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For those of you still wondering how your unschooler will get into
college! <g>

~Kelly


Colleges Coveting Home-Schooled Students
By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER, Associated Press Writer
September 30, 2006

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Bombarded by choices at a college job fair, Sara
Kianmehr quickly found her match: Columbia College, a small, private
school that didn't mind that her transcripts came from her parents.

The college "was the only institution that didn't have a puzzled look
and say, 'Home school,' and ask me a million questions," the
19-year-old junior said. "There was a big appeal."

With colleges and universities aggressively competing for the best
students, a growing number of institutions are actively courting
homebound high achievers like Kianmehr, who took community college
courses her senior year of high school and hopes to eventually study
filmmaking at New York University or another top graduate school.

The courtship can be as subtle as admissions office Web sites geared to
home-schooled applicants or, in the case of Columbia College, as direct
as purchasing mailing lists and holding special recruiting sessions.

After years of skepticism, even mistrust, many college officials now
realize it's in their best interest to seek out home-schoolers, said
Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American
Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

"There was a tendency to kind of dismiss home schooling as inherently
less rigorous," he said. "The attitude of the admissions profession
could have at best been described as skeptical."

Home-schooled students _ whose numbers in this country range from an
estimated 1.1 million to as high as 2 million _ often come to college
equipped with the skills necessary to succeed in higher education, said
Regina Morin, admissions director of Columbia College.

Such assets include intellectual curiosity, independent study habits
and critical thinking skills, she said.

"It's one of the fastest-growing college pools in the nation," she
said. "And they tend to be some of the best prepared."

The number of home-schooled graduates enrolled at Columbia College is
small _ about a dozen out of a full-time undergraduate population that
hovers near 1,000. But they count among their supporters an influential
advocate.

Terry Smith, a political science professor and the school's dean of
academic affairs, home-schooled three of his four children in the 1970s
and '80s. Each of those children went on to graduate from college, with
two earning master's degrees.

"All of my professional work has been influenced by this family
schooling experience," he said. "We're all teachers and learners.
They're just the apprentices, and we're the master learners."

The school's admissions standards for home-schooled students are
identical to those for traditional graduates _ minus the formal
transcript requirement. Some colleges and universities, though,
continue to require home-schoolers to earn a GED high-school
equivalency diploma or take subject-specific SAT tests along with the
standard requirements.

At Stanford, sympathetic admissions officers have helped make the
university a beacon for high-achieving home-schoolers. The support can
be seen on the Stanford admissions office's Web site.

"The central issue for us is the manner in which you have gone about
the learning process, not how many hurdles you have jumped," the office
advises home-schooled students. "We look for a clear sense of
intellectual growth and a quest for knowledge in all of our applicants."

Jon Reider, a former senior associate admissions director at Stanford,
said the school's pursuit of home-schoolers fits its academic and
social mission.

He also acknowledged that Stanford and other schools now realize that
home-school students are a prominent enough population that can only be
ignored at a university's own peril.

"Part of it is driven by demographics," said Reider, now a guidance
counselor at a private high school in San Francisco. "There's a surplus
of college spaces" and attracting good students to them is important
everywhere.

Magdalene Pride, a first-year Columbia College student, was a
beneficiary of the school's aggressive recruitment of home-schoolers.

After earning more than 50 credit hours through a combination of
community college classes near her suburban St. Louis home and online
Advanced Placement course, Price was awarded a four-year scholarship to
Columbia College that covers the school's $12,414 annual tuition.

Among those who helped sell her on Columbia College was Kianmehr, a
student ambassador who spoke at a college fair Pride attended.

"They're so open to home-schoolers here," she said. "No one looks down
on me, or treats me different. It's very accepting."


________________________________________________________________________
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and
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Joanne

Thanks for passing that along Kelly. :-)

~ Joanne ~
Mom to Jacqueline (8), Shawna (11) & Cimion (13)
Adopted into our hearts October 2003
************************************
Unschooling Voices ~ Add Your Voice
www.foreverparents.com/UnschoolingVoices.html




--- In [email protected], kbcdlovejo@... wrote:
>
>
> For those of you still wondering how your unschooler will get into
> college! <g>
>
> ~Kelly
>
>
> Colleges Coveting Home-Schooled Students
> By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER, Associated Press Writer
> September 30, 2006
>
> COLUMBIA, Mo. - Bombarded by choices at a college job fair, Sara
> Kianmehr quickly found her match: Columbia College, a small,
private
> school that didn't mind that her transcripts came from her parents.
>
> The college "was the only institution that didn't have a puzzled
look
> and say, 'Home school,' and ask me a million questions," the
> 19-year-old junior said. "There was a big appeal."
>
> With colleges and universities aggressively competing for the best
> students, a growing number of institutions are actively courting
> homebound high achievers like Kianmehr, who took community college
> courses her senior year of high school and hopes to eventually
study
> filmmaking at New York University or another top graduate school.
>
> The courtship can be as subtle as admissions office Web sites
geared to
> home-schooled applicants or, in the case of Columbia College, as
direct
> as purchasing mailing lists and holding special recruiting
sessions.
>
> After years of skepticism, even mistrust, many college officials
now
> realize it's in their best interest to seek out home-schoolers,
said
> Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American
> Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.
>
> "There was a tendency to kind of dismiss home schooling as
inherently
> less rigorous," he said. "The attitude of the admissions profession
> could have at best been described as skeptical."
>
> Home-schooled students _ whose numbers in this country range from
an
> estimated 1.1 million to as high as 2 million _ often come to
college
> equipped with the skills necessary to succeed in higher education,
said
> Regina Morin, admissions director of Columbia College.
>
> Such assets include intellectual curiosity, independent study
habits
> and critical thinking skills, she said.
>
> "It's one of the fastest-growing college pools in the nation," she
> said. "And they tend to be some of the best prepared."
>
> The number of home-schooled graduates enrolled at Columbia College
is
> small _ about a dozen out of a full-time undergraduate population
that
> hovers near 1,000. But they count among their supporters an
influential
> advocate.
>
> Terry Smith, a political science professor and the school's dean of
> academic affairs, home-schooled three of his four children in the
1970s
> and '80s. Each of those children went on to graduate from college,
with
> two earning master's degrees.
>
> "All of my professional work has been influenced by this family
> schooling experience," he said. "We're all teachers and learners.
> They're just the apprentices, and we're the master learners."
>
> The school's admissions standards for home-schooled students are
> identical to those for traditional graduates _ minus the formal
> transcript requirement. Some colleges and universities, though,
> continue to require home-schoolers to earn a GED high-school
> equivalency diploma or take subject-specific SAT tests along with
the
> standard requirements.
>
> At Stanford, sympathetic admissions officers have helped make the
> university a beacon for high-achieving home-schoolers. The support
can
> be seen on the Stanford admissions office's Web site.
>
> "The central issue for us is the manner in which you have gone
about
> the learning process, not how many hurdles you have jumped," the
office
> advises home-schooled students. "We look for a clear sense of
> intellectual growth and a quest for knowledge in all of our
applicants."
>
> Jon Reider, a former senior associate admissions director at
Stanford,
> said the school's pursuit of home-schoolers fits its academic and
> social mission.
>
> He also acknowledged that Stanford and other schools now realize
that
> home-school students are a prominent enough population that can
only be
> ignored at a university's own peril.
>
> "Part of it is driven by demographics," said Reider, now a guidance
> counselor at a private high school in San Francisco. "There's a
surplus
> of college spaces" and attracting good students to them is
important
> everywhere.
>
> Magdalene Pride, a first-year Columbia College student, was a
> beneficiary of the school's aggressive recruitment of home-
schoolers.
>
> After earning more than 50 credit hours through a combination of
> community college classes near her suburban St. Louis home and
online
> Advanced Placement course, Price was awarded a four-year
scholarship to
> Columbia College that covers the school's $12,414 annual tuition.
>
> Among those who helped sell her on Columbia College was Kianmehr, a
> student ambassador who spoke at a college fair Pride attended.
>
> "They're so open to home-schoolers here," she said. "No one looks
down
> on me, or treats me different. It's very accepting."
>
>
>
_____________________________________________________________________
___
> Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and
> security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos
from
> across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
>