As a homeschool parent of current and former high school kids, one of the most annoying things I come across are posts
about how homeschooled kids and unschooled kids get into college by doing dual
enrollment or community college after homeschool. These articles will use the
fact that a homeschooled student was able to transfer from community college to
a four year college as evidence of the success of
homeschooling/unschooling. Are you
KIDDING me?! If a student is applying to
college after earning credits at a community college, then that student is
applying as a transfer student – NOT AS A HOMESCHOOLER. Going this route does not validate
homeschooling. In fact, it sends a message that homeschoolers had better take
community colleges – either by dual enrollment while in high school or after
high school – if they want to apply to a four year university.
If a student wants to do dual
enrollment or go to a community college
after completing homeschool high school, that can be an excellent decision for
many reasons. I am not arguing against
dual enrollment or attendance in a community college in general. I’m arguing
that there is a significant difference in applying to colleges as a homeschool
graduate vs as a transfer student who has earned college credit at a community
college.
When I first read that
unschoolers were being accepted to colleges, I was thrilled. It meant that if
colleges were open to unschooling then surely they must be open to other
methods like Waldorf and Charlotte Mason.
I was also very intrigued and downright delighted that unschoolers were getting
into colleges because that must mean
that more colleges were becoming flexible on their entrance requirements. Well, my delight has turned into contempt,
annoyance, and anger. Almost every
single post or study done on unschoolers going to college has nothing to do
with unschoolers being accepted to
college, but everything to do with TRANSFER STUDENTS being accepted. These students were accepted because of their
transfer credits – not because of a homeschool/unschool transcript.
I have yet to see ONE article on
unschooling that mentions acceptance into a four-year college without
mentioning earning community college credits. Again, there is nothing wrong
with earning these credits - either
during or after high school. In fact, it’s a very wise thing to do. It will
definitely help with applying to a four year college. It is cost-effective –
even free in most states if those credits are earned through dual enrollment.
One of
the reasons that I feel it is important
that there always be clarification on applying as a homeschooler vs a transfer
student is because of data and research collected on homeschoolers. There has
been a growing acceptance of homeschooling by many colleges and universities
over the years. If former homeschoolers are applying to colleges
as transfer students, then the ability for researchers or admissions counselors
to track and evaluate the success of homeschool students is diminished because
the student is not counted as a homeschool graduate. I’m not saying that all homeschoolers should
stop participating in dual enrollment, but this needs to at least be
acknowledged by the homeschool community. Is it too much to ask that an article on
homeschooling high school be absolutely clear and state that applying as
homeschooler/unschooler is different than applying as a transfer student?
As a (mostly) Charlotte Mason
homeschooling parent, it would be completely unethical for me to demonstrate
the success of this method of homeschooling in terms of college acceptance if
my child applied with community college credits. At the absolute most, I could argue that this
method of education sufficiently prepared my child to take the entrance exams
for community college classes.
I’m not arguing that
unschoolers, or any other homeschooler, shouldn’t do dual enrollment. However, there is a vulnerability in place when
a student applies as a homeschooler that is completely erased when a student
applies with community college credits or accredited high school credits. A homeschool diploma is legal and it is not
necessary to have an accredited diploma nor is it necessary to have college
credits, but colleges can still cast a suspicious eye on homeschool transcripts
and diplomas.
This all makes me very angry
because it can be difficult to know how to go about things like assigning
credits both for work of an academic nature and for interests pursued. If, as a homeschooler, you are buying or
using an established curriculum, then you have more of an assurance that what
your child is doing is sufficient.
However, when you leave that mold, the questions really abound. It is in this frame of mind that I went
looking for advice, mostly from unschooling resources, as to how to pursue and
present this style of learning. Even
though we aren’t unschoolers, we aren’t strictly Charlotte Mason homeschoolers.
There are some aspects of CM that weren’t pursued in high school, and other
interests were followed instead. But if
anyone was going to know how to go about presenting a non-traditionally
educated student, I figured that it simply had to be the unschoolers. I was so wrong. As I have written here, the advice given over
and over again is to get the community college credits. There is nothing on presenting oneself to a
college as an unschooler and soley as an unschooler. At most, there is this article https://unschoolrules.com/unschooling-high-school-transcript/ on turning unschooling experiences into a transcript. But the author’s
daughter was too young at the time of the post to have gone through the college
application process. So, while the post
is great with a lot of great suggestions, it hasn’t been through any practical
trial. What angers me is the pioneering
attitude of these unschool sites that talk about the success of unschooling,
but then go and rely on community college credits to validate them. I don’t see how that’s pioneering if they are
just following a prescribed path in the end.
