UNC lures homeschoolers

Then applying to colleges, freshman Lawson Kuehnert created a portfolio of the coursework he completed during his high school career as a home-schooled student.

He had to take that extra step because college admissions officials questioned his readiness for the academic vigor of a college workload.

But Kuehnert went through no additional measures when applying to UNC.

“Chapel Hill was probably the easiest of all the schools I applied to,” Kuehnert said. “I sent in my application and my materials, and that was that.”

UNC is different from many academic institutions in that it does not require an additional step in the application process, which some home-schooled students said makes the school more attractive.

Stephen Farmer, director of undergraduate admissions at UNC, said the regular application is adequate for home-schooled students to demonstrate their qualifications.

“We don’t feel comfortable at all imposing additional requirements on students who are home-schooled,” Farmer said.

But he added that the University does encourage home-schooled applicants to exceed the minimum requirements.

“It’s helpful for home-schooled students to send more than one recommendation and by people who are not related,” he said.

Tom Abeyta, associate director of admissions at Oberlin College, a school of about 2,200 students in Ohio, said the school’s office of admissions requires home-schooled students to take two additional SAT subject tests, complete an interview and create an academic portfolio in addition to their regular application.

“We want them to convey what they’ve been able to do since they’ve not taken the traditional route of public or private school,” Abeyta said.

He added that smaller schools look at home-schooled applicants differently than large public schools.

“The process can be a little more automated, since they might not have the staffing or time,” Abeyta said. “Smaller, more selective schools do tend to take the time to read through essays.”

But many elite public schools require home-schooled students to take additional steps.

The College of William & Mary and Miami University of Ohio both require home-schooled applicants to submit a supplement to the Common Application designed for home-school students.

Farmer said UNC cannot make a statement regarding the performance of home-schooled students because their population is a small portion of the University and includes several different backgrounds.

UNC enrolled 92 home-schooled students from 2006-09. Seventeen enrolled in the fall.

Farmer said the University has been accepting more home-schooled students this past decade partially because more have been applying.

He added that home-schooled students typically have a positive experience at UNC because their education creates the necessity for independent work.

“Since I’ve kind of trained myself to do that, it’s not been a problem,” said Sarah Edwards, a freshman from Davidson who was home-schooled.

“Personally, I did not have trouble transitioning at all.”



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.