List of Colleges That Accept Homeschool Students

Applying to college is difficult enough as a public school student, but for homeschool students, it is a whole different ball game, especially because colleges expect the same things from homeschool students as they do from students of public and private schools: standardized test scores, transcripts, and extracurricular activities, to name a few. Should homeschool students be worried about which colleges will accept them?

The college application process for homeschool students is very similar to traditionally schooled students. Though applying may be a bit more difficult for them, most colleges understand the differences and difficulties, and as such, most colleges accept homeschool students.

In this article, we’ll discuss some information for homeschool students preparing for college, along with a list of a few colleges in each state that have been deemed “homeschool friendly”.

Applying to Colleges

Homeschool. When most people think of the term, they picture tired mothers and children that aren’t well-socialized, along with a host of other pictures that all stem from the myth that homeschool is not “real school”. This is a completely false image.

Homeschool can mean a variety of different things. Many homeschoolers take select classes at their local high school or use an online program to learn the same curriculums required in public schools.

Other homeschoolers have homeschool groups, and sometimes, it really is just a group of siblings being taught by their parents. Whatever the case, there are state requirements that must be met in order for children to be homeschooled.

Because homeschooling can mean so many different things, homeschoolers don’t need a GED or high school diploma to apply to college or qualify for financial aid. Homeschoolers’ lack of need for these things doesn’t make them exempt from other requirements, though. Colleges still require things like official transcripts, standardized test scores, and more.

Many people may think that because a person is homeschooled, it is harder for them to get into college. This is simply not the case. There are many schools, even Ivy League schools, that accept homeschoolers. This is because of the experiences that homeschooled students tend to get. They tend to have more extracurricular activities and unique coursework.

Acceptance Rate of Homeschool Students

The rate of acceptance of homeschool students in different colleges varies from school to school. However, we’ve pulled some 2019-2020 rates from America’s most prestigious universities to illustrate acceptance rates in those scenarios, as many homeschool students have dreams of going to an Ivy League school.

The smallest rate is that of Harvard: 4.5%. Next came Columbia, with 5.1%, and Princeton, with a 5.8% acceptance rate. Then, Yale, with a 5.9%. Brown and MIT both came in at 6.6%, and Duke and the University of Pennsylvania came in just above that, with a 7.4% acceptance rate. (Source)

Though these acceptance rates seem daunting, one needs to remember that these are for the top schools in America. Acceptance rates are slim there anyways, whether or not a student is homeschooled.

Another important thing to remember is that homeschoolers that are academically on par with traditional applicants tend to be accepted at approximately the same rate. This is especially true when they use an accredited program, take classes from a local school, or take AP and dual enrollment classes.

Homeschoolers with a more lax approach to their coursework and college preparation are judged more harshly by admissions officers, so their acceptance rates tend to be lower than traditional applicants.

How Do SAT Scores Factor in?

Many parents homeschool their children to save them from the plague of standardized testing. Ironically, the very thing they were trying to escape is one of the most important things on a homeschooled student’s college application. Testing is very important, especially if a student is aiming for a more prestigious university.

Test scores can be weighted more heavily for homeschoolers than they are for other applicants, especially if the student doesn’t have a GED or high school diploma. Because of this, having a good SAT or ACT score is very important for admission into college. (Source)

Interestingly enough, even though homeschoolers tend to test less than students in the public school system, they earn marginally higher scores on standardized tests than non-homeschoolers do.

What Colleges Pay Attention To

Figuring out what will look best on a college application, and more importantly, what the college admissions officers will actually pay attention to, can be difficult. It is especially difficult for homeschoolers, who don’t have access to a lot of the things that publicly or privately schooled students have access to that colleges tend to look for.

Level of Accreditation

One thing that colleges really hold valuable is the level of accreditation of the homeschool program that a student has used. If a program is accredited, it is automatically better, in the eyes of the college admissions officers, than one that is not.

This same principle is applicable in situations where a homeschooler took classes at their local high school, from a local college, or from a hybrid online program. However, brick-and-mortar institutions, as archaic as it sounds, tend to be considered more valuable than many online programs by college admissions officers. This depends on the program, but it is a good thing to keep in mind.

Extracurricular Activities

Extracurricular activities are another thing that colleges hold up as one of the most important factors in the admissions process. When students are involved in their communities, they are more well-rounded, and colleges feel like these types of people are much more likely to contribute to the atmosphere of their university, or at least, the atmosphere that the school is attempting to create.

Homeschool students can actually be at an advantage with this one because this schooling style allows for more experiences and time spent in the community than traditional schooling does.

Transcripts

Colleges also put a lot of weight on academic transcripts. Even though homeschoolers aren’t required to have a GED or high school diploma, they do still have to have some way to prove that they’ve met state schooling requirements. A transcript is one way to do that, and it’s a good way to organize coursework and grades in a way that college admissions officers can read.

The parent or teacher of the homeschooled student should make a transcript for their student to send in. They shouldn’t stress too much about making it look like a traditional school transcript- college admissions officers understand that that isn’t possible in many situations.

Test Scores

Test scores are also very important to colleges when they are making admissions decisions. That being said, there are many universities that advertise themselves as being test-optional. This isn’t necessarily true for homeschooled students. Most colleges require homeschoolers to take a college entrance exam. (Source)

Homeschool-Friendly Colleges By State

Though many people stress about not being accepted into a college purely because they’ve been homeschooled, it really is possible to get into college when you’ve been homeschooled.

This fear is barely even valid, because, while it is daunting to apply to colleges as a homeschooler, most colleges are “homeschool friendly”. Because of this, we couldn’t quite compile all the colleges that have been identified as “homeschool friendly”, but we’ve gathered 1-3 schools from every state that fit the bill.

CollegeStateAverage SAT Score
Auburn UniversityAlabamaR&W: 590-650; Math: 570-670
University of AlabamaAlabamaR&W: 540-660; Math: 530-670
Birmingham-Southern CollegeAlabamaR&W: 520-610; Math: 500-580
University of AlaskaAlaskaR&W: 530-640; Math: 520-630
Sheldon Jackson CollegeAlaska(Not Recorded)
University of ArizonaArizonaR&W: 550-660; Math: 540-690
Arizona State UniversityArizonaR&W: 550-650; Math: 550-670
Arkansas State UniversityArkansasR&W: 500-590; Math: 500-630
University of ArkansasArkansasR&W: 550-640; Math: 540-640
Southern Arkansas UniversityArkansasComposite: 1163
California State UniversityCaliforniaR&W: 440-530; Math: 430-530
Stanford UniversityCaliforniaR&W: 700-770; Math: 720-800
University of CaliforniaCaliforniaR&W: 650-740; Math: 660-790
Colorado Mountain CollegeColoradoR&W: 539; Math: 540
Colorado State UniversityColoradoR&W: 540-640; Math: 530-640
University of ColoradoColoradoR&W: 570-670; Math: 560-680
University of ConnecticutConnecticutR&W: 580-680; Math: 590-710
Western Connecticut StateConnecticutComposite: 880-1080
Yale UniversityConnecticutR&W: 720-780; Math: 740-800
University of DelawareDelawareR&W: 580-660; Math: 570-670
Florida State UniversityFloridaR&W: 620-680; Math: 600-670
Jacksonville UniversityFloridaComposite: 1010
University of FloridaFloridaR&W: 650-720; Math: 640-740
Georgia State UniversityGeorgiaR&W: 520-630; Math: 510-630
University of GeorgiaGeorgiaR&W: 630-720; Math: 620-740
Hawaii Pacific UniversityHawaiiR&W: 480-570; Math: 490-590
Brigham Young University – HawaiiHawaiiR&W: 540-630; Math: 520-620
Boise State UniversityIdahoR&W: 520-610; Math: 510-600
Idaho State UniversityIdahoComposite: 510
Brigham Young University – IdahoIdahoR&W: 500-610; Math: 500-590
Chicago State UniversityIllinoisR&W: 420-510; Math: 330-453
Illinois State UniversityIllinoisR&W: 510-610; Math: 510-610
Indiana State UniversityIndianaComposite: 1018
University of Southern IndianaIndianaR&W: 490-590; Math: 490-580
Buena Vista UniversityIowaComposite: 1110
Iowa State UniversityIowaR&W: 480-630; Math: 530-680
University of IowaIowaR&W: 560-650; Math: 550-660
Kansas State UniversityKansasComposite: 1160
McPherson CollegeKansasComposite: 1090
Eastern Kentucky UniversityKentuckyR&W: 480-590; Math: 470-580
Kentucky State UniversityKentuckyR&W: 430-530; Math: 430-520
University of KentuckyKentuckyR&W: 540-640; Math: 530-640
Louisiana State UniversityLouisianaR&W: 550-660; Math: 540-640
Tulane UniversityLouisianaR&W: 650-730; Math: 690-770
University of LouisianaLouisianaR&W: 510-620; Math: 490-590
University of MaineMaineComposite: 1154
University of New EnglandMaineComposite: 1127
Johns Hopkins UniversityMarylandR&W: 720-760; Math: 750-800
University of MarylandMarylandR&W: 630-720; Math: 640-760
Boston UniversityMassachusettsR&W: 640-720; Math: 670-780
Harvard UniversityMassachusettsR&W: 720-780; Math: 740-800
Northeastern UniversityMassachusettsR&W: 690-750; Math: 720-790
Central Michigan UniversityMichiganR&W: 500-610; Math: 500-600
Michigan State UniversityMichiganR&W: 550-640; Math: 550-660
Michigan TechMichiganR&W: 570-660; Math: 590-690
University of MinnesotaMinnesotaR&W: 600-700; Math: 640-760
Mississippi State UniversityMississippiR&W: 520-630; Math: 530-640
University of MississippiMississippiR&W: 510-620; Math: 500-610
University of MissouriMissouriR&W: 560-660; Math: 550-660
Saint Louis UniversityMissouriR&W: 580-680; Math: 580-690
Montana State UniversityMontanaR&W: 550-660; Math: 540-660
University of MontanaMontanaR&W: 540-630; Math: 510-610
University of NebraskaNebraskaR&W: 550-650; Math: 560-670
University of NevadaNevadaR&W: 530-630; Math: 530-630
Dartmouth CollegeNew HampshireR&W: 710-770; Math: 730-790
University of New HampshireNew HampshireR&W: 550-640; Math: 540-640
Princeton UniversityNew JerseyR&W: 710-770; Math: 740-800
Rider UniversityNew JerseyR&W: 510-620; Math: 510-600
New Mexico State UniversityNew MexicoR&W: 480-580; Math: 470-570
Eastern New Mexico UniversityNew MexicoR&W: 470-590; Math: 480-570
University of New MexicoNew MexicoR&W: 520-630; Math: 510-620
Cornell UniversityNew YorkR&W: 680-750; Math: 720-790
Columbia UniversityNew YorkR&W: 720-770; Math: 740-800
New York UniversityNew YorkR&W: 670-740; Math: 700-800
Duke UniversityNorth CarolinaR&W: 720-770; Math: 750-800
North Carolina State UniversityNorth CarolinaR&W: 610-690; Math: 620-720
University of North DakotaNorth DakotaR&W: 500-600; Math: 500-630
Ohio UniversityOhioR&W: 530-630; Math: 520-620
University of CincinnatiOhioR&W: 560-650; Math: 560-680
Oklahoma State UniversityOklahomaR&W: 510-630; Math: 510-620
Oklahoma City UniversityOklahomaR&W: 550-610; Math: 530-613
Eastern Oregon UniversityOregonComposite: 1042
Oregon State UniversityOregonR&W: 540-650; Math: 540-660
University of OregonOregonR&W: 550-650; Math: 540-640
Gettysburg CollegePennsylvaniaComposite: 1340
Penn State UniversityPennsylvaniaComposite: 1265
University of PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaR&W: 710-770; Math: 750-800
Brown UniversityRhode IslandR&W: 710-770; Math: 730-790
University of Rhode IslandRhode IslandR&W: 530-630; Math: 540-630
Clemson UniversitySouth CarolinaR&W: 610-690; Math: 600-700
University of South CarolinaSouth CarolinaR&W: 580-670; Math: 560-670
South Dakota State UniversitySouth DakotaR&W: 500-630; Math: 500-670
University of South DakotaSouth DakotaR&W: 500-620; Math: 500-625
Tennessee State UniversityTennesseeComposite: 980
University of MemphisTennesseeR&W: 500-610; Math: 490-590
Baylor UniversityTexasComposite: 1293
Odessa CollegeTexasComposite: 1050
Brigham Young UniversityUtahR&W: 610-700; Math: 590-710
University of UtahUtahR&W: 570-670; Math: 560-680
Utah Valley UniversityUtahSAT score not required for admission
University of VermontVermontR&W: 590-680; 570-670
Burlington CollegeVermontComposite: 1070
University of RichmondVirginiaR&W: 630-710; Math: 650-750
George Mason UniversityVirginiaR&W: 560-650; Math: 540-650
Virginia TechVirginiaR&W: 590-680; Math: 580-690
Gonzaga UniversityWashingtonR&W: 580-670; Math: 580-680
University of WashingtonWashingtonR&W: 590-700; Math: 610-753
Western Washington UniversityWashingtonR&W: 550-650; Math: 530-620
West Virginia UniversityWest VirginiaR&W: 520-610; Math: 510-610
Glenville State CollegeWest VirginiaComposite: 970
University of WisconsinWisconsinR&W: 610-690; Math: 650-770
University of WyomingWyomingR&W: 520-620; Math: 520-620