Can Homeschoolers Do Well in College?

Can students who enter college after years of homeschooling do well?
It's a more relevant question today since the number of college students who have been homeschooled has exploded. Back in the 1970s, only 13,000 students were homeschooled while today there are more than 1.5 million.

A new study published in The Journal of College Admission suggests that homeschool students enjoy higher ACT scores, grade point averages and graduation rates compared with other college students. The finding are especially interesting because there has been a paucity of research focused on how homeschooled students fare in college.

The research, which was conducted by Michael Cogan, the director of institutional research and analysis at the University of St. Thomas, focused on the experiences of homeschooled students at an unnamed medium-sized university in the upper Midwest.

Here are some of Cogan's findings:

1. Homeschool students earned a higher ACT score (26.5) versus 25.0 for other incoming freshmen.
2. Homeschool students earned more college credits (14.7) prior to their freshmen year than other students (6.0).
3. Homeschooled freshmen were less likely to live on campus (72.4%) than the rest of the freshmen class (92.7%).
4. Homeschoolers were more likely to identify themselves as Roman Catholic (68.4%).
5. Homeschool freshmen earned a higher grade points average (3.37) their first semester in college compared with the other freshmen (3.08).
6. Homeschool students finished their freshmen year with a better GPA (3.41) than the rest of their class (3.12).
7. The GPA advantage was still present when homeschoolers were college seniors. Their average GPA was 3.46 versus 3.16 for other seniors.
8. Homeschool students graduated from college at a higher rate (66.7%) than their peers (57.5%).

Of course, the big knock on homeschool students is that they never develop social skills since their classrooms are often their kitchen tables and their mothers are often their teachers. Cogan, however, noted that another homeschool study that looked at more than 7,300 adults, who had been homeschooled, determined that the homeschool graduates were more likely to have voted and participated in community service than other adults.

Lynn O'Shaughnessy is the author of The College Solution, an Amazon bestseller, and she also writes for TheCollegeSolutionBlog. Follow her on Twitter.
Homeschool image by Alexik. CC 2.0.

[bayhuntr]

Since home schooling tends to be for religious reasons, how many of those collage entry kids are educated in science and evolution? How many could pass a basic test on 100 facts that support evolution? This is the problem with home schooling, you will not have the same level of creative kids, if you have to avoid so much information because it contradicts your faith. I would like to know what school this study was done at and did they test on the sciences? Otherwise, this study is pointless for anything other than propaganda.

[errin101471]

You are very off to the left. REally Evolution! Evolution is so out dated. The concept for one, is very broad; but you really you are not to educated to be speaking of evolution in the smart people circle. Ok, 1st when have you ever seen evolution at work. Science states you must observe it to be science. You can't observe evolution. When have you ever seen a cat turn into a dog. Or a monkey turn into a human, really Bro you buy evolution. Seems like you are holding on to pre-historic thoughts. Evolution how cute of an ideal. You need more research about the possiblities of life coming into being. By the way I have an enviornmental civil engineering degee and a math equivalent degree and teach calculus. (e)volution give me a break!

[ccccat]

I think it's obvious they CAN and many times do well in college. Do they always, as a couple of comments suggest? Of course not. Homeschooled kids are people. This study was *extremely* small and self-selecting. Students can always opt out. It is an interesting study that isn't scientific proof of anything. (Any statistician will question an HSLDA study - it's a pro-homeschooling legal organization. Good studies come from unbiased
sources)

[TinkerB23]

My experience as a university instructor has been the complete opposite. Students in my class who were home-schooled are not prepared for life in the real world. It's the first taste of freedom they get, so socializiing is more important than schoolwork. They don't read the assigned chapters because Mommy always coached them through everything or gave alternative assignments. They can't pass exams because they haven't learned proper study skills. Due dates on assignments mean nothing to them. Two of my students who had been home-schooled had never even touched a computer before. I would rather not have home-schooled students in my class because they need too much babysitting and their helicopter mommies don't understand the concept of FERPA laws. Your kid is over 18 and a legal adult, so back off and let them grow up.

[JohnC007]

Tinkerb23 wghere are you a University Instructor?, because you have very limited information as how homeschoolers work. Homeschoolers in Puerto Rico have more computer time during their homework than traditional school students. Mommy doesnt always coach them as they have a curriculum they have to follow. They have daily due dates, I think maybe you need a refresher course, to bring you up to date. Grow up and take off your blindfold.

[nancy_naive]

It's one study, at one college in the Midwest. It showed marginally better performance in english and reading skills and they did well in graduating. Was it Oral Roberts University?

Nope, we'll never know until we follow larger numbers and study all the aspects. Number in K-12 homeschool. What percentage enters public/private in 6-12, 9-12 and then graduate. Percentage that enters college, grad rates, employment rates, etc.

[whatrupeoplethinking]

I was enjoying this article until this line: "Of course, the big knock on homeschool students is that they never develop social skills since their classrooms are often their kitchen tables and their mothers are often their teachers." That is pure conjecture by the author. This is not in the research at all!! In fact, many studies on homeschooling show social skills are a non-issue. This is pure bias or misunderstanding on the part of the author.

[bgurrl]

I was about to say the same thing. Seems like the author might need to actually do research on the socialization of home schooled kids, before speaking about it.

http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000068.asp

Home Schoolers don't just teach at the kitchen table. LOL What nonsense!

[Mommyno-4]

yes same exact feeling here!!! We homeschool and are very creative at it..we do more activities outdoors than any one!!!