And What About College?: How Homeschooling Leads to Admissions to the Best Colleges & Universities

Authors Cafi Cohen and Patrick Farenga have addressed the "getting into college" questions raised by parents schooling their older children at home, like, "How do we work up a set of transcripts?" "How do we get them into college without a recognized degree?" and "What choices in education do we have?"The sub-title of the book might be misleading. Although a portion of the book talks about getting a child into the "best" universities and colleges, this book will be helpful to homeschoolers concerned about getting their children into any (or not necessarily the best) college. We purchased the book several years ago and have followed its procedure. We had no trouble getting our daughter enrolled in college. The book provides clearcut and specific direction that alleviates the fears many of us home-schooling parents experience as we begin the high school years. It is helpful even if your children are not the frequent "home schooled genius types."Since working up a transcript is best done on a year by year basis, the best time for parents to read this book is probably just before they homeschool their (first) child in the 9th grade.The information on transcripts is worth the purchase price of the book itself.I especially appreciated the authors' description of getting into local colleges through the "side door" approach by home-schooled teens taking a college course or two during the high school years.Mentioned but not detailed in the book, there are colleges that are especially predisposed to homeschooled students. Many evangelical Christian colleges would be included in that number.The book will not only create confidence in parents, it will also provide answers to all those nagging questions that friends or family might ask, as demonstrated by the title, "And What About College."

With a college-bound son who just turned 15, I find myself returning to this book again and again for advice, solace, detailed information, guidance. Cafi Cohen has been through it all. Her son attended the Air Force Academy and is now a test pilot. Her daughter attended an excellent college. AND she did a non-traditional, loose hs program with her kids. I wrote up a transcript for my son this week, using her book, and was truly heartened to see how beautifully it all came together. This is one of the best homeschool advice books I have ever read. A real gem.

I want to thank Cafi for the wealth of information contained in 'And What About College?' We used it for all aspects of the process- from early planning when Shauna was 13 to the final stamping of the five college applications... We are happy to report that Shauna is accepted at Brown University under early action, and awaits word from the other four. Cafi's guidance, humor, clarity and ideas were invaluable... and the sample cover letters were a helpful prompt for this homeschool principal! I look forward to her new book and wish her the best!

Dear Ms Cohen,I am emailing to thank you for the wonderful book you wrote, And What About College? With the help of your book and The Dummies Book on Financial Aid, my homeschooled daughter has been accepted into the Honor's Program at a small university in Austin, Texas and has been awarded a full scholarship for four years. We couldn't be happier! And I could never have presented her so fully without your advice, your experience, and the wonderful model letters, transcripts, and resumes presented in your book. I learned so much in the process; hundreds of hours went into all this. And we were successful!We live in India and are volunteers in a unique school that was developed in Kerala. We are not missionaries, yet without the generous scholarships we would not have been able to afford college. Not only did I need to get her into the college of her choice, but I needed to present her as a student they couldn't live without.Of course she is a good student, worthy of the awards she has received. However, you gave me the format, the language, and the confidence to present her in the best possible light so that the college could recognize her unique experiences and qualities.We both have attended orientation, classes have started, and my daughter is happy. SEU and the college experience it is offering her has been a wonderful choice. I thank you for your book; you are one of the people who is responsible for my daughter's success.With deepest gratitude, Homeschooling Overseas

This book addresses a very real need for a down-to-earth reassuring resource about preparing homeschooled children for college. The author breaks things down into workable segments, and gives many examples in the appendices in the back of the book, such as examples of their homemade transcripts, book lists, and activities. Since they used a combination of "school-at-home" and real life experiences to complete their high school credits, I believe this book shows that there is "no one right way" to do it, but gives enough ideas and exammples, that most of us can take heart that what we are doing is going to work. As a homeschool mother, I am glad this book is available for the sake of the many homeschoolers with children approaching high school graduation.