Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Homeschoolers are on the cutting edge of creative trends in education. This week on Home School Heartbeat, Mike Farris talks about one of these positive trends�attending college online.

Mike:


Education experts are seeing a new national trend emerging among high school students. It's estimated that as many as 8% of high school juniors and seniors are taking college courses while still attending high school.


Of course, this trend is nothing new to homeschoolers. It's not uncommon for a homeschool student to take college courses during high school years.


This combination of high school and college offers many benefits for both homeschooling parents and students.


Students benefit by getting a head start on college credit, which will make it possible to graduate from college even earlier. Getting an early start on college courses while still at home can make the high school-to-college transition a lot easier.


Taking college courses part-time in high school is one of the best ways to prepare for college. Additionally, college courses will dramatically improve your transcript for college entrance. Standardized test scores will become more irrelevant as the student takes more college work.


Homeschooling parents benefit from reduced time spent on grading and unit preparation. This will likely save money as well since the total cost of college tends to be cheaper if the initial college credit is earned while the student is still living at home.


Patrick Henry College seeks to serve homeschoolers in this area by offering distance learning courses. In addition to the other benefits mentioned, these courses will be rooted in a biblical worldview that is not found at most colleges. I'm Mike Farris.