Scholarly Choice

•Earlier entrance into college.

This is a big bonus for many of my homeschooled comrades. So many public/private school students get to college with very little to show for the last four years, except possibly some advanced placement classes. They’re basically starting from scratch. There are at least five homeschoolers that I grew up with who started college while their friends were still in high school. Two became full-time college students just after their 14th birthday. They received their Associates Degree when most of their friends were getting their high school diplomas. That might sound frighteningly early or as though they were high level prodigies, but I have no doubt whatsoever that most homeschoolers are in a position to do exactly the same thing. They had an opportunity, but it was not unique to them; it’s unique to homeschooling.

•Better preparation for college.

"Homeschooling is teaching your children to teach themselves." It’s something I once heard a mom tell her friends and I think it is the perfect description. High school is made up of teachers and counselors who very often end up being task masters. There are some students who thrive on learning in whatever setting, but a majority of the people in my acquaintance were in schools where you went to class solely to avoid getting in trouble. You did your homework because otherwise you were punished. Everything was enforced. For the most part, colleges aren’t run that way. Professors don’t care if you come to class. In an audience of 200, no one knows if you turn in your math homework! The study skills necessary for college are essentially the same as those needed in homeschool. Self motivation. Focus. Personal drive. It’s hard-wired into homeschoolers and when college comes, very little adjustment is required.