How do Homeschoolers do in College?

By Roberta Van Vlack

Homeschooling parents often wonder: How will my child fare if they go on to college? Will they be prepared for a more rigid,traditional learning environment? My observation of my own children and of their homeschooled friends is that these young people not only navigate college well but that they thrive there.

What I have seen is that most homeschoolers have three traits that serve them well as they move on to the next stage of their education:

• Homeschoolers are used to independent learning. They do well at managing their own workload and schedule. Those who were homeschooled as teens have often had a fair amount of independence and responsibility for their own learning. Though it seems counterintuitive, it is often those from traditional high schools in which teachers and parents were a constant presence, reminding children of their assignments and staying on top of them, who struggle when they are on their own.
• Homeschoolers thrive because they have strong social skills. Specifically, they are comfortable talking to people of all ages. Being able to talk to a professor is a vastly underrated skill. Very few students go to office hours, even fewer go just to meet a professor and have a conversation. Not only are homeschooled students able to ask for help when they need it, they have a leg up because the professor knows who they are.
• Homeschooled students have a wide variety of interests and are able to talk about many subjects. Not only are homeschooled students comfortable talking with professors, they show genuine interest in the subject being taught even if it is not their major. There is again a social advantage here but there is also an educational advantage because the student is more engaged with the material.

There is always an adjustment period when we move from one stage of life to another. Many teens struggle in one way or another when they first get to college. Homeschooled kids are no exception. As parents we cannot take away or manage every challenge for them, but when we homeschool our kids we give them some important life skills that they take with them into the next stage so that they can not only survive but thrive in college and beyond.