Heading home: who are home schoolers, and why should you want them in your college? (The Admissions Angle).

A home-schooling room recently asked us, "How should a home-schooled student best present himself or herself to colleges? What would be important for this student to show the colleges, in terms of academic accomplishments, extracurricular activities, and evaluations?" But as we responded, it occurred to us that we should turn this question around for college admission officers and administrators, and ask, "What should you look for in a home-schooled student? What are the issues surrounding the advancement of home-schooled students to college? And the big question: Why should you wont home-schooled students in your institution?"

Growing movement. According to the National Home Education Network (www.nhen.org), there are between 1.5 and 2 million home-schooled students in the U.S. (3 to 4 percent of the school-age population). Other higher education authorities estimate 850,000 home schoolers approaching college. What's more, every state has specific laws detailing the rights and responsibilities of families who choose to educate their children on their own for any number of significant reasons. And federal attention to home schoolers and their access to college has increased under the Bush administration, as home-schooling organizations lobby for fewer restrictions and requirements for college-bound home-schooled students. In general, we Feel that home-schooled students hoping to continue their education at selective colleges will find admissions officers willing to look favorably on their applications, but that doesn't mean these officials don't need to know more about such students--they do.

Diverse demographics. One thing is certainly clear: Home schoolers do not represent a homogenous group. While the home school movement has been identified nationally as a conservative one, home-schooling parents are not all religiously or politically conservative ... or white ... or rural. Many are liberal, or libertarian; international, or urban dwellers; African American, or Hispanic. They may have concerns about the substance or style of public, independent, or parochial education. They may be worried about the safety and security of their local schools; negative peer influences; support for physical or learning disabilities; or large class size. There may not be a good school close to their home. Primarily, they are concerned parents attempting to make the right educational choice for their children. It is important that colleges recognize the diversity of the home-schooling population, and see it as a potential source of bright, interesting, independent, nontraditional, and under-represented students.

CHALLENGES

Sans transcript. That doesn't mean there aren't challenges, however. The first challenge home-schooled students face in college admissions is their lack of a traditional high school diploma and transcript. That is the core of most admission applications, so home-schooled students need to present alternate materials to demonstrate their strengths in a variety of academic subject areas. Most high schools not only send colleges a transcript outlining a student's curriculum (the courses they took over four years) and grades (including a cumulative GPA and academic credits), but they also produce a school profile that indicates levels and types of academic courses offered; standing of the student in the graduating class (a rank or a decile distribution, for example); a list of colleges that students from the school have attended; the percentage of graduates going on to college; and so forth. The home-schooled student needs to produce something similar to provide admissions officers with comparable information. While some colleges require home-schooled students to earn a General Educational Development (GED) diploma in lieu of the high school degree, many will accept a portfolio of a student's academic and non-academic accomplishments, including details of the subject areas covered (and in which learning environments), as sufficient proof of suitable pre-college studies. Students may also undertake coursework at community colleges, over the Internet, or in pre-college summer programs at universities, and send transcripts from these programs to the colleges to which they are applying.

Testing, testing. The next challenge is that of testing. Though this is a controversial area, we argue that it is imperative that home-schooled students put together a strong portfolio of standardized tests to make themselves more attractive to competitive colleges. Students should take the SAT I or ACT, and consider sitting for several SAT II subject tests, such as the writing and math I tests, and one or more science, history, or language tests. Additionally, students may prepare themselves to take the Advanced Placement (AP) tests given by the College Board each May, as well as tests in languages, mathematics, and sciences given by national organizations. Top-notch standardized test marks (combined with a strong academic portfolio) will provide an excellent foundation for home-schooled students' applications. Nevertheless, many students do not take this path, and colleges should carefully evaluate their requirements for home-schooled students in the area of standardized testing. On the other hand, while it is tempting for colleges to require home-schooled students to take more tests than other applicants in order to certify their curricular accomplishments, this is hardly fair, and perhaps legally discriminatory. It seems more reasonable to require the same tests (SAT I, SAT II, ACT, TOEFL, and so on) for home-schooled students as others, while encouraging them to broaden their portfolio. But colleges will need to prepare themselves for a more personalized approach to admissions with these students.

Opportunities to see the exceptional. Home-schooled students may seek out interviews at colleges and with college alumni, and schools should encourage it. For students educated in a "non-traditional" manner, these can be excellent opportunities for them to discuss their interests and qualifications in an appropriate and powerful way. And be prepared for these students to write exciting essays about their background and goals: Home-schooled students may have pursued a particular passion to the highest degree possible--whether in academics, athletics, music, arts, volunteer service, travel, or another unique area. In other words, a home-schooled applicant may be someone who can add an exciting and unique perspective to campus. Then too, as part of the portfolio, home-schooled students often present recommendations from less common sources: their parents or others involved in their education, employers, coaches, mentors, peers, and others who have influenced their lives significantly. As with any student involved in the college admissions process, a home-schooled student should be looking for the best fit, and developing a logical understanding and argument as to why he or she is seeking admission to the colleges on his or her List. Colleges can help these students enter or re-enter a more formal learning environment, by understanding what different styles of postsecondary education entail.

DIPLOMA DILEMMA

Federal and state governments, along with public and private colleges and universities, are grappling with what types of diploma requirements home-schooled students need to fulfill. States have formal requirements certifying a student's completion of a high-school-level curriculum and preparedness for college. While we counsel home-schooled students to consider a GED and to take a number of standardized tests to present a stronger portfolio, many home-schooled students do not have these credentials. The home school movement is arguing against mandates for them, or extra requirements for home schoolers. Colleges must continue to monitor both federal and state legislation and Department of Education guidelines that will govern admissions and financial aid eligibility for home-schooled students, as well as the institution's eligibility to receive federal student aid under the Higher Education Act (if they admit students without "the recognized equivalent" of a high school diploma). Recent guidelines from Washington, for example, have clarified that colleges are not at risk of losing federal student aid if they admit home-schooled students without a diploma or GED. Get up to speed on the latest changes in guidelines and regulations, and you'll be ready for an exceptional home-schooled student when he or she walks in your door.

Howard Greene and Matthew Greene are independent education consultants, and the authors of the Greenes' Guides to Educational Planning. Their television focus, "Ten Steps to College with the Greenes," aired nationally on PBS in March. The Greenes have produced a pledge program as well as a regular video presentation and an interactive DVD featuring interviews with college admission officers from over 25 institutions of higher educations, for distribution through PBS, schools, and libraries. For information, e-mail [e-mail], or visit www.greenesguides.com or www.pbs.org.

Are you evaluating institutional policy toward home schoolers, or reviewing individual home-schooled students? Consider this:

1. You are not alone. The NHEN lists over 1,000 selective colleges that have admitted home schoolers.

2. Avoid a double standard. Colleges should require or recommend the same tests for home schoolers that they do for "regular" applicants.

3. Encourage home-schooled students to provide more information about their education, through testing, portfolios, a GED, an interview, and so forth, so that they may make a better-informed admission decision.

4. Learn your state's rules, as well as federal policies governing the admission of, and provision of financial aid for, home-schooled students.

5. Monitor students' progress to make sure they are adequately prepared for their college education, keeping in mind that you may have to trust parents and students to some extent in making admission decisions.

6. Build support networks on campus to link and work with home-schooled students.

7. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. View home-schooled students--and the many national and state home-school associations--as an excellent potential source of interesting, diverse, and talented applicants.