Homeschool Enrollment in Colleges and Universities

In the past, homeschoolers have had to fight to gain admission to many colleges and universities because many institutions simply did not fully understand the benefits of a home education or were confused about eligibility requirements for homeschoolers.

Home School Legal Defense Association began working to improve this situation and helped amend the Higher Education Act of 1998, which now prohibits colleges and universities that receive federal funds from requiring homeschool students who seek federal financial aid to take a GED or an ability to benefit test.

This legislation ushered in a new era of acceptance of homeschool graduates and over time more and more colleges and universities began to embrace homeschool graduates.

In 2006, the overwhelming majority of colleges and universities now have either a dedicated homeschool admissions officer or a homeschool admissions policy. In fact, since many colleges have experienced the quality of homeschoolers they often actively pursue homeschooled students.

While there are still colleges and universities that discriminate against homeschoolers, their numbers are decreasing with each passing year.

If you are interested in a college or university for your child, call the admissions office and ask them about their policy for homeschool students. If it appears that the college or university has a discriminatory policy, please call HSLDA for advice. The Amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1998 only prohibit discrimination over federal financial aid, so some colleges still have their own internal discriminatory admission policies. In cases such as this, HSLDA will work to persuade the college or university to change their policy.

HSLDA maintained a list of homeschool admission policies from many colleges and universities, and classified them on a three-tier scale.

National Center for Home Education's Recommended College Admission Policies

• Homeschool graduates seeking admission to your college should take one of the two major college entrance exams, the SAT or ACT. Homeschool graduates should not be required to score any higher than publicly or privately schooled graduates.

Homeschoolers should not be required to take any additional SAT II exams in specific subjects since this is an unnecessary roadblock. Colleges will discourage homeschoolers from seeking admission by holding them to this unreasonable standard. SAT or ACT test scores are more than enough to show academic competence.

• Homeschoolers should produce a transcript demonstrating completion of high school. However, colleges should have flexible guidelines for these records and documentation of basic credit hours. We urge that colleges supply homeschoolers with a homeschool credit evaluation form that may be completed in lieu of a transcript.

Colleges should recognize the validity of homeschool high school diplomas issued by the student's parents. Parents should be recognized as capable of evaluating their students' academic competence and satisfactory completion of high school.

Since homeschoolers do not have access to, nor want to obtain accredited diplomas, colleges should not require such documentation. Accreditation does nothing to measure a student's knowledge or what he was taught, it only reflects where he was taught.

Homeschool students should not be required to produce a GED in order to gain admission to college. A GED carries the stigma of being a high school dropout. Homeschool graduates are not dropouts, but talented, conscientious students who have completed their high school education. It is important to note that the amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1998, drafted by HSLDA, have specifically changed the requirements for homeschool students receiving financial aid. This law prohibits colleges that receive federal funds from requiring homeschool students seeking federal financial aid to take a GED or an ability to benefit test.

• A bibliography of high school literature and an essay written by the student are two admission criteria for accurately evaluating a student's exposure and thinking skills.

• Extra-curricular activities and interviews are two additional ways to focus on overall student proficiency and leadership qualities