Why is it like that?

Question

Why does home-schooling look "not as great" on a college resume as regular schooling?

Answer 1

Often, home schoolers are parents who disagree with the local public school's curriculum and goals. I think it is many times due to perhaps a religious belief they want to instill in their children. They may not be certified teachers, also, so the education process may not be as professional.

Answer 2

Here are some quotes and information directly from college admissions officers.

The Dartmouth College (NH) admissions officer explained, “The applications I’ve come across are outstanding. Homeschoolers have a distinct advantage because of the ndividualized instruction they have received.”

“Homeschoolers have to work harder thereby increasing student productivity,” Jeff Lantis said of the 75–90 homeschoolers at Hillsdale College (MI). “Homeschoolers are consistently among our top students, in fact homeschoolers have won our distinct Honors Program the last three years in

a row. We tend to look very favorably upon homeschoolers applying to our college.”

USA TODAY reported on October 28, 1996, that the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s dean of admissions, James Walters, has enrolled about 20 home educated students, all of which “are performing above average academically.”

Boston University welcomes applications from homeschooled students. We believe students educated at home possess the passion for knowledge, the independence, and the self-reliance that enable them to excel in our intellectually challenging programs of study.

The following comment, made by Jon Reider, Stanford’s senior associate director of admissions concerning the success of homeschoolers, was reported in a recent article in the Wall Street Journal: “Homeschoolers bring certain skills – motivation, curiosity, the capacity to be responsible for their education – that high schools don’t induce very well.”

A report on the accomplishments of homeschool students has been published in Brown University's (RI) January/February, 2002, edition of its alumni magazine. In an article titled,

Homeschooling Comes of Age," Dean Joyce Reed states, "Homeschoolers are the epitome of Brown students. They are self-directed, they take risks, and they don't back off."

I could keep going on and on with this... including the fact that Harvard offers online course to homeschooled high school students... but I think I've made my point.

I am so tempted to post a question in the secondary education section of YA that says:

"Is it true about public school students won't be able to get into college when you graduate from high school?"

I wonder what kind of responses I would get?

Answer 3

I have heard and read LOTS of times that colleges are starting to prefer homeschoolers to public school kids because the homeschoolers are way advanced and will take learning seriously and public school kids don't.

Answer 4

Who told you that?  Often, it looks better.  I'm a convention rep for a curriculum publishing company, so I get a chance to talk with several college admission reps at conventions.  From what they tell me, they LOVE homeschoolers and want more of them.

Answer 5

I have heard the opposite, many public schooled students are pigeon-holed as mediocre because they come from a low-performing school.

Answer 6

It is because people don't like change and refuse to acknowledge how great home-schooling can be.

Things will look better in the end. Just you wait and see.

Home school is a class of the future and the future always becomes the past, sooner or later.

Answer 7

I don't think that it does. In fact, many colleges seek home-schooled kids because so many of them are self-taught by high school. What really matters is your ACT score and entrance exams.

Answer 8

It looks good on a college resume! Homeschool students usually excel in college because they already know how to study independently.

Answer 9

It looks great on a college resume! A diploma is a diploma. I guess that throughout the years people associate low class or "stupidness" with home-schooling however this is not the fact. Most public schools these days are ran so horribly there's no reason for people to change over to home-schooling.

Answer 10

because people might think your insight into the "outside world" is limited to your home. Pretty unfair.