Over the years I have been asked about homeschooling and college.  The most common questions are:

1.  Does my child need a GED to apply for College?

2.  What about dual enrollment?
3.  What types of financial aid are available for my child?

 

To answer the first question you must review your state's requirements for this. However, many states have made it illegal to discriminate against those who choose to homeschool their children and college enrollment. Each state though has its own set of rules and laws that pertain to educational requirements to attend a public University or Community College.  In our state, Idaho, a GED is not necessary and I have outlined this on our "About" page.

Now regarding dual enrollment...and here is where you MUST PAY ATTENTION!  Again, each state has their own set of rules and requirements and dual enrollment can serve a few different purposes. There is dual enrollment for homeschool students wanting to participate in an activity at the local school, classes sports, club etc. and then there is dual enrollment for taking college classes. For instance, my oldest daughter, as a young teenager was dual enrolled at our local Charter school so that she could take a Latin class.  My son's were dual enrolled to play sports and not attend classes.  And most of my children were dual enrolled in college.  Now, here is the important caveat; when a homeschool student is dual-enrolled in a public school, they are no longer considered to be homeschool students by organizations such as the Homeschool Legal Defense Association.  If they are enrolled in a University or a Community College through a dual enrollment program, they are also NOT considered to be homeschooled!  This is a very important issue to consider when thinking about enrolling your student in any dual enrollment program.  This is generally not the case for sports though.  Here is a link to check the status of your state.  This is also an excellent site that describes the benifits of dual enrollemtn as well as CLEP (college level examine) tests. 

All of my children have been very successful in our college dual enrollment program. For us, our rule of thumb is simple; it is our intention that they go to college for at least 2 years and by the time they are 16 or 17 (depending on the child) they are ready for that educational experience.  Considering that most states offer a tuition break for a dual enrolled student's, it makes financial sense to have them attend college for their Junior and Senior highschool years.  However, even though our twins for instance, only attend school at the college, they still must be registered with our local highschool to facilitate this. We do reside in a very homeschool friendly state, but still on occasion encounter frustrating issues.  IE. I had many dealings with our district and state regarding our twins being registered as Juniors.  They were 17 when registered with the local highschool in the fall and completed their first semester of college, making the deans list, and 1 month into their second semester, the high school decided that they should be seniors and not juniors, just like that, right out of the blue!  Most of this boils down to funding, as they receive half price credit tuition to the college as well as a state-funded grant called Advanced Opportunities, which by the way is an amazing program and if you live in Idaho please check it out!  It IS a pain dealing with this type of bureaucracy and we are hoping that high schools and colleges will soon become more homeschool friendly as more and more people decide to educate at home.  

So there are some bumps, frustrations and learning curves with the dual enrollment process, just do your research according to your state, and be prepared to deal with some folks who are NOT homeschool friendly.  School administrators are there to protect the rights and laws of the state and have very little concern for you as a homeschool parent.  But remember, once you enroll in the school district, as a taxpayer, they work for YOU!  Do not let them bully or intimidate you....it is your responsibility to make sure your child receives the best higher education that is available, and in my opinion, dual enrollment can achieve that goal.

 

This brings us to the question of financial aid.  I mentioned Advanced Opportunities for Idaho students and you can call your State Department of Education and inquire as to their financial aid programs for dual enrolled students.  Once your child has completed high school, whether it is a homeschool program or through a dual enrollment program there are various grants and scholarships.   Here is a list of the most used grants. Scholarships are also widely available, but be very cautious of scams. Here is a good source to seek out scholarships.