What comes after homeschooling? For many students, it’s college. But how do we choose the right college? How do we get from being intimately involved in our children’s education to sending them off to an institution?
We’re not quite all the way through the process, but I thought I’d share our progress and some tips for being at least somewhat organized about the college search process.
It’s all changed so much since I went to college (save the age jokes, please!). I knew by the time I was in high school where I wanted to go to college and what I wanted to major in. I applied for early admission (after my junior year), was accepted, went, and graduated four years later. It’s not so easy with my older daughter.
Below are the ideas I’ll be discussing during the next few weeks. Hey, why not get as much mileage out of this as possible?! Please let me know if you’d like to see any other related topics covered, because I’m sure I do not have everything covered here.
- Explore career options
- Explore a wide variety of colleges online
- Visit a scholarship/college consultant
- Narrow down the list
- Schedule campus visits
- Prepare for the visits
- Process the visits
- Consider community colleges first
- Apply
Bethany LaShell 
I've recently wrote about this from the parent's perspective. What do we do after homeschooling? This is very helpful…It's good that you are sharing your wisdom with others.
LikeLike
As an independent college counselor, I am glad to see that contacting a college consultant is one of the points on your list. Many of us who work in the area of college admissions help homeschooled students with college selection and the application process. Most of us also are familiar with the financial aid process and can help students with this as well as applying for scholarships. We are anxious to assist students find schools that are a good fit and provide the support that families often need as they go through this exciting, but stressful time. Colleges are eager to have homeschooled students and there are many wonderful opportunities for them.
LikeLike
Bethany,So glad I found you! Thank you for delving into this topic. My kids are 12 and 11. Too young to be thinking about college, right? Nope. I am new to blogging and and SO HAPPY to have found a much greater group of wisdom from which to draw than my hometown/homeschool friends. One of the first blogs I wrote has the title \”What about College?\”. It's still saved in draft. I'm not ready to press \”publish\”. It's long. So much to consider. As a mom who comes from a family with NO ONE who has less than a BA from a major university, (most have masters in something, MBAS, DDS, PhD – I'm even an attorney)I am NOT against higher education. Ditto with my husband. We just want it to be the right time and the right place for my kids. You know? If Lydia still wants to be a \”horse girl\” aka ranch hand when she graduates, more power to her, but what if she wants to be a vet? Well, then college is a no brainier. Darn it, that's why we've got to start thinking about it! Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for the work you've done in this area. I'm going to track your blog. Although I'm usually not organized, I'd love to be. So your blog can be an oasis for me to dream of what it would be like to be truly organized and \”have it all together!\”Love,Laura
LikeLike