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. Dual Enrollment CBEs (credits-by-exam) Online courses from non-school related businesses and websites Online courses through colleges and universities Earn a fully accredited 2- or 4-year degree. Use a combination of credit- earning 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.”) 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.

Accreditation 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. 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!)

1. AP 2. CLEP 3. DSST 4. TECEP 5. UExcel/ECE 6. New York University Proficiency Testing in Foreign Language Credits-By-Exam

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. Using College Level Exams to Combine High School and College Credits

Which tests should you take? AP exams May be worth as much as 6 – 8 credits, depending on the 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. Only offered one time a year. Some schools accept AP exams for placement purposes, but do not award actual credits. CLEP/DSST/Others May be worth 3 – 12 credits, depending on the exam and school. Can be taken by anyone. (Students under 13 need to contact the College Board about registration for CLEPS.) Can be taken any time of the year. Retakes may be done after a 3- month waiting period. Some schools accept AP exams, but not others.

Applying for Credit “The Big Three Colleges” 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.” 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.) Other Colleges and Universities May or may not accept testing credits. 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 -

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 Work on your own time, using your own chosen materials You do all the planning 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 Dual Enrollment Must work on the college’s schedule An instructor does the planning/guides the course Requires enrollment, and typically placement testing (or SAT/ACT scores); usually has an age/grade- level 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. 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 Open Admissions No competing for limited space 1 SAT/ACT NOT required You do not have to take these exams for admission 2 You can start any time Even middle schoolers are already working for college credits 3

High School & College Together Step 1 Research “The Big Three” Step 2 Choose a degree or focus on general 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: school-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:

Where Do You Go From Here?

College PlusCollege 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. 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!

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. THINK ABOUT IT!

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.

The current UCF cost of tuition and fees for one credit hour (in- state tuition) is $ To cover the basic English 101 and 102 level courses, this would be $ – 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 1/10 th 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? Final Thought