How to Homeschool College

2 families, two students, exact same question, same answer.

The mom called me with regard to transcript help. Her daughter homeschooled for 2 years, using Alpha Omega LifePacs as well as Weaver Curriculum for ninth and 10th grade. Once her daughter got as much as grade level, she wanted her to return to public school. She asked me ways to get her homeschool transcript accepted with a public high school.

These days, a father called me personally for transcript help. His daughter homeschooled for just one year, using Alpha Omega Started up Schoolhouse during 9th quality. Now he wants his daughter to return into public school, and asked ways to get his homeschool transcript recognized.

They both got exactly the same answer: there is no guarantee a public senior high school will accept the credit a homeschool transcript. It is extremely easy to pull a young child out of public college to homeschool them. It's harder to put them back to public school.

Let's be clear about something, though. Colleges don't give us nearly the problem about our homeschool transcript! Colleges are fairly accustomed to seeing transcripts from unaccredited colleges. They are used in order to seeing kids will accredited transcripts who're poorly educated. They realize that "accredited" isn't all it's cracked as much as be. They will usually take a homeschool transcript using the same wary eye as every other transcript, and we aren't in a disadvantage at all. Not with public high schools. I'm not sure they just can't stand the competition - the business as homeschoolers threatens their own business, you know. For whatever reason, they care much much more about having control on the transcript. Depending on the actual district, you have a 50/50 possibility of having a particular homeschool class accepted with a local public school.

If you wish to homeschool high school, it's wise to go into this knowing you'll continue for that full four years. Knowing you will only homeschool for a couple of years, choose an accredited plan, or an accrediting company, which can give you greater security that the credits will transfer right into a public high school.

If you're homeschooling, and you know you need to continue for all 4 years, do NOT worry about whether a public school needs your transcript. Maybe they would - if you gave it to them. But frankly, if you continue homeschooling through senior high school, there IS NO REASON to provide them your transcript. You do not give it to public schools whatsoever, you give your transcript towards the college.

The truth is which colleges understand homeschoolers and their comfort getting together with them increases every 12 months. One of your most significant tasks in high school is developing a homeschool transcript. My e-book, "The Easy Truth About Homeschool Transcripts" will highlight how to create a fantastic homeschool transcript that may impress the colleges!

If you're already aiming your kid for college-GREAT! This is the probably the most important goals you might have to prepare your children for a lifetime. In fact not aiming for college is among the "The 5 Biggest Errors Parents Make When Homeschooling Senior high school. " Learn how to prevent all 5 mistakes during my free e-mail mini-course.

I really hope you feel stronger, understanding that your transcript has worth to colleges! Don't you be worried about those persnickety public higher schools. You don't have in order to interact with them if you do not want to.

A CLEP exams are a popular way for homeschoolers to get some early college credits. Not everyone knows, however, how colleges view these exams and whether they will affect your student's college GPA. Find out the answer in this article.

Read more about here: http://ezinearticles.com/?Homeschooling-College---Are-CLEP-Exams-Graded?&id=1751203

Are you confused about whether your homeschool student should take the ACT or SAT test during high school. You won't be after you read and act on the information provided in this article.

Learn more about which is better ACT or SAT for homeschoolers.

A Sometimes parents will ask me to compare AP vs. CLEP tests and wonder why we chose to use CLEPs. The answer to the second question is a big part of the answer to the first. AP tests are much longer, more expensive, and have ambiguous essay questions that irritated me. We chose to use CLEP exams because they took MUCH less time per test, were a little less expensive, and they were all multiple choice. (My kids also inherited my love for "right and wrong" answers.)

Learn more about if AP or CLEP exams are better for Homeschoolers..

Sometimes community colleges are more restrictive about allowing CLEP exams than 4-year colleges. Learn more about how this might affect your homeschooler in this article from The HomeScholar. 

Learn more about it: community colleges accept CLEP Exams from homeschoolers.

Lee discusses the two purposes of the PSAT, how homeschoolers can take the test, and what the benefits are.

Read more about the different purposes of the PSAT and when and how to prepare.

For homeschool high school students, an AP exam is a wonderful way to demonstrate mastery of a subject.   You can prove your child has learned a wide variety of subjects with one long, graded exam.  It's standard for many highly selective colleges, so they can be quite common.  That doesn't mean that an AP exam is always a good fit.

Read this article on AP exams.

It is always confusing to decide whether to take SAT or ACT. Yes, I do have a suggestion. You can have your children take a sample test in SAT and in ACT, and see which one they scores best in. Otherwise we are just guessing.

Read more about on which to take between SAT and ACT.

An AP exam is a wonderful way to demonstrate mastery of a subject.   You can prove your child has learned a wide variety of subjects with one long, graded exam.  It's standard for many highly selective schools, so they can be quite common. 

Read more about AP exam as way of demonstrating child's mastery of subject.

I have a daughter who may never be able to do well a "bubble" test, due to vision issues.  (However, she is not legally blind.)  What sort of a paper trail of her trips to vision specialists, etc.

Read more about the Accommodation for the SAT.

The College Level Exam Program is a great way to earn college credit while still homeschooling.  Make sure your child can pass the test before you take it. Then use study tools to get the best score they can.

Read more on how to earn college credit.

Some colleges will give full scholarships for perfect PSAT scores. Some will give a smaller amount of money for a perfect PSAT score. Some colleges do not give merit aid based on test scores at all. It varies between colleges.

Read more about the PSAT Score as a Requirement for Scholarship.

In our consulting, Lee and I have encountered two schools of thought about senior year planning. First is the "Laissez-faire" method - parents who take a hands-off approach to college planning. The teen is responsible for every aspect of the college application experience, from initial college search to the final result.

Such parents will often only weigh-in when it comes to the final selection. Not surprisingly, their "concern index" increases dramatically when the conversation gets around to college costs. "You have GOT to be kidding!" is a typical refrain.

While I'm a strong proponent of natural consequences and allowing teens to take increased responsibility for college plans as they mature, I have to say that "detached indifference" on the part of the parent typically does not result in a positive outcome.

CLEP exams, Community College, and Scholarships can be confusing topics when homeschooling in high school. Wouldn't it be nice if there was just one single source for information, so you could figure it all out easily? It seems like there is conflicting information out there!

Read more about the CLEP, Community College, and Scholarships.

Homeschool parents will find the best preparation for the SAT essay is sample essay questions from previous tests. That's why I recommend the SAT preparation book called 11 Practice Tests for the SAT & PSAT.

Read more on SAT Essay Preparations.

Here is your homework for today. First, look at your children's standardized test scores and compare them to your local public school. If the public school average scores were the same as yours, how would the newspaper report  that?  Next, read 16 Ways Standardized Testing Can Help Your Homeschool Thrive!

Read About Homeschool Standardized Test Scores

I get this desperate plea a lot! I want to tell you that the "desperate mom" feeling is completely normal when you are homeschooling high school! Winter and Spring is the absolute WORST time of year for that feeling. Most students have already chosen a college, and have already applied and are eager to leave home. Yet most parents are looking at the sticker price of the college and feel completely overwhelmed because they haven't received any financial aid yet.

Read more about how to pay for college here.

The HomeScholar's new information product, the "Total Transcript Solution" teaches you how to create incredible homeschool transcripts the easy way. No need for complicated software or expensive accreditation services. You have everything you need to impress colleges with your student's transcripts.

Right there on the brochure it said: "Who takes CLEP? A homeschooled 15-year-old." I felt somewhat reassured when I walked into the test center, knowing that my son couldn't be THAT unusual, since his demographic was right on the brochure. And imagine my surprise! Within the month, my son obtained college credit in "Principles of Marketing" and "Business Law" and yet I had never purchased marketing or law curriculum! How does that happen, exactly? As a "homeschool parent", you may know what your children have been taught, but you may not realize what they know. There is a place where knowledge reigns supreme. A place where you can also discover their hidden learning -- your local CLEP testing center.

It seems like the idea of "taking a gap year" is growing in popularity among homeschoolers. A "gap year" is a period of time (usually between 6 months and a year in length) where the high school graduate takes a job or does some volunteer work to gain experience before beginning their college career.

Gap Year policies varies WIDELY between colleges. Some colleges say if you take a gap year, you may be considered a transfer. Other colleges (including Ivy League colleges) will admit you, give you great scholarships, ENCOURAGE you to take a gap year, and STILL allow you to have your scholarships and freshman status when you return! Unfortunately, any specific advice I give on gap years will be incomplete. Your best bet it to contact three of four colleges that your child would MOST like to go to, and ask them specifically about their gap year information. Remember too that their policies can change from year to year. Also, be careful to get assurance that the policy they quote you is "grandfathered" and will not change if your student leaves for a year!

Even if your student is planning a gap year, you will want to prepare your application and fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) during their senior year! If they don't apply as a senior, then they really COULD be considered a transfer student and miss out on many freshman scholarships. So have them apply while they are still in high school.

General advice: fill out the applications just like any other student, with transcript, reading lists, and course descriptions. In one of the application essays, they should focus on their gap year plans, what specifically they will do and what they hope to accomplish. Remember the essay is COMPLETELY written by the student. On the other hand, you as the parent can help your student brainstorm facts to include in that essay. While your student completes the application and essay, you can call the colleges to research their policy. Make sure you visit each college, and have your student talk face to face with someone in the admission department. That's as good as an "interview" and can go a long way to proving they really are taking a gap year and not just goofing off.

Yes, fill out the FAFSA. Colleges will base their financial aid decisions on the FAFSA, and (with luck) that financial aid decision will carry over once your student returns. You don't want your child to come back with a college admission but not be able to afford the college!

Gap year is NOT affected by "dual enrollment" college courses. Those are college level classes taken at community college or online that are taken while the student is officially a high school student. When they have dual enrollment credits, you put the information from the community college course onto the high school transcript, to prove that it is "dual enrollment" and NOT just a college class. Only college classes taken AFTER high school graduation will mess up your gap year. Your student can take anything BEFORE graduation but NOTHING after graduation (no classes during the gap year.)

Taking a gap year is an excellent way for a student to demonstrate their area of passion (specialization.) One of the parent's most important tasks in high school is identifying and encouraging passion in their students. Failing to do so is one of "The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School." Learn how to avoid all 5 mistakes in my FREE e-mail mini-course.

My e-book, "The Total Transcript Solution" will show you how to how to package that great education into an AMAZING homeschool transcripts that will impress the colleges!

Lee Binz, AKA, The HomeScholar, is an expert in "helping parents homeschool high school." Both her two boys earned full-tuition scholarships at their first choice university. Learn how she did it on her website, TheHomeScholar.com, which includes a free monthly newsletter and daily blog support.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Binz
http://EzineArticles.com/?Home-School-High-School---What-About-Taking-a-Gap-Year?&id=1873542

For those new to the subject, CLEP stands for College Level Examination Program, and it allows students to earn college credit when they have achieved a college amount of learning on a particular subject. CLEP exams do not have an age limit. It is not unusual to see 14 or 15 year old kids taking and passing CLEP exams. My youngest son passed 16 CLEP exams when he was 15 years old. This was worth almost two years of college, but the college he wanted to attend would only accept a year's worth of CLEP for credit (9 tests.) The other tests weren't wasted, however, because they allowed him to place into upper division college classes when he started at the university at age 16.

One question I get from parents who are pursuing this path is where to put the CLEP exam results on their homeschool transcript, especially for a young student. Here are a couple of ideas you can consider.

Determining High School Credit

Since each CLEP is a college level test, you can be sure that if they can pass it as a college course, they could CERTAINLY pass it as a high school course. Make sure you put every college level course on the transcript, no matter how you prove the class (community college or CLEP exam) and no matter how old they are (12 or 18 - it still counts.)

Naming Courses

For each CLEP exam your student passes, put a class with the same title on their transcript. That's especially helpful if you're not exactly sure what your child has learned in a course. The exams can help you decide what they learned and how much.

Deciding on Honors

Since CLEP represents a college amount of knowledge, just like an AP exam, then it truly would be an "honors" class. When they pass a test, you can add "honors" to the course designation. CLEP tests would be handled on the transcript just like AP exams.

Outside Documentation of Learning

Since CLEP exams provide an "official transcript" it can be the third-party proof you need to show this course holds up to any scrutiny. By each CLEP course, put a designation by the course title on the transcript, showing there is external documentation. So it might look like this on a transcript: CLEP English Literature, or CLEP Microeconomics.

Early High School Credits

If they pass the CLEP exam before high school, you can choose to record classes by year, and either put the CLEP courses under 9th grade OR by indicating it was "early high school credits." You could also choose to avoid all that by simply organizing the transcript by subject, instead of by year.

Whatever you decide to do, you are ahead of the game because you are paying attention to your student's high school records. Forgetting about homeschool records in high school is one of "The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School." Learn how to avoid all 5 mistakes in my free e-mail mini-course.

My e-book, "The Total Transcript Solution" will show you how to how to package that great education into an AMAZING transcript that will impress the colleges!

Lee Binz, The HomeScholar, is an expert in "helping parents homeschool high school." Both her two boys earned full-tuition scholarships at their first choice university. Learn how she did it on her website, TheHomeScholar.com, which includes a free monthly newsletter and daily blog support.

Are you thinking about homeschooling high school? Perhaps you have already started and have a few questions. Lee Binz, The HomeScholar, has created a resource just for you! The HomeScholar Gold Care Club is your one stop shop for all your homeschool high school questions. You can get expert advice on transcripts, grades, credits, record keeping, college preparation and more. This site is filled with parent training tools (videos and audios), templates, planning guides and good solid advice for all parents who are considering homeschooling high school with an eye toward college.

Lee-I love your stuff and will be telling others to check you out. Can't wait to get your next newsletter. Very helpful.
~Jeannie Fulbright in Georgia (jeanniefulbright.com)

Hi Lee; I just wanted to tell you how impressed I am with your website and your business. You come across as very professional! I have been enjoying your "preparing for high-school" mini-course, even though my oldest is just 10 years old.
~Pam in Indonesia

Lee, this is really great! A wonderful idea. And the first lesson is so very well written, too. I can't wait to get the rest, lol! I will
definitely be forwarding the info on, and mentioning on my blog. I wish you lots of great luck with this promotion!
~April in North Carolina

Thank you so much for this, Lee. I've read lesson 1 and all I can say is "right on". I'm sending the link to our entire homeschool group, because I'm sure many others will benefit from this as well. I can't wait for the next 4 lessons!!!
~Robin in Arizona

This is fantastic, Lee! Thanks so much. I'm going to add this information to the announcements for our co-op (and pass it along to others). You're wonderful!!
~Kathy in Washington

Thank you so much for your website and newsletter...it has been a God-send for our family. Thanks so much for sharing what you know with other homeschooling families!!!
~Jackie in Illinois

Lee, The mini course was good, especially the emphasis of this 5th mini course on the need to keep records and that we will need to make a transcript! It is also good to be reminded to contact the college or university you may want to attend to find out exactly what they require. Thanks for your work on helping those of us who were really concerned about homeschooling through high school. Thanks again.
~Leona in Washington

Thank you, Lee, for taking the time to create your five-part mini-course about high school. It confirmed a lot of what the Lord had taken me through as I prepared my now 18 yod, who is currently in college, for college. I'm sure your course and your business will help a lot of moms. Blessings on your ministry and you as you serve others to His glory!
~Linda, Military

>>>>Can you compare AP and CLEP exams? Why did you choose CLEP?<<<<

Read response here

Homeschoolers today are homeschooling through high school - and even PAST high school! Called "homeschooling college" it is fast becoming a popular path for many young people. One very popular way for homeschool students to get some quick college credits is to take CLEP exams. The College Level Examination Program (CLEP) offers a wide variety of tests that measure a college amount of learning. These exams are graded pass/fail, with a score above 50 considered passing. One of the questions I am often asked is whether CLEP exams factor into the student's college GPA.

College Admission Policies are unique in many ways, and every college has its own unique policy about CLEP exams. Some colleges give a grade that affects GPA and others give credit but not a grade. Some don't give credit but do give placement into upper level classes. My homeschoolers applied to four colleges, and three of them granted credit for CLEP exams. None of them gave an actual grade for the exam, however, so our student's GPA was not affected. I haven't read about many college giving an actual GRADE for a CLEP exam. CLEP exams are usually reported to colleges as a Pass/Fail with any score above 50% being a passing score.

In contrast, AP exams usually do have a grade that is applied. Generally for an AP exam, a score of 5 (perfect) is an A, 4 is B, 3 is C, and less than 3 is not given college credit. I know one homeschool student who took an AP exam and scored a respectable 4. She was disappointed, though, because that was the only "B" for her entire college career. You might want to check the colleges where your student may apply in order to understand their policy.

As with many such questions, college policies are as varied as the colleges themselves. Check with the specific colleges you are interested in to get their policy on CLEP and AP exams.

When homeschool parents encourage their children to learn, there is a chance their children may actually pick up a college amount of learning - enough to pass a CLEP. Failing to promote a student's area of passion is one of the "5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School." Learn how to avoid all 5 mistakes in my free e-mail mini-course.

Hi Lee,

We just published our second Annual Online College Rankings at:

http://oedb.org/rankings

For each college, we gathered data for eight different metrics: acceptance rate, financial aid, graduation rate, peer Web citations, retention rate, scholarly citations, student-faculty ratio, and years accredited. The overall ranking ranks each college by its average ranking for each metric for which data was available.

As a respected blogger, we'd love to get your feedback on the results or our methodology. And if you think your readers would find the rankings useful, any coverage would also be appreciated. Either way,
keep up the great blogging!

Cheers,
Amy S. Quinn

Should your child have a 'gap year' before college?
Some students need a break after high school - and some colleges approve.

Read more about getting off the treadmill for awhile.

A client writes: "In Florida, the state universities have a reciprocal policy with the community colleges if complete your AA. So, we'll probably go that route and do his AA via CLEP and dual enrollment."

(Read my response here)

Lee,
I think Landon's transcript that you did for me is excellent. I just made two copies because he is applying at two colleges today. I am very grateful for all your help, I was really panicking and desperately wanted to do it right, I feel incredible relief now to know that it is done and looks so professional. Today I viewed your dvd about scholarships. I took four pages of notes, it was just full of good information. Thankfully I can watch it again to be sure I did not miss anything. I look forward to seeing the other dvd Finding a College. I may watch it tomorrow, we need to get this done asap.
~Linda in Washington

"Lee,
I read with interest your article on CLEP exams and have a question. How does taking the exams affect your GPA in college? I understand that in some instances you can get college credit for passing the exams, but are you assigned a grade that factors into your GPA?
Thank you, Maureen"

Hi Maureen,

I'm glad you found the article useful to you! Every college has its own unique policy about CLEP exams, and some colleges give a grade that affects GPA and other's give credit but not grade, and others don't give credit but do give placement into upper level classes. 3 of the schools we applied for provided CLEP credits, but none of them gave a grade, so our GPA was not affected. I haven't read about many college giving an actual GRADE for a CLEP exams.

In contrast, AP exams usually do have a grade that is applied. Generally for an AP exam, a score of 5 (perfect) is an A, 4 is B, 3 is C, and less is not given college credit. I do know one homeschool student who took an AP exam and scored a respectable 4. She was disappointed, though, because that was the only "B" for her entire college career.You might want to check the colleges your student might apply for, and see what they have for their own unique policy.

I wish I could give you a more direct answer to your question, but each college makes up their own rules. I can suggest a website that provides some free lessons plans for CLEP study available online: clepprep.tripod.com. I hope that helps!

Blessings,
Lee

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