Post Secondary

Post Secondary Education – Transitioning from Homeschool

“If I continue to homeschool my child as a registered student, how will they gain admissions to university or college? Don’t I need a Dogwood Diploma? Will I prevent my child from achieving their post-secondary goals if they don’t take those Online Learning classes that are now being offered?” Here are some of my findings after speaking with almost a dozen universities, colleges, and university colleges.

University – A prerequisite is graduation from a recognized educational institution. If you cannot meet this requirement then you must document the reasons and provide Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) scores plus a letter of appeal and any other relevant documentation for consideration by the Senate Committee on Admissions, Re-registration and Transfer (SCART).

Another option is Accelerated Entry. You must present –

Letter of recommendation from your school principal (Homeschool father?)
Transcript of learning thus far (Homeschool mother?)
Approach the department and explain your situation.

Another option is to apply to take one or two classes at the university. This will help you get an “in” and will allow the professors to see what you are capable of doing. If you do well, you may have a professor who is willing to speak on your behalf with regards to admissions.

College/University College – depending on the course you choose to enroll in, most require an entrance exam for English and math. Some will have prerequisites such as biology or chemistry. My son wanted to attend Kwantlen College for Business Marketing. He has never been to a public school so he paid the fee to write the test. He passed and was accepted. (He since chose another direction and was accepted into the Art Institute of Vancouver based on his portfolio. He had never attended an art class.)

College is a wonderful option for first year of post-secondary. The cost is usually lower and it allows most students to remain at home while attending.

Portfolios – A portfolio is always helpful when applying for post-secondary. The best approach is to have it on a disc. This makes it easy for the admissions coordinator to not only look at your portfolio but also to pass it on to others who will be part of the decision-making process. Have your children begin compiling portfolios of their work on the computer when they are young. By the time they need ‘the real thing’ it will be second nature for them.

Open Learning Institutes – Open learning online schools have no admissions requirements but there may be requirements for individual courses. If your student begins taking four courses per year when he/she is 16 years old they would be able to complete first year university before high school graduation and enter second year university the following year. The two open learning institutes I looked into were Athabasca Online and Thompson River Open Learning.

BCHEA is excited about the possibilities that are open to our homeschooled children. If you have a child who has been homeschooled through high school and has gone on to post-secondary, we would love to hear your story.

BCHEA will continue to research post-secondary admissions for homeschool students and will post our findings on the website. If you have any information you would like us to include, please contact us.

For more on post secondary options for homeschoolers, check out these articles and links: