Colleges take different tack with home-schooled students

Q: I am home-schooling my son, and I was wondering if you could shed some light on how colleges view and assess home-schooled students?

A: A couple of weeks ago at the Western Association for College Admission Counseling (WACAC) conference, I attended a session titled, "Always Ranked #1: Home-Schooled Students Case Study," that was focused on how colleges view home-schooled students.

The presenters at this session were Dr. Vu T. Tran, director of admissions and relations with schools, UCLA; Adam Sapp, assistant dean of admission, Claremont Mckenna College; and Kirk Brennan, assistant dean of admission, University of Southern California.

One of the more important points that all three of them made was that when reviewing the application of a home-schooled student, the transcript carries less weight than it does for a student that attends a traditional high school.

The presenters stated that, as the title of the session suggests, home-schooled students are always ranked No. 1 in their class, and many colleges assume that traditional high school teachers are more objective graders than parents.

However, just because a home-schooled applicant's transcript may carry less weight than that of a traditional high school student, home-schooled applicants' transcripts are still important. One of the most significant sections of a home-schooled applicant's transcript are the course descriptions. Brennan, of USC, mentioned the case of one home-schooled applicant who received an "A" in Spanish. However, in the course description, this applicant revealed that he learned Spanish by using Rosetta Stone software, a commercial product that does not provide the same breadth and depth that a traditional high school's Spanish class would. This student was not admitted.

Additionally, because home-schooled students' transcripts aren't weighed as heavily, standardized tests - the SAT or the ACT and the SAT Subject Tests - become very important factors in whether a home-schooled applicant is admitted. For example, at Claremont McKenna, traditional high school applicants are not required to take SAT Subject Tests. However, home-schooled applicants are required to take two SAT Subject Tests, and one of them has to be in math.

Generally, all three presenters stated that it is important for home-schooled students to review the different requirements of the colleges that interest them early on in their high school careers, as most colleges have very specific requirements for home-schooled students.

The raw numbers at UCLA, Claremont McKenna, and USC for 2008 are as follows: UCLA received approximately 55,000 freshman applications, 34 of which were home-schooled, and admitted 18 of the 34. Claremont McKenna received 4,300 freshman applications, 12 of which were home-schooled, and admitted three of the 12. USC received 36,000 freshman applications, 41 of which were home-schooled, and admitted 12 of the 41.

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