Does homeschooling kill my chances of getting into a good college?

There are plenty of really good colleges that actively recruit home schoolers. Home school grads most prove themselves with really good ACT-SAT test scores.

I would really recommend enrolling as a community college as a dual-enrollment student, getting both high school and college credit. Why? this will reduce your college tuition bill. Not all colleges will take community college classes, but most will. The last thing you want to do is graduate with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt from a "top university", and yet still be unemployed. or worse, owing $1000 a month in student loans and trying to earn enough to pay the bill and live in your own place. Also, look into CLEP tests. If you are good at taking tests, this is just another option to gain college credit for less money. http://clep.collegeboard.org/started I took ten tests, passed eight. This took nearly a year off my time in college.

"Homeschooling for Excellence" details how the Colfax family homeschooled their four boys into Harvard. Homeschooler Chelsea Link feared she might not get into any top schools. She got into seven: ------ In what has been called the most competitive year ever for college admissions, Chelsea Link defied the odds to get accepted into Yale. Then Harvard. Then came the fat envelopes from Princeton, Columbia, University of Chicago, Stanford and Northwestern University. Making that feat still more extraordinary, Link has been home-schooled since age 5. "I was a little nervous," the Evanston 18-year-old said. "I was worried that I might not get into even one school." http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-04-18/news/0804180278_1_schooled-dean-of-undergraduate-admissions-applicants ----- There’s also Kerry Anderson, a student who spent her middle- and high-school career riding across the country in the cab of her mom’s big rig and homeschooling. A recruiter from Harvard came looking for her in 2007. She graduated from Harvard in 2010, and plans to continue to law school: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128674314 You may also want to check out this book: http://www.amazon.com/What-About-College-Homeschooling-Universities/dp/0913677116/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1307074282&sr=8-4

As noted above, many highly selective universities appreciate the value of a home schooling education. If you cannot find the information directly on the school's website, contact your target universities to find out how to apply as a homeschool student. There will be requirements on how to submit your transcripts, etc. And, yes, this does put more focus on your ACT. SAT, SAT Subject Tests and essays. Also don't forget to pursue passions and activities. Stanford and Yale are looking to see dedication outside the classroom too. I urge you to think twice about graduating early. Of course, there are many good reasons to do so. That said, it really isn't that fun being a reserved 16-year-old freshman at a highly competitive university. It isn't about IQ or academic ability; it has to do with maturity and life experience too.