From Homeschool to College

This past fall our oldest homeschooled through high school daughter, Kiera, left for college. The process of picking schools, the application, getting a transcript together, visiting schools, the interview, and making a decision were the easiest part of transitioning to college. So many parents fear this process. I know I entered it with great trepidation.

The Fear Factor

Parents fear their transcripts won't meet the standards that government schools generate electronically. We found this process quite easy. We listed the classes our daughter took, her grades and generated a GPA for the semester and school year. A transcript accepted by every school to which she applied without question.

Parents fear their child won't be accepted to college or can't compete with those educated within the system - because they are homeschooled. Colleges covet the homeschooled applicant. Homeschooled students score higher on standardized testing (including the ACT), have higher GPAs and higher graduation rates. Read more here. Colleges and universities want students who succeed and make them look good!

They fear the interview process. We found that what is commonly feared as the school interviewing the high school graduate is actually the school wooing the prospective student.

FAFSA. Haven't we all heard horror stories about how hard it is to fill out the form to qualify for federal grants. It is apparently much easier to file the form these days. It only took hubby 30 minutes to complete and submit the form.

Parents fear the cost. College is expensive. Student loans take a long time to pay off and can be burdensome to the student and parents. Scholarships were an important factor in our choice of schools. We also learned that with a little support from scholarships offered by the schools that private schools were competitive with state funded schools.


Deciding on a college or university


Get started early! I had been collecting information about schools for years. We considered:

Our daughter's interests and academic path for her chosen field of study
The size of the school
Credentials of the professors
The professor - student ratio
Whether or not teaching assistants were used.
Graduation rate
Student supports
Extracurricular activities
Opportunities on and off campus for a well-rounded education
Cost
Religious affiliation
Distance


I polled many on their thoughts about different schools. I listened to many offer their opinions on the best schools for our daughter's career path. I also asked about religious affiliation - whether the school was only loosely affiliated or whether the school took seriously their role in forming Christian disciples.

I used the internet extensively. I checked mission statements. I looked at what each school had to offer as far as course of study. I looked at forums discussing schools. I plugged in key words that were important to us and did extensive research to narrow down our options. I ruled out many schools in this manner.

I even read many advertisements in the journals/magazines we subscribe to - journals with which we hold common beliefs. I did not rule out any resource.

We visited schools which we were interested in

To our surprise we were being recruited. We did not have to sell our child to anybody! They worked very hard to impress us with what they had to offer! We found out many things that the schools were not advertising just by listening and reading posters tacked to bulletin boards. Things and ideas that ruled out the school. Be very alert when doing college visits.

The Decision

The process which narrowed down our choices for schools was not really difficult. We took our time to discern which school would fit Kiera's needs and career path. We visited some great schools and had good experiences. After narrowing our field down from ten schools to two, and satisfying all of our criteria, it came down to distance. One school was a couple of hundred miles away and the other was more than a thousand miles from home. She ended up choosing the school closest to her family. Family support is important to the college student!

The process of finding the right school and jumping through all the hoops was the easiest part of transitioning from homeschool to college. The changes to our daily lives were more difficult. I'll just say my college student is doing better than her family. Oh, we are all adjusting but when I think back on that cute little baby and the young woman she has grown up to be, I can't help but want more of her!