What do I need to prepare for US university applications as a home-educated student?
Home-educating and thinking about applying to university in the US? There are certain things to prepare for that you may not have thought of. This article covers it all.
Introduction
Embarking or continuing on your home education/homeschool journey as a highschool aged student is exciting. There is so much more freedom to explore subjects that interest you outside the bounds of a traditional high school setting, whether it is with a state/public school or a private insitution.
But beware, there are some things to watch out for if you are home-educating but still want to have a shot at applying to quality universities as a next step.
In this article, we'll cover some of the most important things to consider preparing for if you are planning on applying to universities in 🇺🇸 the United States and are currently home-educating.
💡 P.S. If you're interested in applying to universities in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧, check out this article!
Home-educated student's university application checklist — US edition
Here's a quick table of contents for easy navigation:
Let's get started! 👇
Transcripts
Granted, not everyone is aiming for the Ivy League, but even if you are planning on applying for less competitive institutions, submitting a home-made transcript unfortunately most likely won't put you at an advantage.
Most universities require a transcript provided by an accredited institution, such as a public or private high school, but since our context is home-educating, this will most likely not be possible.
What are you alternatives, then?
Get a GED
The GED, the General Educational Development test, is an alternative to a high school diploma, and serves to certify that an individual has obtained academic knowledge at the secondary school level.
Getting a GED if you are not able to obtain a high school diploma and associated transcripts from an accredited insituttion is generally accepted as a form of credential by most US universities. However, it is important to note that this is just one of many requirements that you need to meet in order to put together a strong university application. Don't forget about things like standardized exames like the SAT, and getting strong references, etc.
Take community college courses for credit
If you are lucky enough to be home-educating/homeschooling in the US, chances are you have a community college within driving distance.
Consider enrolling in several courses at your local community college for credit, and strive to do well in these courses.
This will be an excellent approach to 1) show universities that you have obtained the requisite academic knowledge to continue onto higher level education, and 2) provide an official transcript from an accredited institution.
Take the SAT & AP exams
The benefit of taking the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and AP (Advanced Placement) exams as a home-educated students in lieu of providing an official transcript from an accredited institution is that you are killing two birds with one stone.
Scoring well on the SAT and doing well on several AP exams signal to admissions officers that you are academically ready to take on university level courses, which is a huge plus.
Furthermore, since most US universities require you to submit a standardizsd test score alongside your other application materials, taking the SAT is no extra work.
P.S. Read more about preparing for standardised test in the section to follow.
P.P.S. You do not need to be enrolled in a school to take AP exams. There are a lot of resources online and offline to help you self-study for AP exams in any subject; in a future post, we'll cover what these resources are. However, make sure that you find a local testing center tha administers the AP exam you're hoping to register for. It's a good idea to do you research and contact test centers before spending time and money on registration and studying materials.
Standardised test scores
Many four-year accredited univerisities in the US require standardised test scores as a part of your application. That's not something you can typically avoid unless you won a gold medal at one of the International Olympiads.
The good news is that you do not need to be in a traditioanl schooling setting to study for or register to take standardised exams like the SAT or ACT.
Our recommendation is to purchase a few study guides for the standardised tests, do several practice tests, focus on areas of weakness, and practice, practice, and practice.
To achieve a storng score on your standardised test, there is absolutely no need to be in the 99% percentile in terms of intelligence. A lot of it comes down to repeated practice, as you need to get familiar with the format of different question categories and train yourself to solve problems in a strategic and timely manner.
Even though many students take on a tutor to prepare for standardised tests, we don't think it's absolutely necessary in order to score well. Practice is the key here.
However, if you do want to have some outside guidance, it doesn't hurt to get a qualified and experience tutor, or sign up for a highly rated online course like the one offered by Magoosh as a more affordable alternative.
References
This is the most tricky part when applying to US universities as a home-educated student.
Most four-year degree-granting institutions in the US require not one, but THREE reference letters. Typically, two referees should be academic teachers, and one should be your guidance counselor.
As a home-educated student, you might not have two teachers to turn to, let alone a guidance counselor, which is usually assigned to you in a traditional high school.
Our recommendation is to reach out to the schools you are interested in applying to, and get clarification on whether there are alternatives you can turn to as a hoomeschooled applicant. Speaking from experience, there is nothing to lose by reaching out. It might even make you stand out as someone with high agency to the admissions officers.
Generally speaking, short of traditional school teachers and guidance counselor to use as your referees, you could turn to tutors who have knowledge of your academic prowess, and others who have worked with you in any capacity (like a line manager in a part-time job, or a supervisor from volunteering activities).
P.S. Do not turn to family members for references - university admissions teams are looking for unbiased opinions about you as an applicant.
In any case, it is a good idea to start planning for your university applications well ahead of time as a home-educated applicant, as you won't be able to secure strong reference letters for your application(s) should you start piecing things together last minute.
Extra-curricular activities
Extra-currriculars play an important role in US university applications, because in the US, admissions officers typically assess applicants holistically. This means aside from your academic achievements, admissions officers also want to see the other facets of you as a future student and alumni of their institution.
This is why if you're in a traditional school setting, everyone emphasises the importance of taking on leadership roles and picking up volunteering hours.
Being home-educated actually plays in your favor in this respect.
The hours that are not spent going through high school curricula at the pace of a collective student body means that typically, you'll end up with a lot more free time to do things outside of preparing for exams and doing school projects.
Use this extra free time to pick up a part-time job, volunteering activity, or start a project yourself!
Ideally, you're not just doing extra-curricular activities for the sake of looking good on your university application, but the activities should also genuinely give you the opportunity to learn something and contribute to your development as an individual.
These are the type of formative experiences that help you shine in your application, which brings us to another topic, the personal statement, the place to highlight exactly why you're the right candidate to be admitted to your dream school.
💡 If you're still deciding what to do with your high school years ahead of applying to university, Maxima's unique Sixth Form programme might be of interest. We offer an optional experiential year where you can do an internship with a partner startup in our network, or work on a research or entrepreneurial project.
Personal statemenet
The personal statement, or personal essay, is a piece of writing that introduce more qualitative arguments about what makes you a strong candidate amongst a pool of other hopeful applicants.
The great thing about applying to US universities is that you have the freedom to personalise your statements for each school you apply to. Even though most applications are submitted via the Common App, in reality you can submit one application, make changes to your materials, such as updating your personal statement, and then send the updated application to the next school on your list.
Because you have so much room to personalise, do not let this opportunity go to waste!
We recommend that you thoroughly research the degree program you are applying to at each university (in most cases, this would be a BA degree and you are not expected to have already fixated on a major, unless you are applying to a business school for undergrad studies).
Attend on-campus tours if you have the time and money to do so, or reach out to current students or recent alumni to learn more about their experiences.
Then, once you are confident you know enough about a particular school and can clearly convey why you're the perfect fit for them, time to start drafting your statement.
Here are a few rules of thumb to remember:
- Be concise - don't use fancy words just for the sake of it
- Highlight your personal experiences and tie them to why you are excited about being a student at the school
- Mention aspects that are unique to the school you're applying to to show that you've done your research and you are genuinely interested in the school
- Refrain from using tropes, AI-generated drafts, or other people's work without correct attribution and reference
- Make your voice shine through - be authentic!
Conclusion
This sums up some of the most important elements to consider when preparing for US university applications as a home-educated student.
Make sure you plan ahead on 1) transcripts/credentials, 2) standardised tests, 3) extra-curriculars, and 4) personal statement(s) so that when application season comes around, you're well-prepared to make yourself stand out.