Homeschooling Gifted Teens: Preparing for College

If your teen enrolls in classes at a community or four-year college, continuing attendance may be all that’s required for admission as a full-time student at a four-year college or university. At most schools, an applicant’s admission depends solely on her college record after some number of units has been completed. This number ranges from 12 to 60 semester units.

If your teen is preparing for full-time admission to a four-year college without first completing a substantial amount of college coursework, his preparation may or may not be traditional. Well-documented, good work in traditional high school subjects can provide the basis for college admission. This work can be done independently and in schools, with tutors and mentors, through distance learning, and in special programs for the gifted.

If traditional subjects do not engage your gifted teen’s interests and passions, a persuasive presentation of his or her abilities and accomplishments in other areas can often lead to college admission. Careful, detailed documentation of travel, volunteer work, employment, independent learning, community involvement, work with tutors and mentors, and participation in special programs for the gifted can form the core of a successful college application. Clear indications of academic ability should also be a matter of record, and this will most likely include at least minimal coursework in traditional academic subjects. Test scores, written testimony from experts, and work samples can form a substantial part of the record.

Gifted teens often take a path that leads to early college admission, and this sometimes requires early graduation from high school. (http://www.hsc.org/chaos/teens/tests.php and http://www.hsc.org/chaos/teens/highschool_diploma.php)

 Your teen may not want to go directly to college. Her interests and talents might best be pursued elsewhere; a college degree is not always necessary for personal fulfillment and high achievement. However, if that is the path they choose to pursue,  there are a number of ways for homeschooled gifted teens to make a smooth, successful transition to college.