As Homeschooled Population Tops 1 Million, More Seeking College Admission

PHOENIX, AZ, Apr 17 (MARKET WIRE) --
Colleges across the country are better equipped to welcome the growing number
of
applications they're receiving from homeschooled students.

Recent estimates by the U.S. Department of Education put the number of
homeschooled students at more than 1 million, or about 2 percent of the
school-age population. As this number continues to climb, many colleges have
changed their attitudes and admissions policies to accommodate homeschoolers,
says
Ian Slatter, spokesman for the Home School Legal Defense Association, a
national advocacy group.

As recently as 20 years ago, homeschooling was effectively viewed as
illegal, and prior to the late 1990s, colleges were ill-prepared to deal with
students who were homeschooled.

"The homeschooler would show up, and the colleges would say, 'We don't
knowhow to deal with you,'" Slatter told The Oregonian. "They really didn't know
what to do with a parent-issued diploma."

Today, many colleges have a dedicated homeschool admissions officer, a
homeschool admissions policy, or both. Homeschoolers, like other students, can
qualify for federal financial aid in the form of grants and student
loans. And last year, the Common Application, a college application format
used by more than 300 schools, added a supplement for homeschooled students
to help streamline their application process, The Chronicle of Higher Education
reported.

Without the usual measures, like class rankings and grade-point averages,
available
to evaluate a homeschooled student's college preparedness, many colleges
choose to rely more heavily on standardized test scores.

Homeschoolers need to prove that their pre-college studies have covered core
academic subjects like math and science, says Paul Marthers, the dean of
admissions at Reed College.

Admissions offices will typically ask a homeschooled student for GED, ACT,
SAT, or Advanced Placement test results, along with transcripts from any
community college or online courses taken, and a sample of the work graded at
home by their parents. Often, colleges will also require that homeschooled
applicants take two or more SAT 2 subject tests.

Like their traditionally schooled peers, homeschooled students can qualify
for
federal financial aid like Pell grants, work-study, and federal student loans to
help pay for college. In order to be eligible for federal aid, homeschooled
students will have to obtain state-certified secondary-school completion
credentials or
complete a secondary school education in a state-approved homeschool
setting.

In addition to federal grants and college loans, homeschooled students may
be
eligible for private student loans. Private student loans can provide
college-boundhomeschooled students with the additional funds they need to pay
for
schoolif they find that their education-related expenses exceed their available
federal
financial aid. However, since federal college loans generally offer more
attractive terms than private student loans, students and parents are
encouraged to look to their available federal financing options first.

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NextStudent, Federal Lender Code 834051, is dedicated to helping students
and
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Contact:
Philip J. Tannenbaum
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