Homeschoolers Welcome

According to the Casper, Wyoming online newspaper, the Star-Tribune, Northwest College is actively seeking to recruit homeschoolers. Beverly Bell, director of financial aid and scholarships at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming wants to reach out to homeschoolers but says doing so is “like trying to grab onto hot Jell-O.”

Bell would like to let them know that they’re eligible for the Hathaway Scholarship, a state of Wyoming scholarship named in honor of former Wyoming Governor Stan Hathaway. The scholarship offers both merit and need based awards to eligible students.

The truth is that although homeschoolers are specifically mentioned as being eligible for the Hathaway Scholarship, homeschoolers are in fact eligible for many scholarships. Some scholarships stipulate that homeschoolers must obtain a GED but for many, SAT/ACT scores are enough to compete.

At least one college, Columbia College of Columbia, MO has figured out how to reach out to homeschoolers. Realizing that homeschoolers number about 2 million per year and knowing that homeschoolers have out-tested their public school counterparts on the SAT/ACT for the last eight years, Columbia purchases mailing lists and then holds special recruiting sessions for homeschoolers.
Some colleges have set up admissions websites specifically geared toward college-bound homeschoolers. Homeschoolers have most, if not all of the advantages as their public school counterparts when it comes to applying for and receiving scholarships. True, many of the scholarships high school students learn about come through the guidance counselor’s office but with all the scholarship information on the Internet, homeschoolers have access to all the information they’ll need to succeed in applying for and receiving scholarships and other financial aid for college.

Colleges seeking prime candidates for admission would do well to learn how to grab onto “hot Jell-O.”

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