I graduated in 2013 at 17 (19 now, 20 in December) and only now am I seriously considering college. I’m pretty ignorant on the subject and I have a few questions.
Reading through some posts on this forum I’ve come to understand that outside test scores (dual credit, SAT subject tests, etc.,) are very important for home schoolers. I’ll be taking the SAT in October, would this be enough if I get a good score, or should I look into a class or two at a community college?
Will it mean anything to colleges that I graduated a year early? Or will that be a moot point since I’ve been out of school for a couple years?
I’m a little stumped on what to do for recommendations. There’s my mother, of course, and I might be able to get one from a former volleyball coach. Is that anywhere near good enough?
Thanks in advance.
Have you considered just plain starting at a community college? Many students do that successfully.
Otherwise, what major are you thinking of? And what level selectivity of college? The answers to those two questions (along with how much college can you afford) will make a bit of difference in the advice that would be most useful for you.
In general colleges won’t care that you graduated a year early as long as you have the credits you need. Your mom’s recommendation won’t count for much. A former volleyball coach will be a little bit better. Do you have a work supervisor or someone like that who could attest to your dedication, etc?
Do NOT take community college courses or you’ll likely be considered a transfer and will lose the opportunity to get freshmen grants.
What state are you in? We’re in NYS, so our homeschool regs are likely very different than yours. Every college my homeschooled son applied to wanted some form of proof of high school equivalency. NYS has several acceptable methods to show equivalency, so we just picked the one we wanted. What do your state’s homeschool regs say about equivalency?
Definitely take the SAT. I’ve read posts on CC saying it’s a test for high school students, but I haven’t found any age limitations on the College Board website or on individual college sites either. In NYS, students have a right to attend public school until they’re 21, so technically you could be in high school in 2015-16 and 2016-17 as well.
My son had to provide at least 2 letters of recommendation; one was from me (as his guidance counselor) and at least one other had to be from an academic teacher (so a PE teacher wouldn’t count unless s/he was also a health teacher). Have you done any volunteering or had a job since high school? If so, I’d have your mom write the GC letter, get a 2nd from whomever you worked for, then try to get a 3rd either from someone you took a class from or a member of your homeschool peer panel.
Good luck. 
I want to major in anthropology, and I’m thinking a 50% acceptance rate or higher would be best. I will need financial aid, and if there’s a remote possibility of merit aid, that would be fantastic. I did consider community college, but every school I’ve looked at has far less scholarship opportunities for transfer students than they do for freshman.
I’m in Kentucky, for equivalency there’s the GED, SAT, or ACT. So I guess I’m covered there.
I’m self employed, and I’ve never worked under anyone. I am applying for a literary internship this fall, so I might be able to get a recommendation from them. I’ve never taken a class outside of my home, so a recommendation from anyone concerning academics is impossible.
I do have a short list of schools I’m considering:
Beloit College
Lawrence University
University of Kentucky
Eastern Kentucky University
Lawrence and Beloit are going to want rec letters; the public universities won’t need them