How to Stand out as a Homeschooled College Applicant

When applying to colleges, it can be difficult to ensure your application looks interesting and doesn’t just blend in with the crowd. Thankfully, as a homeschooler, your child has several unique opportunities to allow them to make their applications stand out. We’re going to walk you through several different aspects that are on most college applications. As we go, we’ll show you how to stand out as a homeschooled college applicant in each area.

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This post is part of a 10-day “Tips for Homeschool Moms Series” we are doing in conjunction with several other homeschool bloggers. Our theme is “Preparing Your Homeschooled Teen for College”. To see links to all of our posts and the other blogs, you can view this post. Now, here’s how to stand out as a homeschooled college applicant!

Transcript

While the transcript is an important part of a college application, many homeschool parents try to make it be more than it really is. It’s tempting to try and make a unique and interesting transcript, but this is not the best place for that. The transcript is one place where you should give colleges something standard-looking and not try to be too different. The rest of the application is the place to really stand out and show who you truly are.

However, there are some elements on a transcript that look nice and might help your student stand out in a positive way. For example, showing your student took AP or Dual Enrollment courses is great. This shows colleges that your students worked hard for their grades and weren’t just given an A by their parent. Additionally, strong test scores can showcase your student’s academic abilities. Be sure to include your student’s scores for the ACT, PSAT, SAT, etc. on the transcript. For more information on studying for these exams, you can check out this blog post from earlier in our series.

If you need more help with record-keeping and making the transcript for your homeschooler, there are plenty of resources available. Our blog post here talks about record-keeping for homeschooled high schoolers. HSLDA.org has several transcript templates in their high school area that are free to use. Get Ahead of the Class is another blog by an experienced parent that has some fantastic information about transcripts, college prep, and more.

Essays

If your student is applying to colleges that include a personal essay portion on their applications, this is one of their best places to stand out. Many colleges require an essay for application, but even if it is optional, be sure that your student completes this section. This is a part of the application they should not rush through! These essays need to be meaningful to the student and show their personality and character. While academics are important, encourage your student to focus on their life outside of the classroom in these essays.

So, what should your student write about? Well, a lot will depend on the exact prompt for the application they are completing. However, there are common themes across applications. Many will ask your student why they chose the major they are applying to enter. Here, your student could discuss a project or extracurricular that made them passionate about this topic. Schools also frequently ask applicants to describe an obstacle in life they have overcome or a challenge they have faced. This is a fantastic prompt to allow your student to discuss their character and resilience and help colleges see them as a whole person and not just another application. 

Whatever your student writes about, ensure that they take time to think through the prompt and make their essay the best it can be. These essays can definitely make or break an application, so don’t slack off on these!

(And parents – don’t be tempted to write the essay for your child – your role is to help your teen brainstorm ideas, as well as help editing)

Resume/Application Questions

In addition to essays, applications often have a section with short response questions and/or a place to upload a resume. These questions allow your child to mention awards, extracurriculars, sports, community service, employment, etc. They allow your students to show even more aspects of their life that might not fit on an essay or transcript. 

If your student makes a resume of extracurriculars and awards to upload to an application, they need to prioritize information so it fits on 1-2 pages. Naturally, it makes sense to prioritize the highest level awards and activities that they were most involved with or help leadership positions in. It is also good to try and include activities from a few different areas. For example, mention an academic contest, a sport, and a volunteer position instead of three academic contests. As a homeschooler, you have more time than traditional school students to do extracurricular activities. So, be sure those showcase who you are!

Recommendation Letters

If your student’s college allows recommendation letters, these are a must! Recommendation letters allow another person to testify to your student’s character and academic performance. Many schools will allow up to 2 letters. Typically, I would pick one person who could testify to my academics (teacher, mentor from an academic competition, etc.) and one person who could testify to my character outside of the classroom (leader at a place I did community service, sports coach, extracurricular leader, boss, etc.) This way, colleges could see different sides of my personality and know that I was involved in multiple activities. 

If your child has not yet started high school or is just beginning, one of the best things they can start doing now to prepare for college applications is building relationships with people who could write recommendation letters for them. The last thing you want to do is get to senior year and realize you have nobody you can ask! It also looks nice when the people writing the letters have known your children for several years and have plenty they can attest to. 

Blog Post Series

We hope this post gives you and your students some ideas on how to stand out as a homeschooled college applicant! This post is part of a 10-day “Tips for Homeschool Moms” series we are doing in conjunction with other homeschool blogs. Our theme is “Preparing Your Homeschooled Teen for College”. You can find all of our posts, as well as the other blogs and series topics linked in this post. Our partners have some excellent experiences and insight to share in their series, so please do check out their blogs!

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or other suggestions, please leave them in the comments below! 
Thanks for reading!