Home Schooling vs. public High school???

Question

When in high school is it better to go the homeschooling direction or the public school direction?

Would colleges look at home schoolers the same way as they do to people who attend regular school?

Are there any disadvantages being home schooled during high school if you want to go to college?

Do your parents have to be home and teach you, or is there a kind of program where you can teach yourself, without parents or a tutor?

Thank you for you input.

Answer 1

Your questions are all public school minded.

The first step to understanding home schooling is to stop thinking with the public school mentality.

AP classes, disadvantages "regular" school, all this is irrelevant.

Home schooling means that you find, and adjust  a curriculum, or course of study to suit your abilities, and learning style, at a level that is you.

You can also direct your main studies to the field you are most interested in; making it the main focus of your studies.

Your parents can facilitate, instruct, or teach, but there are independent courses that use DVD's and books.

A home school diploma is just as valid for any college as is a private, or public school piece of paper.

Colleges look at your SAT, and ACT scores, as well as a transcript; which by the way you can make up yourself, a portfolio, or record of your course of study, and materials/books used may be helpful as well.

You need to contact  the college of your choice, ask what they require, and work towards that.

If there are no high school level courses in the area that you want to study, take them at a local community, or regular college.

Colleges not only admit home schoolers, they actively recruit them.

Home schoolers also start college on an average of one to two years earlier than traditionally schooled students.

Answer 2

1.  Depends on your school.  If your school has no resources (chem labs, biology labs, radio station, drama department, TV station, newspaper0 the there is no difference, except better food, the ability to toilet without raising your hand and getting a hall pass.

2.  They often give homeschoolers an advantage

3.  Only as indicated by #1 and your parents not having $$$ to provide it.  Some schools have pro tools, S-VHS, Digital TV, full BAND and MUSIC departments, Drama Departments that put on stage plays.  You can't do that easily at home!

4.  You need a supervisor most of the time, but they DON'T have to teach you, it can come from software, virtual ware, books, etc.  You cannot be ALONE under the age of 16 or the law take action in case of EMERGNECY.   There is supposed to be an ADULT nearby to render help if a fire breaks out or a burgler walks in.  Otherwise it is a SOCIAL WELFARE issue

A baby sitter, an aunt, a neighbor, a sibbling over 16 is sufficient.

In MOST (not all) states below the age of 16 if something goes wrong and there is no one over the age of 16 ON PREMESES or CLOSE AT HAND it is considered CHILD NEGLECT and that is a serious crime.

So there "needs" to be a "reasonably responsible" person there.

A sibbling over 16 is sufficient, if they know enough to dial 911.

To be frank it has been established some 5 year olds are that responsible and have saved their mothers or fathers.  But that is ONLY in rare situations.

Most of the time you NEED someone to at least ATTEND to your REASONABLE SAFETY.

This is a manditory issue.  Kids 15, 14, 12 who DIE in a house fire alone with no adult, and the PARENTS get arrested for ENDANGERING A MINOR.

Even if a 15 year old saves them there will BE ISSUES TO FACE.

A 16 or 17 year old baby sitter is usually acceptable to society.

Answer 3

It really all depends on you.  Do you need the structure and daily accountability of a classroom?  Public or private school may be best for you.  Are you able to motivate yourself and research on your own?  Do you enjoy independent learning and like to go at your own speed?  Homeschooling may be the way to go.

Colleges actually openly court homeschoolers much of the time...like with grants and scholarships.  The university my son is looking at applying to in a few years has a scholarship fund set aside specifically for homeschool students.  Most colleges that I see at conventions are there specifically to enroll homeschoolers.

There are no disadvantages to homeschooling high school.  Actually, depending on where you live and how you learn, there can be many advantages.  You can take coursework that is specifically designed to your strengths and weaknesses, your learning style, your learning speed, and your future plans.

Your parents do not have to be home to tutor you if you are old enough to be home by yourself.  You can either set up coursework with them and be accountable to them for completing it each day/week, or you can take courses through an online school where you are accountable to an instructor.  Again, it just depends on you.

Yes, you can take AP and CLEP courses through homeschool - many homeschoolers do.  There are lesson plans and syllabi for each online, and you can use the text and learning approach that is best for you.  AP and CLEP tests really don't care which text you use...they just test if you've done the work and understand the concepts on a college level.  If you're willing to put the work into it, you can definitely do that.  My son will be taking both CLEP and AP coursework while homeschooling when he gets into high school.

Hope that helps!

Answer 4

Unless the Home School course is incredibly rigorous then public high school is the way to go. It will be more simple getting into college from a public high school. If the student is incredibly exceptional then they should do well in a standard high school. The courses in average high schools are easy even at the AP level. It really depends on the area you live in.

I would personally recommend choosing high school. You must have an approved home school program with a parent or tutor.

Answer 5

"When in high school is it better to go the homeschooling direction or the public school direction?"

When it suits the student better to do so. It may be academic, social, schedule flexibility or some other reason.

"Would colleges look at home schoolers the same way as they do to people who attend regular school?"

Depends on the college. Here, being a homeschooler doesn't give you an advantage or a disadvantage--they just want the test or course scores. Some people say that there are colleges that "actively recruit" which is perhaps true, but not as many do that as people think. Certain colleges have spaces set aside just for homeschoolers and fill those spaces up. They don't go around just automatically trying to have more homeschoolers or giving homeschoolers an automatic edge over other applicants. One college admission's officer who was in here said that they would NEVER accept a homeschooler. So... it depends. Most colleges have no problem with you being a homeschooler.

"Are there any disadvantages being home schooled during high school if you want to go to college?"

Not really. There may be a few more complications in that you have to seek out the information on college admissions and taking the SAT and all that--you don't have the school organizing all of that. Homeschooling can provide you with a chance to develop some great time management skills--a huge bonus for college--and also give you the chance to really focus on your academics--another huge bonus for college.

"Do your parents have to be home and teach you, or is there a kind of program where you can teach yourself, without parents or a tutor?"

Some places require a parent to be at home; whether they are "teaching" you or not, they are still responsible for your education. Your parents can set up, or work with you to determine, your requirements or you can unschool and be totally in charge of your requirements. Most high school homeschoolers who aren't following some sort of online program are very independent. Sure, their parents may have told them they have to do x, y and z, but they're not sitting there "teaching" the student. The student learns primarily through his own reading and use of suitable resources.

As for AP courses, there are some distance learning courses, so I've heard, but you don't need to follow them. You can sign up for AP exams, where offered, even if you've just done your own thing at home to be able to do the exams.

Honors classes are really a school thing--there's no standardized test for "honors". It just means an advanced class that the district or school has organized for the school. It's kind of like an enriched version of the regular program, but each district may enrich it in a different way. AP is standardized, meaning EVERYONE who does it does the same thing.

Answer 6

Colleges rarely look at homeschoolers the way they do regular students.  

College will probably be a schock if you dont go to high school.  You'll make more friends too.

I dont know.  I'm not familiar with it.