Choosing a College

For some students, there's no difficulty in deciding choosing a college. Perhaps the family has a long-standing relationship with a particular institution, or a relative has offered to finance an education at his or her alma mater. But for many, finding the way from high school at home to the "right" college for each student, seems like feeling your way through a maze! This is the time for homeschooling parents to put on their "guidance counselor" hats, and most of us have no idea what that means!

Where do you start when choosing a college? How do you know which colleges to look at? How can you choose among those you do? Is it possible to predict whether a particular student will stay at an institution or need to transfer before graduation? And since we're homeschoolers, will they want us at all?

In the process of helping my four children find their ways through college prep and through their college years after home school, I learned a LOT about that process. I have also interviewed the admissions and student life personnel at nearly two dozen colleges and universities, asking them about what factors lead to "dropping out" or transferring out, what factors lead to success, and what factors seem to make students feel at home in their academic and living community. It turns out that there are 8 questions that should be answered about any college, in regard to YOUR student, before deciding to accept admission there.

First, though, we need a change of mindset. Many homeschooling parents approach the college decision fearing that they have failed, in spite of their best efforts, to prepare their children academically for college. Or, if the student is academically prepared and the parent is confident of that, they fear that the colleges won't accept or be interested in homeschooled students. In most cases, the exact opposite is true!

Homeschooling high school can be the very best preparation for college life, and the colleges, in growing numbers, know that! Homeschoolers, by and large, are more used to setting their own goals, taking a more active role in their academic progress than their schooled counterparts. They have taken more personal and academic responsibility, doing their education, rather than having it done to them! They are measurably (in many studies) more "self-starting", more self-aware of abilities and limitations, and more committed to accomplishing their own goals than students whose lives and educations have been completely managed by an institution. It turns out that homeschool resembles the academic and social atmosphere of college much more than public or private high schools do, and prepares students for that style of academic life.

In college no one micro-manages your research; it's assigned at the beginning of the semester, and expected to be complete on the due date. No one wakes you up in the morning, and bells don't ring to move you from class to class. No one reminds you to bring your books and pencils.

The largest predictor of college success turns out to be the level of personal responsibility with which the student enters! It's also important to have a transcript that clearly presents only the necessary and relevant information about academic preparation, and a portfolio highlighting the student's life experiences and learning outside textbooks.

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