Home Schooling and College

As children grow out of their little pants and are ready to begin their teens, many parents wonder if they should continue with the home schooling program. They fear that home schooling and college may not be a good mix when it comes to college opportunities, and may not be give the same consideration as those that were public educated.

Some opponents argue that home education curricula often exclude critical subjects and isolate the student from the rest of society, or presents them with their parents' ideological world views - especially religious ones - rather than the world views (characterized as secular humanism) sanctioned to be taught at state schools.

Many fears of this kind were put to rest when 2 home schooled boys got admission into Harvard. Harvard does not require a high school diploma for gaining admission to their degree program. Many colleges are more interested in the knowledge and behavior of the home schooled children rather than their high school diplomas. In fact, other things being similar many colleges prefer home schoolers because of the diversity and richness they bring to their college life.

Increasingly, colleges are recruiting home-educated students; many colleges accept equivalency diplomas as well as parent statements and portfolios of student work as admission criteria; others also require SATs or other standardized tests.

Admission requirements may vary. While some colleges require the child to appear for the SAT, others may need a general equivalency diploma. And some may not care for any tests at all. The criterion may vary depending on the college that you wish to apply to. But, college courses really do not require any high school background or special training.

It is common to come across parents who frantically try to shift out their home school children to high schools because they fear unavailability of college admissions. But college admissions are open to all educated individuals, regardless of whether they are educated at home or at a public school.