Homeschooled Voices

Category: Advice

  • Why Community Colleges Are an Excellent Choice for Homeschoolers

    Photo by RDNE Stock project: https://www.pexels.com/photo/group-of-people-standing-beside-a-building-7683745/

    Author: Steven

    In this article we will be examining why community colleges can be a great fit for both current homeschool students who desire opportunities for college credit via dual enrollment as well as former homeschool students who are past the typical high school age. Despite their at times negative reputation from the general public, community colleges offer several benefits for students who come from a homeschool background. 

    Community colleges offer excellent opportunities for personalized learning.

    Community colleges offer smaller class sizes than one will find at many large universities, especially for entry level courses. This article by Crown Counseling, explains that the average class sizes in community colleges tend to range from 25-35 students, while similar offerings at larger universities can be over 300. Given that most community colleges offer the same introductory (college freshmen and sophomore level) courses that universities do, one can get more out of them by being part of a smaller environment with instructors who are able to connect with each individual, rather than just being one face in a sea of many. 

    Similarly, community colleges also allow for different models for students to take classes, including in-person options during the standard school day timeframe, as well as evening and weekend options. Community colleges also offer plenty of opportunities for online and hybrid (mix of in-person and online) learning, with this article by Sara Weissman of Inside Higher Ed noting that online learning options have remained popular with students even after the Covid-19 pandemic subsided. This can open doors for you to start your college career without having to travel to a physical campus, which can be a major benefit for you depending on your situation. With that being said, if you are someone with a homeschool background who is interested in pursuing collegiate studies I would very strongly encourage you to do at least some of your classes in person. There is an element of connection with instructors and classmates that simply cannot be replicated virtually, and it can be especially helpful in courses in the STEM fields. I am a K-12 homeschool alum myself who earned a bachelors degree completely online and I am now back in school in-person (at a community college) to go into the medical field, so I am speaking from personal experience when I am making this recommendation. 

    Community colleges are significantly more affordable than public or private universities.

    One aspect of community colleges that many people do not realize is how affordable they can be when compared to other higher education options. In this article from the American Association of Community Colleges we find some average annual tuition costs for full-time students at different types of institutions for the 2023-2024 academic year:

    • Public 2-Year Colleges In-District (Community Colleges)-$3,990
    • Public 4-Year Colleges In-State ($11,260)
    • Public 4-Year Colleges Out-of-State ($29,150)
    • Private 4-Year Colleges ($41,450)

    As one can clearly see from this data, community colleges are the most affordable option in higher education by a long shot, especially when compared to going to school out-of-state or going to a private university. I have often suggested to people I know, homeschoolers, public schoolers, and private schoolers, that unless they have rich parents, a full-ride scholarship, or significant money from both scholarships and grants, starting out at a community college will be their best option financially. In addition, many community colleges offer plenty of scholarships and grants, which are financial aid options which you do not have to repay (unlike loans) which can help you fund your education. 

    Community colleges can help you if you come from a unique academic background or if you need remedial courses

    Many community colleges have a policy of open enrollment, which means that they accept anyone with a high school diploma or GED, as this piece by Sarah Wood of US News and World Report explains. Community colleges do not have the same competitive application cycle that other college and universities do, with many of them placing more emphasis on their own placement tests than they do on traditional college readiness standardized tests like the ACT or SAT. For example, if you test into needing to take a remedial math class but you are fine on everything else you can take a remedial math class while also taking college level English and History classes. Also, if your parents did not provide you with a high school transcript or diploma (4-year colleges and universities want both for admission directly from high school) then you will find that many community colleges will have programs to help you earn your GED before moving onto college level coursework. 

    In summary, I believe that community colleges are an excellent option for both former and current homeschoolers to further their education. I am someone who has been a community college student multiple times and I have found the instructors and material in them to be as rigorous and beneficial as in other academic settings. The benefits that they possess on the fronts of accessibility, affordability, and accommodation are significant. Whatever you might want to get out of your higher education journey, I strongly encourage to consider beginning it at your local community college. 

  • Navigating High School: My Advice for Homeschoolers

    Author: Grace

    Photo by Benoît Deschasaux on Unsplash

    As someone who has been out of high school for a few years, I have had time to reflect on my homeschooling experience. Some of it was good, but it’s hard not to wonder what could have gone differently and even feel regret about certain things. So, I wanted to share some advice for homeschooled teens.

    1. Make sure you’re prepared for whatever you want to do after high school.

    This is something in which I succeeded. I knew I wanted to go to college (and thankfully my parents supported this), so I completed four years of high school level math, science and writing to be academically prepared. I took SAT prep seriously, because getting the highest score I could would help prove my merit in college applications and make more scholarships available. Extracurriculars such as orchestra and volunteering were also useful. The only thing I regret is not taking any dual enrollment courses. At the time, I was not motivated to do this, but now I see that the practice with time management might have made me more ready for college.

    Before you graduate you should:

    • Make sure your parents are keeping a record of your schoolwork, grades, and extracurricular activities. If they aren’t, talk to them about it and do it yourself if necessary. No matter what you want to do, you should have evidence of your high school education!
    • Look up what the high school graduation requirements are in your state, and what is needed to pursue whatever higher education or training you may want to in the future.
    • Consider taking an SAT/ACT/GED test. I was able to register online to take the SAT at a public school. If you want to go to college, you will very likely need one of these.
    • Consider taking community college courses or something else (besides a homeschool co-op) that will get you experience in a real classroom setting.

    2. Learn from various sources

    I am grateful to have had access to the internet and the local library. This helped me expand my knowledge beyond my academically sound but sometimes biased homeschool materials. For example, astronomy books I checked out from the library discussed the big bang while my high school textbook didn’t. Everyone has biases, so make sure to explore both sides of issues.

    If you are concerned that your curriculums are very biased, you may want to ask your parents if you can find another one. I should have.

    3. Don’t be too isolated

    Try hard to make friends! I failed at this one. During the school year, I attended activities 2-3 times a week but never made close friends. Maybe more activities would have made friendships easier, but I didn’t know what else was available and felt my mom might not be excited to drive additional places. I wish I’d been more outgoing and tried to arrange more get-togethers outside of co-op. There were a few families I knew that actually lived in my neighborhood, but I still didn’t go over to their houses very often. It felt awkward, but I wish I’d tried harder. Now I am surrounded by peers at college, but that doesn’t replace the experience of not having close high school friends.

    Maybe my problems were just due to me being introverted, but it is easy to become isolated as a homeschooler. That is not just a stereotype. As a teen, I noticed that my mom never seemed to mind when activities were cancelled, as she was already busy taking care of a large family. She never seemed depressed by an empty schedule of nothing instead of seeing other people and doing fun classes. I don’t think my mom is an anomaly among homeschool parents either. During the pandemic, my homeschooled pen pal told me that her mom was happy she couldn’t be late for anything. Because there was nothing to be late for! Stay-at-home parents sometimes just want to stay home all the time, but being a stay-at-home teenager is not ideal. You should be in at least a few activities that allow free time for interacting with others your age. Only one of my activities (co-op) allowed that.

    Once a week is not enough time to form close friendships. Advocate for yourself if you feel bored or lonely!

    4. Consider your options.

    Homeschooling is not the only option. This may sound strange, but when I was a teen it never even occurred to me to seriously consider not homeschooling, or to ask my parents to attend school. I just assumed homeschooling was better and since my parents had never offered me the choice of doing something else that didn’t register in my brain as an option. Now that some of my siblings are in school, I can see that it is an option and always could have been. I am frustrated with myself for somehow not realizing this before, because now I will never know if attending school would have actually been worse for me, or if I would have liked it.

    If you have ever wanted to attend school, or are even curious about it, I recommend looking up schools in your area, and finding out their policies on accepting homeschoolers. Even if you only have a year or two left of high school, it is probably not too late.

    If you consider the options and decide homeschooling is still the best choice for you, then that’s great. However, if your parents won’t let you choose anything else then that is not okay. To find some possibly useful information, try visiting the Coalition for Responsible Home Education website. They have advice on what to do if you are struggling with academics or your home life, especially if your parents are not supportive.

    This is just what I’ve learned based on my personal experiences and research, and hopefully it’s useful to some of you readers. Every homeschooler is unique, but we all get an experience that is different from the mainstream. Homeschool curriculums are not the same as public school ones, and weekly activities are not the same as attending school every day. It is important to take advantage of the benefits of being homeschooled, while minimizing the potential downsides.