Will the College Admissions Scandal Affect Homeschoolers?

While the first three months of 2019 have created a number of educational headlines, including the introduction of Education Freedom Scholarships, no story has made waves like the college admissions bribery scandal.

Nicknamed Operation Varsity Blues, the scandal is the latest major example of snowplow or lawnmower parents who mow down any obstacle in their children’s way. This particular incident involves children from more than 750 families gaining college entrance or access to college athletic programs as a result of bribes totaling in excess of $25 million. Among the accused are some prominent people in business and finance, as well as actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin.

Unlike the disheartening news of the scandal, however, the quality reputation of homeschoolers at the collegiate level helps provide a shining example and a spirit of optimism for current homeschoolers that individual merit still matters.

“This access to four-year colleges exists in part thanks to those homeschool students who, early on in the modern movement, helped establish a reputation for academic success,” wrote Dave Dental for HSLDA. “Some recent studies have highlighted the results of their hard work, including a notable statistic involving college entrance exams. A study of SAT results done a few years back showed that students who self-identified as homeschooled scored, on average, well above the average of the other students.”

Having a quality transcript is still vitally important for homeschool families, especially since homeschoolers don’t have paid staff to compile their transcripts like students have at traditional public and private schools.

“Parents are the guidance counselors,” LaNissir James told HSLDA. “It’s the responsibility of the parents to know when the deadlines are and when to contact the College Board directly. It’s a great responsibility.”

Among the most frequently suggested college admission tips for homeschoolers is to enroll high school homeschoolers in community college courses.

“It beefed up the transcript,” homeschooler Dianne Tavares told HSLDA, “because it showed the A’s were coming from more than just mom.”