What About Homeschooling High School and 

Then Vocational or College Pursuits? 
by The CHOC Board

What about homeschooling high school and then preparing for vocational or college pursuits? This is a frequent question asked us here at CHOC Board.  Here is an overview of our family's experiences and research offered as a launching off place for your own research:

Homeschooling High School--things to consider:

Why Homeschool Highschool?:

A good list of reasons to homeschool the high school years can be found in an article by Cafi Cohen entitled "Ten Reasons to Homeschool High School."   HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) also has excellent  encouragements for those considering homeschool high school on its "You Can Do It" page. For research findings that support the success of homeschooling, including those who were homeschooled and now are adults, go to National Home Education Research Institute which has numerous facts sheets for free download and a number of books which show that the statistics overwhelmingly support the benefits of homeschooling (i.e. homeschoolers have higher SAT/ACT scores and are more active in college than non-homeschooled children).

Our family can personally attest to the great blessing homeschooling high school has been for us parents and our children: the continued ability to closely disciple and educate their whole person from a godly perspective during their special maturing years, especially regarding the "bigger" often difficult issues; the freedom (and time availability) of our children to pursue special interests and talents (that look especially appealing on the college resume); the continued use of efficient homeschooling techniques that make the most of our children's precious school time; the thrill of tackling the "tough" subjects together and conquering them; and the sheer joy of watching the parent-child relationship blossom in depth as our children grow older, wiser, and become fine young adults who we are grateful to know and have in our lives.

We offer the following not in the spirit of bragging, but in the spirit of encouraging others--because if we can do it, so can you!  We can also personally attest that homeschooling through high school definitely helped our children prepare for and achieve success on the road to and in college!  Our oldest is at the top of her class in a competitive technology program at the local community college, and our middle child snagged a highly coveted 4-year scholarship at a local college. The more self-directed style of homeschool learning and the time homeschoolers can take to develop their talents, probe subjects deeper, and discuss the "why" taught our children how to achieve an education rather than sit back and receive it, parceled out to them in bite sizes (as so often happens in public institutions).  This translated very well to college style learning and skills that attracted college scholarships.

The only two things our oldest daughter found she was not "prepared" for in college were--how to open her combination lock on her book locker (hee, hee, we forgot to put one of those in her bedroom), and the fact that she expected to do and did do the science labs on her own efforts (the others struggled to figure out what to do and just copied off of her while watching her in amazement).

Avoid Changing Tracks Midstream (Public, Private, Homeschool):

An important thing to remember when considering homeschooling high school is that public high schools are not required to accept anything you've done as a homeschooler if you decide to change mid-stream and later put your child into public high school. Homeschooled high schoolers usually lose credits and academic time as some (often all) of their homeschool work was not acknowledged by the public (or even private) high school. Admittance policies can vary greatly from district to district and even school to school  within districts. Some schools are more lenient than others for accepting homeschooled credits or in being flexible with make up credits to allow a student to graduate at "age level."

Scope with all the High School Years in Mind: 

It is helpful to scope and plan high school with the whole high school block in mind to prevent cramming too much into one year, missing a pre-requisite, or not optimizing your child's experiences. Generally, high school credits can be received for high school course work done in the 8th and even 7th grade years. Scope and plan courses in a progressive and supportive way that will develop your child's whole person as well as the specific skills, interests, and abilities for his or her future.  Stretching high school over 5 years (from 8th through 12th) offers more time for in depth study, community service, and building skills in a child's talent areas that look especially good to college admittance counselors or competitive vocational programs.

Home Diploma v. Transcript Service:

Also, you will need to consider whether you desire to use an educational diploma/transcript service (such as our local Basic Skills or a national service like NARS ) or award a home diploma and transcript. The pros and cons on both sides should be weighed carefully against the student's and family's needs and desires.

The home diploma/transcript path allows complete parental freedom in course choices, timing, and substance (to a large degree--see Scoping below) but requires the parent's willingness and ability to present and validate the home transcript/diploma's worth to a college administrator or official under sometimes strict and less than friendly scrutiny. 

Colleges are usually most concerned about the transcript (rather than the diploma) because the transcript gives them a list of what the student has taken, the credit units earned, and how well he/she did (grades). This transcript needs to be well-organized with courses computed to show the number of carnegie unit credits or class hours completed for each course, how many carnegie units/class hours completed collectively, and of course the grades for each course with the overall grade point average shown as well. (A number of computerized record keepers generate a transcript, see Keep Good Records of Your Child's Work below.)

The sticky area of confusion in regards to the validity of a home diploma seems to be in applying for Federal financial aid, but the law appears to be on the homeschooler's side.  

The Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) has written an article regarding the confusion of the validity of the homsechooled high school diploma/transcript which still plagues some colleges in  "Federal Requirements for Homeschoolers Seeking College Admittance and Federal Aid". 

**In its article, HSLDA concludes:

"...homeschoolers should be admitted to colleges and granted financial aid without having to take additional tests beyond what is required of traditionally schooled students. Ignoring a homeschool graduate’s diploma and requiring him to take a GED, SAT II, or ability-to-benefit test, while graduates from traditional high schools are not required to do so, is seen as discriminatory by Congress. Furthermore, institutions of higher learning that receive federal aid can admit homeschool graduates, at any age, without endangering their institutional eligibility."

For the federal financial aid question, homeschoolers who give a home diploma have reported it is important to check the "diploma" box on the FAFSA application if you are graduating from homeschool to college to indicate your child indeed has completed the legal requirements of secondary schooling under Oregon Homeschool Laws even though you may not have gone through the formality of actually typing up a diploma (see Prepare Financial Aid Paperwork section below for FAFSA and other financial aid information). 

To fulfill the requirement for an actual physical diploma, local homeschoolers have reported that a notarized statement declaring the student has completed a secondary school course of study in compliance with Oregon homeschooling laws has been effective as the "official" diploma for college entrance and financial aid.  (Most Postal Annexes and UPS Stores have a notary public who will notarize documents for a small fee.)   This statement was signed by the student self-certifying he had completed this "legal" course of study; although I should think it could also be done by the parents declaring their child has done so (just as the high school principal does so for graduating public school students).  A few homeschool families simply did a letter without notarization. A number have signed a decorative diploma without notarization indicating their child has completed the secondary course of study in compliance with Oregon homeschool law.  One such family showed the admitting college the printed event program of their support group's graduation night as further "proof" of their child's completion of high school.  Obviously ask the college how formalized the diploma must be to prove your child has completed high school and is eligible for financial aid. (Again, the college may only care about the transcript.)

While an extension diploma/transcript service does require its credits and course areas be met, it can offer comforting guidance, official oversight, valuable experience in preparing the transcript, and outside accountability for both you and your child while yet allowing much of homeschooling to proceed as before.  A recognized diploma/transcript service can also have the added benefit that your child is viewed as a private schooler with an institutionally-recognized transcript and diploma, which can ease the college admittance process by avoiding those time-wasting hurdles still often "required" for  homeschoolers by some confused colleges (such as insisting homeschooled applicants take the GED or SAT Subject Tests to get federal aid, but again see HSLDA comment above*).

CAVEAT: If it is to be used for its diploma/transcript value, be sure your chosen extension service or umbrella school has a proven track record with your state or college of choice.

Our personal experience has been that having a well-documented high school transcript is much appreciated by college administrators.  It  makes the college application process easier and your child less likely to be asked to take the GED, SAT Subject Tests, or have some other requirement added as the college can easily see what the student has taken in high school. For us, also having an institutionally recognized diploma through Basic Skills did simplify the college admittance process by removing any discussion and confusion about homeschooler entrance and federal aid requirements (but colleges are becoming more informed about homeschoolers as time goes on especially as homeschoolers apply their legal rights as expressed in the HSLDA article). For us it was also very helpful to use a service that understood the language colleges are looking for in the transcript course titles and format.  Today, colleges are becoming more and more flexible with homeschooler transcripts.  Do your research so that the transcript is useful for the particular college your child wishes to apply to. There is a lot of help out there now for preparing a parent transcript if you choose to go that way.

Community College vs. Homeschool High:

Some homeschoolers circumvent the question and bother of an "official" high school diploma and transcript by having their children take some public community college classes during the high school years or having their child start at the community college after finishing  homeschool high school. Usually once community college credits begin to rack up, other colleges look no further than the community college credits as the student has proven their ability to do college level work (especially if there are significant credits earned, commonly 30 or more, or an associates degree awarded). But that is not always the case, so do your homework.

Also, you need to be aware that some colleges will not award freshman status scholarships (often the most lucrative) once a student has completed over a certain number of college credits (either by college coursework or CLEP/AP/SAT Subject Tests).  Always check with the colleges of choice to see what their standards are (the admissions department should have this information or be able to point you to who does).

Our local community college system Portland Community College's Open Homeschool Enrollment does allow homeschooled students to enter into the community college system without having a high school diploma and take college courses for credit (if they are 16 years of age, otherwise special petition must be made by the parent).

Whether or not to use community college classes during the homeschool high school years is an area that should be weighed prayerfully by each family for each child. While it can be a good method to start chipping away at college while also knocking off high school subjects, it is not for every child or family. Be aware that community college courses are geared to the adult learner in a "mature" atmosphere, will be very secular in viewpoint (the liberal arts/humanities courses can especially border on vulgar "edginess" or liberal "political correctness"), do take significant amount of time both in class and out of class (shortening at-home time for the homeschooled subjects and parent discipleship), and could potentially truncate your child's growing years by putting him into adult college at a young age.

While still presented from a secular basis and requiring the ability to be a self-directed learner (as there is no immediate feedback from a teacher), online community college courses could offer a viable alternative for those who desire their child to start college credit in high school but whose child is not ready for the adult-student campus atmosphere or the time/travel constraints of the on-campus course.

A number of colleges, such as  Multnomah Bible College, also offer an "early admission" program for high school juniors and seniors.  These early admission students can take college courses at greatly reduced rates.  There are some "fine print" catches though.  Generally only a limited number of class hours are allowed for selected courses, and often the college only awards early admission credit if the student continues at that institution. You will generally have to call the admissions office for information about any early admission programs as colleges tend to bury that information in their websites.

If you do decide to enroll your child in a community college class (or other institutional class), one secret we discovered when our oldest graduated and entered college is the website RateMyTeachers.com.  This website is an amazon-style user feedback system for, you got it, teachers at institutional schools ranging from elementary through college, public and private.  Many public institutions and colleges are listed.  If your school of chioce isn't, you can add it (unfortunately that doesn't help you if you wanted to read reviews).  Of course always take any review "with a grain of salt."  However, we have found that when a number of students, over a time span, keep indicating the same things about a particular teacher, there generally is merit.  Portland Community College is listed and has numerous reviews on numerous teachers.

For Futher Information for the Homeschooling the High School Years:
Good books to read for the homeschool high school years are: "Homeschooling the High Schooler" by Diana McAlister and Candice Oneschak; "Homeschool, High School and Beyond" by Beverly Gordon-Adams; and "Senior High Form-u-la" by Barbara Shelton.

Setting up Homeschool High School to support Your Child's College/Vocation Path:

As homeschoolers we act as parent, principal, teacher, and guidance counselor (which meant in our family that our children actually got help through the career/college process rather than a 5 minute chat at a general assembly!) 

Be sure to involve your child fully in this process as he or she will need to seek and feel God's personal guidance upon their life.  Your child will also need to gain the practical knowledge of how to gather this kind of information and present it to a college or program administrator, afterall it is his or her future.

Also through this process, help your children remember that character development and most importantly, a close, obedient relationship with God will always be the most important factor in their life as their personal value will never be determined by what they "do for a living" or where they went to, or if they went to, college. How we live our life before God, using the talents He has given us for His glory as good stewards, is all that really matters in the final sum of things.

1. Determine Your Child's Field of Choice:   In the middle school years, or as early as possible in the high school years, have your child prayerfully search for those areas of interest and abilities he/she believes God would have them develop more fully. Help your child prayerfully determine what his or her goals for higher education should be to develop these talents for life's future needs in the direction God is leading them.  Be patient and encouraging with your child as this can be an awkward time of self-searching.

It can also be helpful to walk them through a "real life" scenario of personal finances so they get an idea of what it takes in your community for a family to be financially responsible such as the cost of rent, buying a house, insurance, food, transportation, tithing, etc.  It can be helpful (and eye-opening) to then discuss the different roles each family member plays, and how each family member uses their talents to bless the family.  Sum up with a discussion of how your child's talents could benefit their future family's needs and God's kingdom. 

We personally took time to discuss with our daughters how their talents developed now could be used for a vocation or to bless their family should they be called to marriage and full-time homemaking.  We discussed with our son his goals and how they might line up with responsibilites for provision of a family should he be called to marriage.  A good dose of financial reality can help a child determine which talents might be best developed for ministry, hobby, or vocation. (Obviously many talents could overlap in those categories as talents groomed in one area could become talents for another, and all are done for His Glory.)

As they narrow down talents and fields of interests to develop, do a vocational/career search with books at the library, through the web, etc. Talk with people in that line of work or vocation and ask what kind of education and skills would be most helpful. Join (or start) clubs and activities that provide exposure and skills in their area of interest (ie a LegoRobotics Club if your child is interested in engineering; a 4H photography club if your child is interested in journalism; Art classes for the artist, etc.). 

A good place to start looking for career information is The Occupational Outlook Handbook  

Another really helpful site is the Vocational Information Center.  It gives lists of vocations, descriptions, schools, programs, and helpful links for career investigation.

There are also some free online career tests such as at Project Career (you don't have to sign up for the advertising stuff, watch the upper corner for an icon to click to direct you to the test or view the next results thus skipping the personal information fields if you don't want all the free mail!) . This one was fun to take as it gave the career results and then outlook and educational skills needed too.

2. Determine Your Child's Particular College/Institution/Program Choices: Help your child research the colleges and various institutions or organizations that carry programs which would fulfill their educational goals, interests and abilities. Through books at the library and from the program websites determine what those programs require for preparation during the high school years, and in particular, what their admissions policies are for homeschoolers (particularly if they will try to require homeschoolers to additionally take a GED or the SAT Subject Tests See HSLDA comments above*). 

Don't be afraid to shop around for homeschool friendly colleges and programs!  Many colleges and institutions have streamlined their admission process for homechoolers. The bottomline is do your research well ahead of time for the particular college or career path your child is likely to pursue so there are no unexpected hurdles later on. Talk with the program counselors and visit the campus or organization.

College/career fairs occur frequently in the fall. There is a website by the National Association for College Admission Counseling which lists the schedules for major fairs (Portland is among the list), and the North American Coalition for Christian Admission Professionals which has a listing of fairs for Christian colleges.  A useful site for researching Oregon colleges, both public and private, is The Oregon College Directory  A small list of colleges known to be especially homeschool friendly can be found at Homeschool Friendly Colleges and Homeschooling Parent Magazine. Learn in Freedom has a great article about colleges that admit homeschoolers together with lots of links for information on the homeschool to college process.

If your child is needing a vocational degree or certification, our local community college system, Portland Community College, PCC, can be an excellent way to get vocational training, a 2 year degree, or get general credits done cheaply to transfer to a more expensive 4 year college. A number of local colleges have contractual agreements with PCC for automatic transfer of PCC credits.  PCC has been very accessible to local homeschoolers (however with the caveat that is is a secular school and will have treatment of subjects that will not align with Christian perspectives.)

And, if your child is interested in pursuing a career through an apprenticeship program, the Vocational Information Center has an excellent help page entitled "Apprenticeship Training Resources"  This site includes many links to learn about how apprenticeship programs work and how to find a program in your area.

3. Scope Your Child's High School Academics Accordingly: Shape your child's high school courses and electives so that his or her course of studies reflects those subjects needed for that college/institution and chosen field (lots of math and science for the engineer, lots of writing and literature with the addition of graphic publishing for the journalist major, a strong art portfolio for the art school student). If your child is not sure of a specific career or vocation, then determine a solid foundation of subjects that reflect the level of academic rigor of the chosen college or institution so that your child will possess the required or expected level of general education (as well as be a "well-rounded" citizen for life in general!). For the undecided, a strong general high school background can save a LOT of make up time later--make up time at premium college dollars! Having a more specific direction in college from the start can save thousands of additional dollars and added time in college due to switching majors.

Typically 4 year colleges require a high schooler to have 4 years of English (covering grammar, writing composition, American and British literature, all of which is spread over the 4 years--ie not all subjects are touched upon in every year, you might have 1 year grammar/composition in English 9, then 1 year American Lit, 1 year British Lit, etc.)  Further credits typically include 1/2 yr speech/communications, 2 to 4 years of math (with preference for algebra I, II, geometry, and trig), several years of science with lab work (often biology and chemistry), many require 2 years of the same foreign language (Oregon only requires/requests 1 year) as well as 3 years of social studies (commonly 1 yr American history, 1 yr world history, 1/2 yr American government, and 1/2 yr economics) plus the common electives (the arts, music, drama, and courses in your child's field of interest). But there is variation and flexibility as different fields, colleges and institutions (especially community colleges or vocational/trade schools) have different foundational requirements, so a little research will help your child orchestrate his high school years to his best advantage.

"High School Credit Unit Planner" is our example of a planner with credit units laid out according to Basic Skills' New Covenant Academy's 2007 diploma requirements.

What constitutes a credit varies from state to state and institution to institution because of the different ways that the credits are figured (ie a Carnegie unit is often considered 150 clock hours, but that may be based upon a 45-50 minute class hour so it could only be 112.5 actual sixty minute hours). Oregon considers 130 fifty-minute class hours 1 credit which is 108 sixty minute hours and 54 sixty minute clock hours of effort 1/2 credit.  Award credit by minutes for courses that are based upon skill effort rather than a written curriculum (like music, community service, PE).  Generally, if using a text book, it is easy to see what constitutes 1 credit...ie that a standard Algebra I textbook generally viewed as being done in 1 school year is 1 credit (see the teacher manual for alternative threads--like minimum vs. advanced/AP).  If you take 2 years to do the Algebra textbook (but do not add additional areas), it is still just 1 credit.  If you take 6 months to complete that textbook, it is still 1 credit.

4. Keep Good Records of Your Child's Work. It is very, very important that you keep some sort of organized record of your child's courses and grades during the high school years if your child plans on higher education (and even if he doesn't, it would still be helpful for later job applications, etc.). Often at this point many choose to use a portfolio system (a file box with folders that hold the work for each subject done during each year of high school). You will also need to keep track of his grades and courses for his transcript whether you are planning on doing the transcript yourself (which is much easier to do if you have kept neat records all along) or are working with an established diploma service.

As stated in the general introducation, there are a number of these diploma/transcript services such as our local Basic Skills or a national service like NARS (North Atlantic Regional Schools). There are several software programs that provide good record keeping and transcripts such as Edu-Track, Homeschool Tracker, or Homeschool Easy Records. The homeschooling high school books mentioned above discuss manually kept record systems. Exodus Provisions sells a number of the manual systems and homeschooling high school books.  Homeschool Easy Records has a helpful article "Choosing A Record Keeping System" that discusses the different styles of planners and what is most important in record keeping especially for the high school years.


5. Have Your Child Take the College Board Exams:
Finding information about these big college board exams is much easier than at first appears (and you have our helpful site here to guide you through!). Take time at each individual test's website. There are excellent helps at both the ACT and SAT websites. The SAT Collegeboard site includes information about the PSAT too.

Be aware that your child must show appropriate photo id on the day of the test in order to take the test--NO EXCEPTIONS! Appropriate photo id is generally an official school photo id card or state/government photo id card such as a learner's permit or driver's license (there are a few more complicated exceptions--but the school id or state id/driver's license/permit are the most commonly used). Usually this turns out to be the driver's permit as most homeschoolers do not have an official school photo id. As a homeschooler in order for your child to get a driver's permit, you will need to contact your local ESD office (see this chart by OCEANetwork for ESD offices in Oregon) and request a "Statement of Enrollment for DMV."  You will also need to have a certified copy of his birth certificate (not the hospital birth record--the cute one with the little inky feet--but a state certified copy from the Department of Vital Records.)

All this to say, you won't be able to wait until the last minute to gather up all the necessary documentation if you don't have it already on hand, therefore be sure to allow 4-6 weeks or so to let the wheels of the government clerk's office churn out this stuff and enough time thereafter for your child to obtain his state id/driver's permit/license, whichever is most appropriate.

The PSAT (or the PSAT/NMSQT) is often taken in 10th grade as a practice for the regular SAT. It also determines eligibility for the National Merit Scholarship (but no college requires the PSAT for admission that I am aware of).  The PSAT must be taken in 11th grade if it is to be used for merit scholorship eligibility. Of these college board type tests, the PSAT may not be registered for online but rather you have to contact a local high school to both register for and take the actual test (but that includes local Christian high schools as well as public high schools for the PSAT). The PSAT is only offered on two days in October each year. If you miss it, and are interested in the scholarship, you'll have to contact the National Merit Scholarship Corporation to see if you are eligible for the alternative programs that might be offered--so don't miss that test date if you want to go for the NMSQT scholarship!

From the research of your child's college/institution choices, you will have discovered if the college requires the basic SAT or ACT, or accepts either, for admissions, and if it requires, recommends, or is unconcerned with any SAT Subject Tests (see further below).  It is highly recommended that your child use a prepatory material either from the exam boards or from outside publishers such as Kaplan or Princeton Review.

The SAT and the ACT tests are administered only at local public high schools, or sometimes community colleges. Registration deadlines are several months before the exam dates, and there are NO exams given during the summer months (exams are given mid-October through the first of June).

The basic SAT (formerly referred to as the SAT I but now usually referred to simply as the SAT, which we will do in this article) is an aptitude test (meaning it tests more of how you think and figure out problems rather than what you know of a set body of factual knowledge); the ACT is an achievement test (meaning it tests what you know about a set body of facts--those assumed to be normally covered in high school--including grammar!). The SAT has an essay section in its normal test. The ACT's written test is an additional exam that you must sign up for during the registration period (but check first to see if your college requires it--the ACT has a list of colleges and their stated requirements for the written portion--or check with the institution itself). If your college of choice accepts either the SAT or ACT for admissions, choose the test that best fits your child's personality/learning style (does he/she prefer to think on their feet and solve abstract/story problems but gets weighed down by fact minutia, or does he/she prefer to memorize lots of facts and regurgitate but sweats over story problems--some have said that the SAT is best for engineer types and the ACT for more liberal arts/literary types.)

The SAT sends all scores to your chosen colleges (most colleges merely take the highest score, some average them, some don't like to see a high score next to a low score--so ask your college!). The ACT allows you to choose which score to send and only sends that test score no matter how many times you took the ACT. The SAT has a 25% penalty for any wrong answer; the ACT has no penalties for wrong answers (thus if a child missed 4 out of 20, it would be as if the SAT gave a score of 15/20 while the ACT would give a score at 16/20, but the tests are actually scored on different scales). These test scores are sent to the colleges by the exam boards (so allow time if taking the test in early 12th grade in order to meet admissions/financial aid deadlines--most score results take at least 4 to 6 weeks).

Even if your child is going to start at an institution that does not require the SAT or ACT for admission, such as a vocational school or our local community college system, Portland Community College (PCC),  it may be a good idea to have him/her take the SAT or ACT anyway in order to not "close any doors" should your child change his institutional choice and need them later.

The SAT or ACT is generally taken sometime in the 11th grade and often in early 12th. It is wise to take the SAT or ACT at least once in the 11th grade, often in the winter or spring term, and again in the fall of 12th grade if necessary (but preferably no later than fall of the 12th grade due to timelines for the college admission paperwork.)

The  SAT II is now referred to as the SAT Subject Tests and should not be confused with the basic SAT discussed above.  The SAT Subject Tests are a series of subject tests sometimes required by colleges for academic placement or admissions consideration  especially if they are a highly competitive top-tier school; however, some colleges will try to require the Subject Tests for  their homeschooled applicants if the college is confused about federal aid rules or doubts the homeschool transcript (which we would challenge if the requirement were aimed at only homeschooled applicants--see HSLDA's comment above in Home Diploma vs. Transcript Service paragraph above). 

Most students are accepted to most colleges without ever taking any additional SAT Subject Tests. If a college requires any of the SAT Subject Tests, they will let you know which ones they require as there are a host to choose from. Be sure to check the college's policy on how they will use the SAT Subject Tests. Some will offer advance placement for the SAT Subject Tests.  This means your child could take a SAT Subject Test, pass it, then not have to take that freshman course.  Some offer actual course credit for the test too just as with the CLEP and AP tests (you can gather information about the CLEP and AP exams at the College Board site)  which would apply toward's the college's total number of credits needed for graduation thus saving time and cost and allowing more freedom in course choices.

If a college doesn't require the SAT Subject tests, but is willing to use them for advance placement or college credit, it may be worthwhile to consider having your student prepare for and take some of the Subject Tests to get a few general education requirements out of the way.  My understanding (at the time of this writing) is that the SAT Subject Tests are much cheaper than the AP and CLEP tests and are perhaps easier to prepare for as they are based upon more generalized information about the subject versus being tied to a specific curriclum as the AP tests are (thus you would not have to go out and buy specific curriculum). 

I recommend though that the pros and cons of advance placement and credit be weighed thoroughly for each child and each college.

Be aware that some colleges may determine a student is ineligible for freshman scholarships (often the most lucrative) if the student has too many CLEP, AP or community college credits which might offset any financial gain of having those few general requirement courses out of the way.

Also, some children really stress over or do not perform well on these types of tests.  It might be better to simply let them take those general subjects in the normal course of college, especially if they snag a good freshman scholarship.

Be sure to ask if the college gives actual credit for that "passed" freshman course or merely lets the student start at a higher course level (placement).  If the college doesn't give actual credit, and the SAT Subject Test isn't testing your child out of non-credit prerequisite "bonehead"  classes, your child's time and cost in college would not be reduced as some other class would have to be taken to fulfill  the college's requirement for its total number of credits needed for graduation.

Further, skipping the "easy" freshman classes to begin in upper level courses could make a student's first year of college more stressful.  Your child will have a lot to deal with already in adapting to a new learning, and often living, environment.  Classes in familiar subjects could help to reduce educational stress and thus make the transition easier for that freshman year (and provide an easy A for that first college grade point average).

Finally, preparing for these tests is time-consuming and attempting to take all or most of them could engulf a lot of your homeschool time as you teach to the tests rather than pursuing other subjects your family and child might prefer or need.

6. Gather the Admissions Paperwork**. Most colleges begin taking admissions paperwork in the fall of the senior high school year (generally September 1st onward, and some even have early deadlines such as November). You will want to get your admissions packet (and the financial aid packet) from the college or institution early so you can pour carefully through it to assure you can get everything in time for their deadlines. Even though the college may take admission applications until late in the senior year (or even into the summer) be sure to get your admissions paperwork in early to snag the better financial aid packages and offerings which often have a deadline of February or March for a freshman entering in at fall term. Obviously the more competitive the college or program, the more likely they will fill quickly.

Even if you feel your child will take the community college route and skip the early fall and financial deadlines of 4-year institutions, be aware that our local community college (Portland Community College--PCC) has registration for next year's fall term classes sometime in mid-May, and your child will be required to take the new student placement tests and attend a student orientation BEFORE he/she can sign up for fall classes.  (Here, I'll give an insider's tip...the popular freshman classes, such as Biology 101 and Chemistry 100, fill very quickly.  So if your child is trying to get certain pre-requisites done by a certain time in order to apply to one of PCC's technical programs by a certain term, you may run into difficulty.  To avoid this difficulty, some choose to enroll for a simple summer class immediately after graduating from homeschool so that the child becomes matriculated into the system.  This will allow them to register as a returning student when they register for their fall classes thus being at the head of the line rather than entering as a new freshman student.  Summer classes register early May.  Fall classes register mid-May, so technically a student could register for a summer class to be considered a returning student for a fall class without having taken any of the summer class yet--but don't plan on just dropping the summer class--PCC will likely invalidate the fall registration). 

Commonly college admission packets require a certified high school transcript (which MUST be in a sealed, official envelope--also check with the college to see how many quarters they prefer a senior to have completed before they will accept the transcript), SAT/ACT test scores sent directly to them; letters of reference (often in sealed envelopes); a student essay stating why the student desires to go to this college/study this field/ and what their goals are, etc.; as well as a resume/honors/activities sheet listing special honors, jobs, community service, and extracurricular activities or interests (which is very important--colleges like to see that students have done more than just the academics). If applying to several colleges, you may want to buy seperate expandable accordian folders to keep all the paperwork for that college together (which can surprisingly "mushroom" quickly). Be sure to make enough copies of the paperwork that will be put in every packet (such as tax information) and KEEP COPIES of your application papers (except those in sealed envelopes which you can't open)! Use an addressed catalog envelope to "catch" all the final documents as they become ready to send in before the deadline.


6. Prepare Financial Aid Paperwork**: When you picked up your admissions packet, you should have also picked up the institution's scholarship and financial aid materials. It is best to first look through the specific college's offerings and what their requirements and deadlines are for their "merit" or special scholarships (free money given to students determined by SAT/ACT scores, grade point average, and possibly specific activities such as sports or music, etc.).

Early in January of the senior year (as soon as you get or can recreate that previous year's tax records), if your family desires federal financial aid (which is based upon financial need), you should file the US Educational Department's FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) . This application determines how much federal grant (free) and low-interest student loan (required to be repaid) money your family is eligible for. The FAFSA determination is sent to your child's colleges of choice who use it to help determine their complete financial aid package. Although the deadline for the FAFSA is only July prior to the fall term for entering college (just 2 months before most colleges start in September), do not wait that long! Most of the money has been handed out long before then! To estimate what your family might receive from federal aid, go to the estimator provided by Financial Aid.Org. 

When you or your homeschooled child fills out the FAFSA application, be sure to check the box "diploma" indicating your child has a "legal" diploma recognized by his state even if you are doing a home diploma.  By checking this "diploma" box, your student self-certifies he has met the state's legal educational requirements for secondary schooling (which he has done under Homeschool Laws in Oregon).  This is the same as an institutional student who would also check the "diploma" box self-certifying he has completed such legal requirements through his institutional school.  Doing this helps insure the FAFSA department and receiving colleges view your homeschooled student equally with institutional students for holding a "legal" diploma. (Which by law, they are required to do...see HSLDA comment paragraph above in Home Diploma v. Transcript Service regarding the confusion over home diplomas and federal aid.)

Because those that have their paperwork finished first get the dollars first, it is generally recommended to file the FAFSA as early as possible in January to get your student into the system and most importantly to get your FAFSA id all of which takes a little time. Often people will use estimates from a prior tax year or from their current paystubs and bank statements.  If you use estimated numbers, file your final return as soon as possible (don't wait until April 15th!), because if any of the significant numbers change (such as the AGI figure), you will be required to file an amendment (FAFSA kicks it back after you file your final tax returns with IRS if numbers are different).  Your FAFSA application will be incomplete until the amendment is done.  This amendment will likely cause your file to be chosen for verification meaning you will have to provide all sorts of financial documents (final tax return, W-2, etc.) to the college institution to validate your numbers on the FAFSA, all the while your student's file is pending process due to incompletion.  (Each FAFSA application has a certain percentage chance of being picked by random for verification, kicking a FAFSA through again on amendment increases your chances of having your application chosen for validation...ours was chosen for validation on a FAFSA required amendment for a $20 difference on our AGI, sigh. Thankfully we had filed our tax final early February and had time to rectify all this and still make the financial deadlines of our college.)

Therefore another really helpful site is TaxAct. It is a free, but recommended by the IRS, tax preparation and filing site.  What is especially helpful (other than the computerized tax advice and walk through of all the forms) is that if you pay for the upgraded Deluxe version ($9.95 at this time), TaxAct will prepare a FAFSA worksheet based upon your Federal return (even before you file your Federal return). You could create an account very early in January, work through your estimated figures for your Federal tax return, rework things as more information came in during January, and the computer will automatically update everything. When completed with your return, you can then print off the TaxAct FAFSA worksheet to help you complete your FAFSA application (at the FAFSA website). If you don't want to use TaxAct to electronically file your taxes, you could still print your papers out and file on your own or take them to your tax accountant. (E-filing with TaxAct was a great help for us for the FAFSA application and getting our final tax return through quickly!). If you pay for the upgraded TaxAct, there are also excellent helps and information about the Hope Credit, Lifetime Learning Credit, and the Federal Tuition and Fees Deduction as you try to hopefully recoup some of that college cost in tax refund or tax reduction. TaxAct will even run your return in all 3 ways to determine which education deduction or credit works best for your situation. (But we're not a tax accountant so we are not attempting  to advise anyone regarding their taxes or how to treat educational costs!  See your tax consultant!)

Don't forget to try for other scholarships too! Scholarships are FREE money that does not have to be repaid or given back (although often there are requirements for renewing scholarships like keeping a certain grade point average or staying in a certain major, etc.) Numerous scholarships can be applied for in the junior year of high school, or earlier! Begin with local scholarships generally offered by the organizations your family or child is a member of (4H, FFA, Job's Daughters, Railroad workers, dad's employer, your church, etc.) then progress to the state and national ones which are harder to get but not impossible! Several good organizations that can help you locate these state and national scholarships are: Oregon's Student Assistance Commission; Fastweb; Broke Scholar; Scholarship Resource Network; Fund for Theological Education, and Student Aid (which helps with federally sponsored student aid as well as scholarships). Broke Scholar also offers helpful advice on writing the all important essays, gathering references, and doing interviews.

Finally, be wary of scholarship scams. If you are told that: a scholarship broker wants money to find you a scholarship, or guarantees they will get you a scholarship, or they claim you can't get the information elsewhere, or they ask for your credit card number or bank account to hold the scholarship, or they tell you they'll do ALL the work, or you've been selected by a national foundation or contest that you never applied for or entered... IT IS A FRAUD. (Information provided by Broke Scholar and Rebecca Trelor at Multnomah Bible College seminar).


7. Trust God for His Provision and Direction: By the spring term of your child's senior year hopefully all you have left to do is wait for the acceptance letters and financial aid offers to come in. (If you kept good records and completed the admissions processes carefully within the deadlines, your child's chances of being admitted are very good--almost a certainty with state colleges if their SAT/ACT minimum score level has been met or with the community college if you've met their application/placement deadlines).

However, if your family was not able to proceed in the pathway laid out above, or a favorite college or hoped for financial aid packet did not come through, remember God is in control of our lives and trust in His guidance and timing.  Many of us ended up on completely different roads than those we first thought we'd be on, and there are many ways to achieve your academic purposes!

Here a reminder again--it is very important through this application process and during these college years that your child, and yourself as a parent, keep a God-centered and balanced perspective for their life. Don't toss out all the commonsense principles your family held to during homeschooling just because your child has entered the college years.

While there are a number of helpful courses to be found in college, college academics are not what life's all about, and the college campus nor even the degree it may bestow do not make up the center of the universe.  True education is life-long, whole-life discipleship developing one's talents before God, in His Truths, for His Glory--and that does not require an institutional college program with a textbook (nor, gasp, even a college degree).  Our lives should be patterned after our Lord and His Divine purpose for our life and talents.  Also, many useful skills are learned outside of the college campus including many "real" job skills (most of us know it's not what we learned in college but what we learned afterwards that really taught us how to do a job or develop a talent--unfortunately in our society today a number of vocations require that piece of college paper called a degree).

Further, help your children remain committed to their family relationships (both their physical family and church family) during these passing college years.  College friends mostly come and go, but their family relationships will remain.

While these are definitely emerging years for our children as young adults as they begin to tackle life's challenges on a more mature footing, make sure your adult-child is still provided with a support team to help them remain steadfast in their commitment to God and His unfailing Word especially if they are going to a secular institution that will challenge and attack their core values on a daily basis.  We as Christians are "not to be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of our minds."  Be sure they have trusted, mature, spiritually-wise counselors to regularly discuss issues and pray with as they encounter the many spiritual and intellectual battles that will crop up.  Do not be afraid to remain close to your adult-children while they are at college as they will need your counsel more than ever--even, if able, remaining physically close.  Students commuting to college while living at home can save a lot of money, avoid the questionable practices and distractions in many dormatories, and keep their most trusted support group in tact which can anchor them during these years when they are emerging as young adults and internalizing His Truths as their own.

For Further Information about Homeschoolers on the College/Career Path:
Debra Bell has some good articles on her site about the college path, career choices, apprenticeships and internships as does Dorothy Karman at Oregon's Oceanetwork. Also HSLDA (the Homeschool Legal Defense Association) has numerous articles in its Colleges and Universities site.  HSLDA also has a Homeschooling Through Highschool Newsletter.

In summary, here's a Timeline recap of the "common" steps to college 

(But not the only way! Let the Lord direct your paths!): 

7th-8th Grades 

Pray and research careers/vocations, institutions/colleges, record keeping/transcript methods (especially if any high school work is done in 7th or 8th grades). Write or email college admissions departments for homeschooler requirements and what they like to see in their "ideal" student for entrance. Begin planning what the high school basic core and elective structure should look like to optimize high school for your child.


8th-9th Grade

Begin portfolio and high school record keeping. Set overall high school goals.

10th Grade

Take PSAT if not used for merit scholarship but SAT prep.Gather scholarship information.

11th Grade

Take PSAT if to be used for merit scholarship. Take SAT or ACT. Look for scholarships. Visit colleges and gather admissions, scholarship, and financial aid paperwork for 12th grade submission noting all important deadlines as each college varies.

12th Grade

Fall Take SAT or ACT again (if needed to improve scores). Begin college's admissions/scholarship paperwork.

Jan. File FAFSA for federal financial aid.  File final tax returns as soon as able. 

Feb/Mar  Common deadline for many college financial aid paperwork and scholarship applications.

April/early May  If enrolling in our local Portland Community College, fill out enrollment, take the PCC new student placement test and attend the required orientation (BOTH must be completed before you can register for classes).  Registration deadlines are early-May for PCC summer class registration, and Mid-May for PCC fall class registration. Consider registering for a summer class to get in line as a returning student for fall class registration if your student will need to complete pre-requisites for a PCC technology program application deadline.

Examine college/vocational acceptance offers.

(**Much of the college admissions and financial aid application process information was learned at a seminar given by Rebecca Treloar at the August 2006 "Senior Sneak Peek" at Multnomah Bible College. The balance has come from our family's own experience in graduating 2 from homeschool high school and 1 more to go!).

Blessings,
Tammy Arp
The CHOC Board

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