There are many different ways to homeschool to college. Some teens aim to complete their high school years at home, then go directly into the world of work. Others go to community college and earn dual credit or work towards an Associates Degree. Other teens are homeschooling high school and planning to apply to a four year college. My 17-year-old daughter was one of them. She is now in college and starting her senior year there, making good friends and following where God is leading her in her life on campus.
(Don’t miss the Sale and Giveaway at the end of this post.)
Homeschool to College
It was not hard to prepare my daughter for college and to get into the college of her choice!
This group post is all about encouraging you and sharing our resources to help you take on the colleges, without any fear or trepidation. And as you probably have already heard the colleges are getting more and more homeschool friendly, that is the trend.
Taking the whole college thing step by step, really helped us to succeed and keep our homeschooling style front and center. My daughter got accepted to each of the colleges on her list, including a tier two University.
I put all the steps that we took and more in my new book called Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd edition.
1. – Collecting Information
It is important to know what your teen’s college entrance requirements are likely to be. This can be found by checking the college websites for those colleges that are likely to be on your teen’s list. The requirements will differ from college to college, but doing this research will give you a good idea of what needs to be done.
BUT getting your teen’s likely entrance requirements is just the first step. There are two more pieces of information that you will need to know, too….. How to Know What’s Really Needed to get into COLLEGE.
2. Making Your High School Plan
Once you have gathered this information, then you are all set to make your own 4 Year High School Plan. How to make that 4 year high school plan is also included in How to Know What’s Really Needed to get into COLLEGE.
3. Choosing Curriculum for College Prep
Our high school curriculum choices reflected the college entrance requirements. But we did not have to follow the graduation requirements for public school kids. Did you know that? Most states allow the homeschool parent to decide on their teen’s graduation requirements.
That leaves lots of time for doing high school electives and activities! Below are our favorites for homeschool high school curriculum, plus some from my friends:
Our Frugal Homeschool High School Curriculum Choices
The rest of the steps that we took are in my book, Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd edition.
Are you wondering how to write course descriptions? Or how to calculate the GPA? Do you worry about how to prepare your teen for college writing?
It’s all in the NEW edition my book above, plus 7 new chapters, including:
- A guide to the Common Application for homeschoolers, including how to write the counselor recommendation letter
- SAT/ACT Prep and what to do when
- Top Sources for College Scholarships
- Making your own Homemade Courses for high school
- What to say when people ask you “those questions” about your choice to homeschool your teen
- and more.
It is a step by step guide to high school and college for homeschool mamas. Have you been wondering how to plot your teen’s path to a good college prep education at home?
I share all the important details, so there is no worry about forgetting anything.
Frugal College Prep for Homeschoolers tells you specifically what is in my book, which also includes 12 high school planning printables to make your record keeping easier.
I blog @ BJ’s Homeschool to keep my readers up-to-date on high school and college. Here’s what’s new:
Do you like to hear how other homeschool grads did in college? Here’s an update on How First Quarter Went at College for my teen. She graduated with a B.A. in Communications last spring and is now working a job in her field.
Most of the other verteran homeschool mamas have also already graduated many of their teens, who either went directly into college also, or into a vocation.
Would you like to join in with other homeschool moms who are interested in college?
College Discussions for Homeschoolers Facebook Group
At The Curriculum Choice we have shared tips for homeschool to college. Be sure to browse the tabs above to find related reviews. You might also enjoy these that we’ve selected from our archives.
- How to Homeschool High School to College – Tricia Hodges’ review on my book, Homeschooling High School with College in Mind
- Setera – Learn World Geography While Having Fun!
- Understanding Government DVDs
- America: Covenant and Calling – High School Humanities Curriculum
- All American History: Civil War to the 21st Century
- Creation Science Studies – Biology Review
- Human Anatomy Models and Study Aids
- Basic Physical Science Note Pack for Middle and High School
- The Fallacy Detective by the Bluedorns
- Art of the Argument
- Manners Made Easy
- Psychology: A Christian Perspective
- Service Learning: Hands On Opportunities to Reach Out to Others
- The Notebooking Publisher from NotebookingPages.com
- French is Fun
- Digital Photography Unit Study by Amanda Bennett
- A Simple Start in Chalk Pastels Art Curriculum Review
- High School Homeschool English Courses
- High School English Help with Dover Thrift Editions
- Setera – Learn World Geography While Having Fun!
- Understanding Government DVDs
- America: Covenant and Calling – High School Humanities Curriculum
- All American History: Civil War to the 21st Century
- Creation Science Studies – Biology Review
- Human Anatomy Models and Study Aids
- Basic Physical Science Note Pack for Middle and High School
- The Fallacy Detective by the Bluedorns
- Art of the Argument
- Manners Made Easy
- Psychology: A Christian Perspective
- Service Learning: Hands On Opportunities to Reach Out to Others
- The Notebooking Publisher from NotebookingPages.com
- French is Fun
- Digital Photography Unit Study by Amanda Bennett
- A Simple Start in Chalk Pastels Art Curriculum Review
- High School Homeschool English Courses
- High School English Help with Dover Thrift Editions
- Homeschooler’s College Admissions Handbook Review
- How to Homeschool High School
- Choosing High School Homeschool Curriculum
- Universities and Colleges in Your Community
- 10 Steps – Preparing for College
- Life Prep for Homeschooled Teenagers
Homeschool to College From Curriculum Choice Authors
The Curriculum Choice authors have active blogs where they regularly offer ideas and experiences about their homeschool adventures. Below are some of their experiences with homeschool to college.
Tricia at Hodgepodge
Imperfect Homeschooler’s Simple Guide to the College Search – Deep breath. You’ve reached it – the college search. As a homeschool parent, the college search may have seemed so far off. It certainly did for me. However, it is fantastic journey to be on with your high schooler. My high schoolers and I have learned a few things the last four years. We are still learning. Still stepping out into unknown territory. But it is exciting! And the Lord has every step in His most capable hands.
Homeschool High School to College – We are getting our first child ready to move to college. Making lists, buying books (not unlike purchasing homeschool curriculum), filling out medical forms and more.
Helpful Homeschool Habit: College Visits – We have always followed a college preparatory course of study in our homeschool. Because we want our children to have wide open options for the next steps after homeschooling. We want for each of our children to follow the path the Lord has for them. That path could be college, it could be a local trade school, taking a gap year, gaining work experience. We do know that our eldest is very much interested in private Christian colleges with a worship arts focus. So those are the ones we are visiting.
Annie Kate at Tea Time with Annie Kate
Three of our homeschooled children are currently in university and doing well, although for several years I was terribly worried about all this. Here are some tips that made all the difference for our family and led to large marks-based scholarships.
Our children read a lot, worked hard, volunteered, and had friends, hobbies, chores, and jobs. Essentially we followed the lifestyle of perfect SAT scorers, not for the sake of the SAT but just because that’s the way our family worked. None of our children got perfect scores overall, but some of their individual sections were perfect.
We used Lee Binz’s method for writing our high school records. I used her Comprehensive Record Solution; her book Setting the Records Straight is also excellent and a whole lot more affordable. Here is an example of our records for student-led multi-year literature-based history courses.
Also, I worked hard to be a good guidance counselor for my teens with respect to planning for the future as well as high school course selection and course design. Vicki Tillman’s Career Exploration is a helpful resource.
However, being a teen can be difficult and bad things can happen. Sometimes teens lose the ability to focus and this may require immediate attention, perhaps even from professionals.
Finally, always remember that there is more to life than homeschooling and university admissions; if faith goes by the wayside, academic success will mean nothing. Yet we cannot give our faith to our children; only God can do that, but he uses parents. That is one reason we need to read our Bibles and learn how to live close to him.
Meredith at Sweetness-n-Light
Charting a Course from High School to College
What are the steps to insure a great course of study in the high school years?
Have you been wondering how to plot your teen’s path for an excellent college preparatory education?
Many homeschooling Mama’s start to ponder these questions beginning in the middle school years. Some, maybe even before, especially if they have already graduated a homeschooler.
If you are contemplating the idea of homeschooling through the high school years, now is the time to begin your planning process and chart a course.
Are you the parent of a High School Junior or Senior?
If you are, then you know the blood, sweat and tears it takes to go through the college application process.
It is an arduous task, one that requires the patience of St. Jude, and one that will require you and your teen to collaborate many a late night as to which schools suit them best, which ones offer the right opportunities, either financially or academically, and how many scholarship opportunities are available to your child.
So it is no wonder that one of the biggest fears parents of high school students face is getting their kids into college.
When to Start the College Application Process
The big question parents of teens face is – When to Start the College Application Process?
My advice – start sooner than later. Over-prepare for the college application process. Pick many different options. Because if they don’t get their first pick, you have a fall-back plan.
What if My High Schooler Doesn’t Want to Go to College?
Let’s talk about some practical plans for Homeschooling in the High School years. Not every high school student will go on to college, homeschooled or not, so it’ important to look at the big picture and be able to help guide our teens in the most appropriate manner to help them succeed in life beyond high school.
Now for the giveaway!
Giveaway of 2 Kindle versions of Homeschooling High School with College in Mind.
It is on sale through Sunday night, October 10th at 45% off here. The printables are all downloadable, just follow the link in the ebook.
Simply follow the instructions in the rafflecopter widget below…
The Curriculum Choice Review Team Features
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~ Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled from preK through high school. She blogs at BJ’s Homeschool, about the early years, high school and wrote the book – Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd edition. She also offers homeschool help through 2 FREE message exchanges at BJ’s Consulting. She loves watching her daughter take on life and they still do photography road trips together whenever her daughter can fit it in!
Maybe I was a little (a lot) late for the discount and all the current promotions. But this topic is very relevant for me now because next year my child is also preparing to become a student and I am a little worried. Your positive experience and additional resources calm and reassure me.
I think that the big worry of parents is that homeschooling may not be academic enough. But the article dispels that doubt. And with the curriculum you presented, I think we’ll also get good results.
Thank you!