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Link to The Home School Mom

Navigating Online Degree Programs

Accredited Online Degrees - If your students are interested in obtaining a college degree but will not be "going away" to school, this list of online colleges offering accredited degrees will be of interest to you. The site explains how online degree programs work as well as lists

List of diploma mills and unaccredited colleges - Although this page is geared toward Oregon, its list of unaccredited colleges and diploma mills is useful no matter what state you are from.

 

Books That Guide Through the Admissions Process

Homeschoolers' College Admissions Handbook: Preparing Your 12- to 18-Year-Old for a Smooth Transition - Book by by Cafi Cohen, Linda Dobson (Editor)

And What About College? : How Homeschooling Can Lead to Admissions to the Best Colleges & Universities - Book by Cafi Cohen, Patrick Farenga (Editor)

Miscellaneous Helps

In a Class by Themselves - Article in Stanford's alumni magazine about several homeschool students at the university as well as some details about Stanford's homeschool admissions policy.

National Junior Scholarship College Fair - "Each year NCSAA hosts three online Christian college fairs... Our spring event is specifically designed for high school juniors, and we’ll award one valuable scholarship to the Christian college of the junior’s choice. The timing of this fair coincides nicely with the time when most juniors begin to more seriously begin investigating and considering their options for college. Participating students in this fair can access easy-to-use tools to learn about and receive registration materials for college visitation days. These online college fairs are FREE for students and schools; there is no cost or obligation involved in participating in the events."

Is a college degree worthless? - Although the conclusion of this article (testing instead of diplomas) is questionable at best, the points raised about the value of a college degree are valid and deserve to be examined further. Perhaps 4 years spend exploring and developing entrepreneurship would better serve our young adults.

Dear Babs

Questions & answers about the college selection and admissions process

College for Students with Learning Disabilities?
Dear Babs, When my son was twelve, he was diagnosed with dyslexia and AD/HD. He is on medication and we have been helping him manage his schoolwork and daily stress with lots of coaching, prioritization, tutors, and scheduling. He has good grades and is capable of getting into a good college, but I am worried about [...]

Do I have legacy at Vanderbilt?
Dear Babs, My uncle is an alumnus at Vanderbilt University. I don’t know that much about the college, but I thought that if I have legacy, I should apply. What do you think? -Relatively Unsure — Dear Relatively, I hate to break it to you, but you are not a legacy through your uncle. College admissions departments that give preference [...]

Do I need to take the TOEFL?
Dear Babs, I am a high school student in New Jersey, and I will be sending in my college application this winter. I was born in Columbia, and English is my 2nd language. I am now an American citizen, but do I still have to take the TOEFL in order to get into college in America? -Bilingual [...]

What major do I put down on my college application
Dear Babs, I’m applying to colleges this winter, and I’m stumped. Some of my college applications ask me what I want to study, and I don’t know! What should I put down? Will they penalize me if I say I don’t know? Can I change my mind? -Majorless in Minnesota Dear Majorless, Don’t worry, you are not expected to [...]

What If I Accidentally Lied On My College Application?
Dear Babs, This past fall I was nominated for a All-State Academic Award. To the best of my knowledge, everyone who is nominated gets recognition (last year 67 people got it). And since I have well surpassed the requirements, I naturally added it to my awards on the common app. I have since sent three applications [...]

More Dear Babs...

High School Transcripts and College Admissions

Creating transcripts in preparation for college admissions doesn't have to be difficult! You can do it yourself and this wonderful book by Lee Binz can help. Lee is a regular homeschool mom who two years ago struck gold. She discovered how to convert four years of independent homeschooling into transcripts that earned both of her sons full-tuition scholarships at their first choice university! The Easy Truth about Homeschool Transcripts will guide you through the process of creating high school transcripts using the same method that Lee used for her sons.

"The Easy Truth about Homeschool Transcripts is so easy, I'm actually excited to sit down and create my son's transcripts! If you're homeschooling through high school, this book will remove all your fears around credits, course descriptions, and grades, and will help you translate your student's homeschool work into the language of college admissions officers! An awesome tool for all homeschooling parents!" -- Jill in WA

For more information, visit Lee's website, The Easy Truth about Homeschool Transcripts.

Articles

7 Key Questions to Ask a College Admissions Officer - You've heard, endlessly, about the high level of competition for plum spots at state universities and big name colleges alike. Increasingly, being selected for admission is about standing out. How can you “shine” at those upcoming college fairs, college nights, and college interviews?

9 Easy Steps: High School Graduation Checklist - Parents can provide a college preparation during high school for every student, which can benefit every child. If they ultimately don’t go to college, then your homeschool education will be the only education they get. Make it great! They’ll be well prepared for life and their civic responsibilities. Plus, if they ever change their mind and decide to go to college, they will have a much easier time getting in. On the other hand, some parents know early on that their children are college bound. For them, a college prep education can influence the quality of the colleges they get admitted to. College preparation can benefit everyone.

Enjoy It While You Have It! - Writing my book Life Prep for Homeschooled Teenagers four years ago helped me through a difficult time of my life: letting go of our two oldest children. Over the course of three weeks, our daughter moved to the city and our son left for college. After homeschooling them all of their lives, it was a tough transition for me.

Helping Colleges to Choose YOU - I realize that many of you reading this letter may not have high school age children or maybe even college bound students. My hope is that the information that is included in these college information articles will be helpful to all our students. The ideas included could apply to most jobs as well. After all, a college is a student's job for a few years!

Homeschooling High School - Does the idea of homeschooling your high schooler sound scary and uncharted to you? Just as homeschooling is an adventure no matter what grade or age level, homeschooling for high school can sound intimidating! Please know that many, many families have successfully (and happily!) completed this chapter of education for one or more of their children. Speaking as a parent who has done this, these capstone years are do-able, really fun, easier, and more rewarding than our family imagined they’d be. What’s wonderful is that just as in the other years, you can find courses and help them prepare for their future in ways that are the best fit for each of your children.

Preparing for College - “You can’t prepare for the SAT.” Educational Testing Service, the company that writes the SAT, has worked hard to convince people that they cannot improve their scores by studying for the test. But a half a million students disagree and say that you can substantially improve your scores by using the popular study aids that are available.

The Big Transition: Homeschool to College - This is the time of year when homeschooling parents traditionally begin contemplating next year. Parents of 8th graders may be terrified as they consider what they are going to do next year for high school. They might wonder whether they measure up academically; if they're capable of leading their children through high school and preparing them for college. Even as their high schoolers pursue college dreams, parents often speculate whether their kids will be able to adjust to the rigors and social climate of college after being at home for high school. Understanding the latest research on this topic could be reassuring for both parents and students!

Will Secular College Undo What You Have Done? - One of our purposes in homeschooling is to prepare our children for "their futures stations in life" - whatever those may be, and which will obviously involve many different kinds of "preparation," depending on what the specific "future station" will be. This may or may not include college - Christian or secular. Any way you look at it, they will be going out into "the world" which is full of ungodly influences.