My two sons graduated the same year from homeschool high school. They were both invited to compete in an all-day, full-tuition scholarship competition at their first choice university. Out of 108 students who competed for those ten full-tuition scholarships, two of the winners were homeschoolers. Both were mine. I found myself wondering, “How did that happen?” I believe we received scholarships because of four homeschool advantages: curriculum choice, test preparation, comprehensive records, and character development. These homeschool advantages are available to all families that homeschool through high school.
Homeschool Advantage #1 – Curriculum Choice
Many homeschoolers have a very rigorous academic plan. It doesn’t matter if they choose to unschool or if they follow a classical education model. Homeschoolers will succeed when they learn on purpose. They will succeed when they do the “next thing”—when they keep moving forward in their homeschool journey. They can invest their money and their time in their weaker areas, as well as their areas of strength. Homeschoolers have the advantage with curriculum. We can make sure ours is tailor-made to suit our students. We can make sure they are always challenged but that they completely understand concepts before moving on. We can provide broad exposure to a variety of subjects.
Homeschool Advantage #2 – Test Preparation
My sons had great test scores because we incorporated test prep into our regular homeschool day. I knew that increased test scores meant increased scholarship money, so we worked on it. First we had both children take a practice test to choose the best college admission test for each child. Then we purchased the right materials from these recommended study guides. My children practiced one section of the test two or three times a week. Test prep is not a waste of time. Students learn vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, and they get a great math review. Test prep is a homeschool advantage when homeschoolers incorporate it into part of their curriculum and study it during school hours.
Homeschool Advantage #3 – Comprehensive Records
When we applied for admission, I gave the colleges a lot of information. Many homeschoolers prefer to keep their educational information private. I understand that. But we give them information about our homeschool in the hopes they will give our children admission and scholarships. The minimum information they need is an official homeschool transcript. I chose to provide more information than the minimum, and it really helped. For each class on the transcript, I wrote course descriptions, listed the books read, and documented how I graded the class. There is a homeschool advantage regarding educational information; we control our homeschool records, and we can determine exactly how much information we provide to colleges. Our comprehensive homeschool records were extremely successful, and I have helped thousands of other families create their own homeschool records with the Comprehensive Record Solution.
Homeschool Advantage #4 – Character Development
Character is the fourth reason I believe we were given great scholarships. My sons were invited to participate in the scholarship competition at Seattle Pacific University because of their comprehensive records and their awesome test scores, but that’s not why they won. At the time, I was nervous about them competing in something so intense for an entire day, but the kids had fun. When they got home, they both said, “I don’t know if I won, but I had a great time! All the kids were so nice!”
Later I was told that the evaluators were looking for character. The students were observed when they walked between events and thought nobody was looking. Were they friendly and kind to others? How did they interact with their peers? When character and socialization are evaluated, we have the homeschool advantage. We can mold and shape the character of our children while they are at home with us, instead of allowing them to conform to their peers.
So how did that happen? How did both our children win full tuition scholarships? Simple: we homeschooled them through high school!
Client Successes
Our clients share the successes they experienced as they made the most of the homeschool advantage. You can too! We’re here to support your journey.
“The Dean of Admissions complemented Ethan a few times (then me, too, after the interview) on our records. I would not have had homeschool records like that without your training and assistance, so I need to pass that compliment on to you! He wanted to show the records to others in the department and said something about wishing he got more than a transcript from other students as well. I got the impression that he was very curious about homeschoolers, probably because of all the applications he’s been receiving.” ~ Ann in CT
“The Comprehensive Record Solution has been huge in helping me wrap my brain around this high school record bit by bit. I’m so glad my daughter is just a freshman so I can plug in her accomplishments as we go, and I won’t be completely overwhelmed in four years.” ~ Julie in TN
“I don’t know how often you hear this (probably not often enough), but what you do is a wonderful ministry. I gleaned wonderful insight from your seminars. Instead of grading my son solely on his test scores, I will now look at “the whole picture!” It’ll change everything! The information on transcripts was so simple and straightforward that I’m actually looking forward to getting started. I’ve been avoiding writing my course descriptions until now, too. But now I’m more encouraged, more energized, and more motivated than ever before, thanks to you. I don’t feel discouraged any longer in regards to my 14-year old’s lack of motivation. “This too shall pass.” God truly is so faithful in answering prayers, because He knows my every need. Thank you for allowing God to use you to touch my life and the lives of my children. I’ll be telling anyone who will listen about what incredible resources you’ve provided.” ~ Susan in KY
