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2007/12/harvard-announces-sweeping-middle-income-initiative/)</p>
<p>I hear what you are saying, though. Some students who do not qualify for need-based aid fare better with merit scholarships at other colleges and universities.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone.</p>
<p>Fencersmother, you are right, more percentage of homeschooled kids are applying to LACs/Flagship U than Ivies. But, my concern here is that HYP admission percentage of homeschooled kids vs. other regular schools’ kids. I know Harvard has 3 freshman now. Were those 3 chosen from a pool of 50 homeschooled kids(ie, 6%), or of 100 (ie. 3%), or of 200(ie. 1.5%)? How about 4th, 5th or 6th best homeschooled applicants who were not accepted? Could have they been admitted if they were from regular schools? I just want feel how tough to get an admission to HYP as a homeschooler.</p>
<p>Quill Pen, I am glad to know that you have own experience with your son’s admission to Yale. You must be very proud of him. Was he a perfect student in everyway? Thank you for sharing.</p>
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<p>Ha! That is a funny question. I do not really have a concept of a perfect homeschool student. His academic record was strong. He undertook some challenging courses of study. He tested well. We think he got good letters. I liked his essays, but I am his mother. It seemed that his voice came through.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention that he hit it off with his alumni interviewer. That was a piece of luck. When the admissions rate is a single digit, it all has a feeling of luck and arbitrariness about it. He identified a safety school he liked, and that improved everyone’s quality of life around here during the admissions year.</p>
<p>Not an Ivy school, but also very selective, my homeschooled son was accepted to Amherst a couple years ago. The year he applied the acceptance rate for homeschoolers was 7%. Tiny numbers, though: 35 applications, 2 acceptances.</p>
<p>He had done a lot of college classes at the local state u under an “early-entry” type program and a few classes at the high school, so he had lots of grades and had regular teacher recs along with his test scores. I don’t imagine it was too much of a stretch for them to admit him – it didn’t require any out-of-the-box thinking on their part. I do think that his unusual pastiche of classes from here, there, home, etc. made for an interesting transcript. It probably made him look a bit unique compared to traditional high school students, but not in a way that would have challenged the comfort zone of the admissions committee.</p>
<p>Other homeschooled kids get accepted to Ivies and other highly selective schools with very individualistic transcripts and backgrounds, though.</p>
<p>I’m not sure about the percentage rate of acceptances at various schools. Since homeschool applicant numbers are relatively very small, the percentage accepted probably varies wildly from year to year just depending the the specifics of the applicants in any given year. My wild and unfounded guess, though, is that you’d find on average it is somewhat lower than the general acceptance rate at the school.</p>
<p>People used to tell me the opposite, but in my own experience with lots of homeschool families that does not seem to be true.</p>
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<p>Thank you, 'rentof2. I have same impression.</p>
<p>I don’t think, though, that you should assume the decision to homeschool in itself is a detriment. I think it can be a big plus. If the acceptance rates to highly selective schools are lower for homeschoolers (and that’s just a guess on my part, not necessarily correct), it’s probably because of the w-i-d-e variability they likely see in those applicants. I think if a homeschooler has a great academic background (either a more traditional one or an untraditional one), the fact that they’re homeschooled can make them stand out from the pack in an effective way. Part of the challenge is also knowing how to frame and present the student’s education during those years prior to applying to college. I think, all-in-all, my son’s homeschooling background was a net plus when it came to get accepted to his college, even if the “odds” for homeschoolers were lower than for traditionally schooled students that year. One thing for sure about homeschooled students, their paths and their outcomes are highly individualistic.</p>
<p>I just wanted to add that I think no matter the school the student is applying to the student should take some dual enrollment classes and get referances from outside sourses. I am positive that my 4.0 at the CC (an recommendations by people who can write well) is what got me into a selective school even though my scores were sub-par.</p>
<p>HYP’s acceptance rate for homeschooled, 3 to5 yearly, from a pool of 150-200 homeschooled applicants, is quite lower to me. With such lower rate, is there any chances for a homeschooled Asian? Has any Asian been admitted to HYP as a homeschooler?</p>
<p>If HYP is the goal, then all you can do is put together the strongest possible application; test scores, recommendations, grades, essays, extra-curricular activities. And highlight the aspects of the student’s life that are unique and unlike traditionally schooled students.</p>
<p>There’s not much mileage in thinking in terms of demographic catagories. You cannot change that the student has a non-traditional education, you cannot change that he/she is Asian. There is no benefit in focusing on those things unless you’re just trying to stay realistic about the student’s chance of acceptance at HYP. It’s true, though, for any applicant to be aware the odds are very long at those schools. In that way, it’s not different for an Asian homeschooler or an anglo prep schooler. Does it really make a difference if the odds are 6% instead of 9%? If it does, then I’d suggest the student or the family is being a bit too obsessive about the necessity to go to one of those schools.</p>
<p>All you can do is put together the best transcript and application you can, and then apply to a wide range of schools. There are many, many excellent colleges. To think otherwise is to have bought into a lot of HYP(e). ;)</p>
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Thanks, 'rentof2. He has two more years in high school. In fact, I can change his status from homeschooling to regular schooling, by simply sending him back to school where he was till 8th. That’s why I am here to exam whether my decision to homeschooling him since 9th would in fact hurt his chances later.</p>
<p>Interesting question, PVmusicmom. I think the answer would depend entirely on what he does with those two years if he’s not in traditional school. If he uses the time to pursue his passions and take classes at the college level and build a very strong and unique transcript then it could be an advantage to keep homeschooling, in my opinion. If he goes back to school and just cranks out all the usual APs and school clubs and looks like all the other high-achieving students… then maybe going back to school wouldn’t be a particular benefit.</p>
<p>Is there something at or about one of those colleges (HYP) that makes them so important to attend?</p>