Does home schooling prepare students for college?

Question

Personally, I think high school does a crappy job preparing people for college. But my guess is that home schooling would do an even worse job. Any stats on the effectiveness of one over the other?

Answer 1

I think that it does a good job, if you think about it, homeschooling teaches kids to learn on their own, how to find answers, and to be in charge of their education. My anthropology professor told us on our first day of class, "The hardest part of college is that you don't have to go." and this really rang true for me. Because in college, YOU DONT have to go. There is no principal telling you you need to be in class on on campus security making you be somewhere. Rather you are reliant on your own will, determination, and smarts to do the right thing, do your homework, and be active in your learning.

There are many statistics supporting homeschooling and kids going to college from this form of education and statistically they do better than both their PRIVATE and PUBLIC school counterparts!

http://www.chec.org/Legislative/News/Hom...

http://www.hslda.org/research/default.as...

http://www.naturalfamilyhome.com/homesch...

and there's more.

Also for preparing for college, many homeschooling families actually take classes to prepare them for college.

Answer 2

I doubt there are any good stats, because a significant portion of home-schooling families are not targeting college or are under the radar (thus any statistics would be skewed).

In my area, most home-schoolers with any interest in college enter at age 16 and I've not heard of any who have failed.  And I know quite a few families in the area. .

Answer 3

Unfortunately many of the statistics do paint a pretty sad picture of how little most high school graduates are prepared for regular college life.

Here are some news articles:

http://www.studentsfirst.us/resourcecent...

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/...

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/education...

Some added home school statistics:

http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/20...

http://www.nheri.org/

However, this does not mean that there are no success stories.

Home schooling prepares a youngster better because they can learn at their own pace, and if something does not click they can stay on it until it does.

On the other hand if it comes natural, they move on without having to wait for the rest of a class to catch up.

Home schoolers learn very quickly to rely on their own skills to find the answers, and materials needed to do the job, they are independent, and motivated internally.

Believe it or not this is a key ingredient, since most students; at least those whom I tutored many years ago had often only one question, "what do I do next"?

I always asked, "what do you think you should do next"? answer, "I do not know"..

I think you get the picture.

Answer 4

Actually, many colleges actively SEEK homeschoolers, because their hardworking and independent natures make them better prepared

Answer 5

The US spends about $3.7 billion in remedial courses for public high school students. Yeah, that's a crappy job all right. According to the quote below, about 35% of students who attend public high school will actually be prepared fr college. Unfortunately 80% of students will attempt, but 54% of students who need remedial education will drop college. Clear as mud? 59% of high school graduates will attend college and succeed.

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:66Ja...

"Of those who enter high school, only about 70 percent will graduate—one of the lowest rates among industrialized nations (Greene & Winters, 2006). As important, however, is the fact that, of those who do receive a diploma, only half are academically prepared for postsecondary education (Greene & Winters, 2005). A recent study of high school juniors and seniors taking the ACT college entrance exam confirms this; half of the students were ready for college-level reading assignments in core subjects like math, history, science, and English (ACT, 2006)."

According to other studies, approximately the same amount of homeschoolers (62%) will attend college and will succeed. This is impressive in light of historical discrimination against homeschoolers, as recent as 2003, states have passed legislation stating that universities may not discriminate against students who are home or private schooled. Until then, homeschooled students were required to undergo additional testing and provide resources that were not mandatory for public schooled students.

http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00...

Answer 6

Depends on the currulicum.  I know a lot of martial artists I take class with who are home schooled or were home schooled.  One girl is very bright.  She went to a community college for the first year and a half, and now is going to MS State, to become a veternian.

On the down side, most of these kids are homeschooled and only socialize in a church setting, or with people of the same faith, and this isn't the reality.  So often when the child is finally away in college, they have a hard time with reality.  Often peer pressure, and things can be very hard for them to deal with.

Public school didn't help me any.  I graduated 61 of 192 but they never helped me with college prep.  I had no idea what to study in college, had no direction of how colleges transfer / do not transfer to others, etc.

Long story short, though I graduted with an 84.94% high school GPA, my community college hours when I graduated were at a 3.41 and my university, though I have not finished was at a 3.0.  However, I changed majors twice in community college, and once in the university.  I'm 29 and still am unsure what I want to do.  I know a few things, but have no ideas of careers.

I think it just depends on the currulicum for the home schooing, and also where the child can socialize.

Answer 7

Most home schooled kids are fully prepared for college courses and do wonderfully. Like any education you have those that excel and those that fail. That being said colleges search out home schooled kids because for the most part they are more prepared and do better than public schooled kids. Why? Simply because home school kids are used to studying alone and therefore ready to take on college. I won't say public schools are the worst thing parents can do but there are better options.

Answer 8

Most of the homeschoolers I know adjusted well to college, and the majority of them actually started it early. My teen started taking college courses part-time at 15, she's got a 3.8 GPA and will be getting her AA degree and graduating 12th grade within a few short months of each other.

I think homeschoolers do well in college because homeschoolers are used to being responsible for their own education rather than being taken by the hand and led through it. College is a more self-directed approach, and homeschoolers are used to being self-directed.

College admission officers and professors have claimed to have success with homeschoolers... that's why even Ivy League accept them. Many colleges actively recruit homeschoolers, too... they probably wouldn't bother if homeschoolers were consistently a problem.

You might find this as interesting reading on the topic. Just to let you know, it is an ed.gov site, not a homeschooling: website.http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/eri...

Answer 9

As a homeschooled senior in high school, I feel that homeschooling can prepare students for college, and for life in general.  

However, a student will not succeed just because they are homeschooled.  Whether they succeed or fail is dictated partly by the student and partly by the parents.  If neither party is interested in working hard on school work, then that child will not do well in any academic setting.

Social skills are also dictated by the parent and the child, not because they are homeschooled.  If the parent chooses to isolate their child, then the child will have a difficult time getting along with others later in life.  If the child chooses to isolate himself, then the parent can "socialize" their child, but with little effect.

The few statistics I could point to regarding standardized tests are somewhat biased in that the homeschoolers who take such tests generally care more about academics.  

For success stories, I offer my brothers.  My oldest brother recently graduated for the University of Pittsburgh with a dual major in Computer Science and Business.  My other brother is currently at Pitt, pursuing a double-degree in Business and Economics.  Both of my brothers were in Pitt's Honors College, one of the most highly ranked honors colleges in the United States.  

As far social skills are concerned, my oldest brother is an introvert, so socialization wasn't a big priority, and my other brother is an extrovert who made more friends in his first year than my oldest brother ever made at Pitt.

I want to say again that the success of any one homeschooler is dependent on the motivation of the child and the parents.

Answer 10

College studies show the typical homeschooler is 1-3 grade ahead of brick schools by age 9 or 10.

Kids here get into Stanford by age 16 or 17.

Since homeschool REQUIRES a student be a self-starter and motivated, they tend to do better in college.  They learn to open books on their own without being told to.  They read further in the books.  Complete the work sooner.

High school DOES prep you for the college level work, but not the approach or speed or depth.  High schools can be lame, but to tell you the truth it's mostly the students who are lame.

When I was researching an article for publication I had just visited two other libraries and was now on my third and had photocopies reams of background information and made made notices.  All for a 2,500 word technical piece.

This girl on the other side of the stacks was complaining to her friend:

My history professor wants seven references on this paper!

I almost fell laughing at that one!

Answer 11

Homeschool for sure. I've experienced both homeschooling and public high school, and homeschooling has done wonders for me. You learn to be so self-motivated, and to take initiative and advocate for yourself without being spoon fed information and instructions all the time or having a guidance councilor do all the decision making for you. You also get a better idea of what the real world is like... of having to deal with all sorts of people on a daily basis, and not just the same bunch of people all grouped together by age and academic level. You learn how to work with people older, younger, more, and less advanced, and homeschoolers tend to develop a stronger sense of self and belonging in their world, as well as a greater level of confidence. Homeschoolers also have more time for self-discovery, and tend to be very good at adapting their study habits to fit their learning style, instead of just studying the way they're told to and never doing anything extra. We know what works best for us, and we can get a lot out of all sorts of situations because of it. Homeschoolers also get the real life experiences needed for adult life... They get out in the real world more often (since the bulk of their waking hours isn't spent either in school or in their house) and often take on many adult responsibilities... helping with chores, meals, siblings, learning important skills like budgeting, balancing a check book, handling their own college applications, college research, test registration, and so on, rather than having it done for them behind the closed door of a councilor's office. Some homeschool students even take a great deal of responsibility for researching curiculum and finding the cources they need and the programs that will work the best. They also learn how to socialize properly with all sorts of people, and how to find these people and social opportunities, rather than having them forced upon them and socializing out of necessity.

Answer 12

It all depends on THE PARENTS and the CURRICULUM. Some schools and\or parents (public school) don't have good college prep programs or advisory programs. Some are very excellent. There's a lot of public-schooled graduates who are really careless in college, and some are really ready. IT ALL DEPENDS. Some homeschoolers DON'T prepare there kids, but a lot do! I and my siblings were taught about different degrees and dual-enrolled at community colleges in our junior and senior years.

Answer 13

I can only give you anecdotal evidence of the incompetency of home schooling.  The youngsters I met mostly were not even satisfactory in academic achievement while actually being at a qualification level to go on for tertiary studies would be totally out of the reach of the youngsters I met.  I had belonged to a church group where home schooling was popular.  Only one family did well.  So many other families I knew, their children were so far behind academically and in general that I was worried for their futures.  I was urged by some to home school my children.  When I saw the examples I have mentioned, I decided my own children should stay in the state school system.  I do not think now in hindsight of more than 10 years that I chose wrongly.

Kind regards

Lisa

Answer 14

I'm not sure of the stats on that, I have a lot of friends that were home schooled, and they did horrible in college.  All of them were home schooled until they graduated, and when they went to college, they didn't last a semester.  They were book smart enough, but they lacked the social skills that were necessary for being a successful college student.  Others may disagree with me, but this is from my own observations of my own friends.  I think that it is good for home schooled kids to be integrated into some sort of program at a high school, so that they learn a little bit about  the real world, that they don't usually get at home.