Homeschooling
College
Earn college credits or an accredited degree
while saving thousands in tuition and fees.
The High Costs of Higher Education
• According to the College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees
for the 2014–2015 school year was $31,231 at private
colleges, $9,139 for state residents at public colleges, and $22,958 for
out-of-state residents attending public universities. (This does NOT
include room and board!)
• The College Board also reports the average cost for books and
supplies for the 2014–2015 school year was $1,146 at public colleges
and $1,244 at private colleges.
• The Institute for College Access & Success reports that seven in 10
seniors (69%) who graduated from public and nonprofit colleges in
2013 had student loan debt, with an average of $28,400 per borrower.
This represents a two percent increase from the average debt of 2012
public and nonprofit graduates.
Beating the Odds
Don’t get so in debt, your monthly loan payment is greater than the average mortgage!
Earn credits before attending a traditional
college or university.
Earn a fully accredited 2- or 4-year
degree.
• Dual Enrollment
• Use a combination of creditearning options to complete a
degree from one of three regionally
accredited schools: Charter Oak
State College, Thomas Edison State
College, Excelsior College. (Known
as “The Big Three.”)
• CBEs (credits-by-exam)
• Online courses from non-school
related businesses and websites
• Online courses through colleges
and universities
• Use certain credit-earning options
such as CLEP testing combined with
online courses directly from an
accredited school, such as Liberty
University, to earn a degree.
• Colleges and universities can be accredited by
numerous accrediting bodies. The most prestigious
is regional accrediting. National accrediting, such
as the DEAC (Distance Education Accrediting
Commission) is not as widely accepted.
• Some schools and licensing agencies will only
accept credits from schools that have regional
accreditation.
Accreditation
• Other accrediting bodies include ACE – the
American Council on Education, and the National
College Credit Recommendation Service, or
NCCRS.
• Schools all set their own policies on which and
what credits they will accept for transfer.
Notes About Dual Enrollment
Dual enrollment allows students to take college courses while still in high school.
Credits earned apply to both high school and college transcripts. For example, a
student who takes an introductory biology course at his local community college
will earn the college credits, but can also list biology on his high school transcript.
Dual enrollment is tuition-free, but in the majority of cases, homeschooling students
are responsible for the cost of their textbooks.
Dual enrollment policies and procedures vary by county. You will often hear
conflicting information even from the same district or school. If you are interested in
taking advantage of dual enrollment, make an appointment to speak to an
admissions and/or academic advisor. (And don’t be afraid to ask for anything in
writing to confirm what you’ve been told!)
Credits-By-Exam
1. AP
2. CLEP
3. DSST
4. TECEP
5. UExcel/ECE
6. New York University Proficiency Testing
in Foreign Language
Using College Level Exams to Combine High School and College Credits
You can use CBEs in the same manner as dual
enrollment.
For example, a high school student who
studies US History using whichever curriculum
he prefers can then take the CLEP US History 1
and US History 2 exams for college credits.
Which tests should you take?
AP exams
CLEP/DSST/Others
• May be worth as much as 6 – 8
credits, depending on the school.
• May be worth 3 – 12 credits,
depending on the exam and
school.
• Can be taken by any student who
has not yet graduated high school.
You do not have to take an AP
class to take an AP exam.
• Can be taken by anyone. (Students
under 13 need to contact the
College Board about registration for
CLEPS.)
• Only offered one time a year.
• Some schools accept AP exams for
placement purposes, but do not
award actual credits.
• Can be taken any time of the year.
Retakes may be done after a 3month waiting period.
• Some schools accept AP exams,
but not others.
Applying for Credit
“The Big Three Colleges”
Other Colleges and Universities
• Will accept any exam that is listed
as ACE approved, as long as it fits in
to your degree plan, or you have
room in your “free electives.”
• May or may not accept testing
credits.
• Does not limit exam credits. (The
schools have a maximum limit of
credits you can transfer in from any
one source, but the limit is higher
than any amount of credits you
can earn from each testing
company.)
• Check the individual school’s
policy. Usually posted on websites,
but doesn’t hurt to call and ask.
• Typically limit CBEs to anywhere
from 12 – 45.
You can take exams without being a
registered student. Your scores are
kept for up to 20 years. You simply
have them sent to your college
when you enroll.
UCF CLEP policy - http://catalog.ucf.edu/policies/accelerated-educational-opportunities
Studying for Exams
•
•
•
•
•
•
Textbooks – may be purchased used for less than $10 including shipping
Your regular curriculum
Online resources – free courses and textbook websites
Study guides – REA guides are the most highly regarded
InstantCert – exam prep with flashcards
Study.com – curriculum and exam prep with videos
Exams vs. Dual Enrollment
Exams
Dual Enrollment
• Work on your own time, using your
own chosen materials
• Must work on the college’s
schedule
• You do all the planning
• An instructor does the
planning/guides the course
• Do not require enrollment in any
school up front; no age minimum
• With associated fees and expenses,
are about $120 per test. (To earn
anywhere from 3 – 12 credits.)
• Are not always accepted
everywhere
• Requires enrollment, and typically
placement testing (or SAT/ACT
scores); usually has an age/gradelevel minimum
• Textbooks can cost over $100 per
book
• Credits may transfer easier
Alternative Methods
For Earning Credits
Free credits. (Yes. Free.)
• Saylor.org offers 11 courses that have been evaluated for ACE or
NCCRS credit. (That’s up to 33 free credits!)
• They have transfer agreements with several schools.
http://www.saylor.org/partner-schools/
• The courses are entirely free. You do not need to pay for
anything, not even textbooks.
• You must take a proctored final. You can pay a $25 fee to take
the exam online through ProctorU or take it for free at your local
public library if your library offers that service.
Low-Cost Credits
ALEKS math courses
Clovis Community College
StraighterLine
Study.com
Earning a Degree
From Home
The “Big Three” Positives
1
• Open Admissions
• No competing for limited space
2
• SAT/ACT NOT required
• You do not have to take these
exams for admission
3
• You can start any time
• Even middle schoolers are already
working for college credits
High School & College Together
Step 1
• Research “The Big Three”
• Choose a degree or focus on general
Step 2 education credits
Step 3
• Design a degree plan
Sample Plans
Sample plans for combining high school and college to earn a
BA in Liberal Studies or a BS in Business Administration can be
found at:
http://www.learningtreehomeschoolers.net/college--highschool-together.html
Both degrees have an estimated cost of less than $10,000 in
TOTAL. To put that in perspective, the national average total
expenditure per pupil in our K-12 public schools is $12,608.
A Word About Portfolio Assessments
Portfolio assessments allow you to earn credit for subjects you have studied and
knowledge you have gained. (So, if there isn’t an exam or course available in a subject
you want/need, you can design your own!)
From TESC: http://www.tesc.edu/degree-completion/PLA.cfm
Where Do You Go
From Here?
College Plus: College Plus is a coaching service that does all the planning work for you.
Your student is assigned an advisor who helps design his degree plan and monitors his
progress. College Plus also offers a small selection of credit-approved courses.
Note: You do NOT need College Plus to start or complete a degree from home. Many
families successfully navigate the homeschooling college path without CP.
If you are thinking of even taking only one CLEP exam, consider joining the CLEP Prep
Yahoo Group. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ClepForHomeschool/info This is
an active group of homeschoolers using a variety of methods (not just CLEPs) to earn
college credits and degrees.
Beating the Odds, Part 2
So you don’t have a dime to spare toward college? It’s still
possible to earn a degree without all the debt.
1. For high school graduates, look into the Pell Grant. Depending on the
amount awarded, a Pell Grant can fully cover an AA or AS degree from
Clovis Community College, and then mostly or partially cover a BA or BS
from one of the Big Three.
2. Even without any sort of grant or scholarship, if you budget $16,000 for a
degree (to account for rising costs and unexpected expenses), that’s
$4000 a year for 4 years, or about $340 a month. Over 5 years, it’s about
$270 a month. A student working a part-time job can fund his own
education and graduate debt-free and with work experience on his
resume. College is NOT out-of-reach just because you don’t have $100K
tucked away somewhere!
THINK ABOUT IT!
If going away to college will definitely mean taking out
large loans, seriously consider whether or not it is worth it.
Research the college loan crisis and see for yourself just
how many students regret taking on these loans. College
loan debt has literally ruined lives.
Remember: The four-year party known as “The College
Experience” may be a whole lot of fun, but the 20-year
hangover of $700-a-month loan payments that follows? Not
so much.
ANYONE CAN DO THIS. (EVEN MOMS AND DADS!)
If you started college and never finished, you can transfer your
completed credits to a Big Three school. Yes. Those credits from 1985
can still count! Or, even if you’ve never taken a college course of any
kind, you can start now and earn your degree. This isn’t just for
homeschooling kids.
Final Thought
The current UCF cost of tuition and fees for one credit hour (instate tuition) is $212.28. To cover the basic English 101 and 102
level courses, this would be $1273.68 – just for 2 classes! If you
budget $120 for the CLEP College Composition exam (covering
exam fee, testing center fee, and the purchase of study
materials), you can earn those same credits for 1/10th the cost,
saving over a thousand dollars. Just one exam can make that
much difference. If your student is already studying the core
subjects for high school, why not combine them with an exam for
college credit?