College Applications for Homeschooled Students

When your child reaches high school age, your primary parenting concerns shift to your child's academic future. This, of course, means that you worry about your child getting into and going to college. While the major responsibility of preparing for college falls on your child, there are steps that you can take as a parent to help ensure their future success. All you need to do is get to know your options and take the necessary steps to guide your child along the path to college. 

Consider A College Prep Academy

One of the most effective ways that you can help your child to prepare for college is to consider signing them up for courses through a college prep academy, such as Saint Thomas Academy. College prep academies come in a variety of forms and formats. Some parents opt to remove their children from traditional, public high schools and place them in full-time private college prep academies.

These schools offer stringent, intense academic expectations and provide students with the resources and small class sizes to reach such expectations. However, not all parents are financially able to send children to such schools. Nor are such college prep academies available in all areas of the nation. 

Luckily, there are also college prep academies that offer supplemental coursework in the form of after school or summer programs and advanced placement courses. These academies are more easily accessible to parents and families who choose to use them. State governments and local universities may even sponsor their own college prep academies. So, look into your options and consider giving your child an academic advantage heading into college.

Begin SAT or ACT Prep Early

In addition to taking the right classes in high school and in a college prep academy, your child needs to score well on college entrance exams to not only get into college, but also to be eligible for certain scholarships and financial aid. Thus, if you want your child to go to the right college, you will want to get them started prepping for those exams as early as possible.

College entrance exams like the SAT and ACT are generally taken in junior or senior year of high school. So, if you start the prep process with your child as a freshmen or sophomore, your child will be ahead of the game. Prep can be as simple as purchasing books and practice tests.Or, you can hire a tutor or sign your child up for an entrance exam prep course. 

If you take the necessary steps, you can do the best possible job at helping your child get into college. While your child has to make most of the effort, your guidance and assistance will give them the extra advantage that will help to ensure success throughout high school and the college entrance process.