When students apply to college, their school sends an official transcript that details their academic record, and proves they’ve finished high school.
But what if they went to school in their living room, and their diploma was granted by their parents?
Over the course of a decade, Connie Albers faced this question five times. She taught five children at home, and eventually saw all of them enroll at the University of Central Florida with Bright Futures and other merit-based scholarships.
Each of her students, now in their 20s, had to prove they were capable of handling the rigors of college. She now helps other home schooling parents and their children do the same.
Getting into UCF has gotten tougher over the years. U.S. News and World Report rates it among the country’s “more selective” colleges.
Home education students can face extra hurdles, wherever they apply. They don’t have a school vouching for their academic credentials, and, Albers said, they sometimes need to demonstrate they’re able to function alongside their peers in a structured academic environment.
During a workshop at a recent home education conference in Orlando, Albers told parents those obstacles can be overcome.
Letters of recommendation can help students demonstrate their interpersonal skills. Advanced Placement tests and dual enrollment courses can provide independent verification that students are capable of college-level work. Parents can match their students’ course of study with the state’s course-code directory, to create transcripts that show how their academic records compare with those of their traditionally educated peers.
“You have to add the color and light, and create the person, so that (college admissions offices) know that they’re more than a name and a number,” she said.
Albers’ journey through the college admissions process began more than a decade ago with her oldest son, Paul, who is now 29 and working as an engineer.
At the time, she said, “we were still paving the way for home-school applicants.” Changes to federal higher education laws aimed at putting home school students on equal footing with other students, approved in 1998, were still fairly new. Colleges were starting to warm to home school students as they arrived on their campuses in greater numbers. A growing body of research was beginning to show they could thrive academically.
When the time came for her younger children to apply, the university, and others around the country, had become more receptive.
“We have laid the groundwork that home-school kids do well in college,” Albers said in an interview. “That means the people coming behind us don’t have to cut down the bushes.”
Since he wanted to study engineering, she knew her oldest son would need advanced math and science courses that were beyond her own expertise. For courses like AP Calculus, she turned to Florida Virtual School, which has programs for home education students.
Her other four students ran the gamut of interests. They’re now pursuing careers as an artist, a restaurateur, a filmmaker and a marketing professional. As their teacher, Albers tailored a curriculum for each of them, with an eye toward the skills they’d need later in life.
“While I would teach to their strengths, I would also make sure they had the entrepreneurial skill sets,” she said — including math, writing and communication skills they would need if they wanted to start a business.
Home education students can present their customized courses of study as an asset when they apply to college, Albers said. They’re self-starters, almost by definition, which can mean they’re prepared for an environment where there won’t be a teacher looking over their shoulder to make sure they’re getting work done each day.
“Can you see now what colleges love about home schoolers?” she asked during her presentation at the Florida Parent-Educators Association’s annual gathering in Orlando. “Kids are well-motivated in the home school community.”
