When your home school student is ready to decide on which college to attend, there are many things that need to be considered. There are several different types of colleges to choose from, and finding just the right one takes extensive research. As early as the middle school years, at least a small part of your home school curriculum should be dedicated to investigating the kinds of colleges that would fit your student best. This should eventually become one of your top priorities as your home school student nears graduation age.
One of the first things you and your homeschool child should do when deciding on the right college is to write down some pertinent questions and then check each question off as you answer them satisfactorily. The very first and most obvious question that needs to be asked is, "What does your home school student want from college?" This may seem like a simple question, but it is perhaps the most important one to ask. Does your home school student know what career he would like to pursue? Is your home school student unsure of his career path, but knowledgeable about what types of studies he would like to pursue further in college? The list of appropriate colleges can be narrowed down when you choose to put only those on your list that offer the best courses and programs to fit your home school student's needs. Once your choices are narrowed down, you and your home school student can then go on to choose a college by reputation, location, size, financial aid programs, etc.
Another extremely important factor to consider is how a potential college feels about students that have been educated through home school. If there seems to be any negative bias on a college's part toward home school children, it should be addressed. It doesn't mean that your student shouldn't attend the college if he thinks it would be best for him. It just means that any home school issues should be worked out early with the college, before your child even applies.
Once you and your homeschool student have narrowed down the list to just a few colleges, or ideally just one or two, then you and he should visit these colleges. Tour the campuses; speak with the administrators and professors. This will help give your child a sense of how well he may adjust to each college's atmosphere. Sometimes just pure "gut instinct" can help your home school child make his final decision.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, author, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of almost 3 decades reside with their 8 children in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. because "our current system of education has broken its promise..." Learning By Grace, Inc. delivers Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children in the United States and throughout the world.
Rothschild has authored a number of books about education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Blog contains feature stories on alternatives in education.