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Is College the Right Path for Your Homeschooler? How to Know.

I sometimes feel a bit of hesitation when I say that I am a homeschool college consultant.

I’ve long held the belief that education should be self-directed, creative, and empowering. Clearly, that’s why homeschooling appeals to me.

I believe that when families carve their own path and kids own their education, the results can be liberating and inspiring — creating woven tapestries of engaged families and life long learners.

homeschooler's coffee in bed planning college

Are homeschoolers selling out when choosing and planning to attend college?

The gift I gave my kids

Learning for learning’s sake.

That is the gift I gave my children and that is what I often witness in the homeschool families I have the pleasure to know. And yet I have this nagging feeling about whether or not the college path is authentic to our original intentions.

How do I — and other fearless homeschoolers — reconcile the fact that we are raising our kids in crazy- awesome, non-conventional ways, only to succumb to the constraints of traditional higher education?

One thing is certain

And this is where my mind eventually settles — there’s not one reason to homeschool, not one kind of homeschool family, not one type of homeschool learner. We’re a fragmented group, joined by the common thread of nonconformity. So of course our paths do not have the same destination.

Not all homeschoolers aspire to attend college, but when they do, they should do so authentically.

Ask yourself this question

Why did you homeschooled in the first place?

Was it for the academic freedom?
Was it to pursue an extracurricular?
Was it to cultivate a love of learning?

Now consider all of the experiences that made your homeschooler who they are today.

Of those experiences, which do they wish to continue? Which do they need to thrive? Which are they willing to replace with new experiences and opportunities?

Where you should begin

There are thousands of colleges in this country alone.

There are colleges for the self-directed, colleges for the hyper-competitive, colleges for the broad-minded, colleges for the socially conscious, colleges for the artistically talented. The list goes on and on.

So no matter your educational philosophy or your educational goals, your homeschooler can find a four year stop-over at a place they call home while continuing their learning venture.

👉 Grab a Homeschool Transcript Template HERE!

One more question

What does education mean to your homeschooler and your family? What does it look like and what is its purpose?

To develop character and intellect?
To prepare for a financially stable future?
To cultivate open-mindedness or to focus on a single passion?

If you haven’t yet explored these ideas, doing so is a great way to begin the college search. Invite your homeschooler into these conversations, for that allows them the opportunity to own the process of becoming an adult.

Something to consider

Isn’t that the purpose of the college years?

To provide a gentle, yet challenging transition from childhood to adulthood. To equip our kids with minds and hearts that are capable of making informed and critical decisions in the future — not only for their lives, but for the lives of others.

As parents, we know that high schoolers aren’t yet sure how the world works or what their place is in it. But college is that time to explore and challenge and discover who they are and who they aren’t, what the world is and what the world isn’t.

But don’t lose sight of this

If your high schooler has always taken the reigns of their schooling, then it is only natural that they should own this, too.

If it makes sense for them to attend college, then it makes sense that who they are — as a person and a learner and a community member — guides them through the process.

My oldest son, now 31, explained it to me well.

“The college search and the college experience was shaped to me; I wasn’t shaped to it.”

By embracing the process and all that he is, he found the college that was perfectly suited to his character and to his intellect.

Attending college and enjoying four or more years of traditional higher education does not mean that you need to compromise your values.

On the contrary, it’s an opportunity to enrich the learning journey with more inquiry, more diversity, more challenge.

And it arrives at a crucial time in our children’s lives when they are ready for more.

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Your Turn

What is your homeschooler looking forward to most during college? Share in a comment below!

Fearless Homeschoolers