How Did That Happen?

Two summers ago my two sons graduated from homeschool high school. This fall they both started college. Both of my students were awarded full tuition scholarships to their first choice university. I find myself wondering, "How did that happen?" I believe we received scholarships because of four advantages: curriculum, SAT preparation, documentation, and character. These advantages are available to all families that homeschool through high school.

Many homeschoolers have a very rigorous academic plan. It doesn't matter if they choose to unschool, or if they follow a classical education model. Homeschoolers will succeed when they learn on purpose. They will succeed when they do the "next thing" - when they keep moving forward in their homeschool journey. They can invest their money and their time in their weaker areas, as well as their areas of strength. Homeschoolers have the advantage with curriculum. We can make sure ours is tailor made to suit our students. We can make sure they are always challenged, but that they completely understand concepts before moving on. We can provide broad exposure to a variety of subjects.

My sons had great SAT scores because we studied for the SAT test. I read that increased test scores meant increased scholarship money, so we studied two or three times a week. Each time we would do one section from the "10 Real SAT's" book. It's not a waste of time to study for the SAT. Students learn vocabulary, get a great math review, and learn essay writing skills. Halfway into his first quarter of college, my son said "I'm so glad you taught me how to write a quick essay! It really helped me on my midterm today!" Again with test scores, homeschoolers have the advantage. We can use SAT prep as part of our homeschool curriculum, and study it during school hours.

When we applied for admission, I gave the colleges a lot of information. Many homeschoolers prefer to keep their educational information private. It's okay for colleges to ask us for our information because it's an exchange. We give them information about our homeschool, and they give us admission and possibly scholarships. The minimum information they need is a transcript. I chose to provide more information than the minimum, and it really helped. For everything on our transcript, I wrote a course description, listed the books we used, and documented how I graded the class. Homeschoolers have the advantage regarding educational information. We control our homeschool records and we can determine exactly how much information we provide to colleges. Check out this site to see samples of what we submitted to colleges that helped us win the full tuition scholarships.

Character is the fourth reason I believe we were given great scholarships. My sons were chosen to participate in the scholarship competition at Seattle Pacific University. I'm sure they were invited to compete because of their transcript and their SAT scores, but that's not why they won. The competition had over 100 students who all had great transcripts and SAT scores, but only 10 were winners. I was nervous about them competing in something so intense, but the kids had fun. When the boys came home that day, they both said, "I don't know if I won, but I had a great time! All the kids were so nice!" Later I was told that the evaluators were looking for character. The students were observed when they walked between events. Were they friendly and kind to others? How did they interact with their peers? When character and socialization are evaluated, homeschoolers have the advantage. We can mold and shape the character of our children while they are at home with us, instead of allowing them to be conformed to their peers.

So how did that happen? How did both our children get full tuition scholarships? Simple; we homeschooled them through high school!

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Lee Binz is a veteran homeschooling mom of two and the owner of The HomeScholar, "Helping parents homeschool through high school". You can sign up for her free email newsletter The HomeScholar Record and get your daily dose of wisdom via e-mail from The HomeScholar Blog.