Homeschoolers, out of any group of people, seem to be the most focused on getting in to college.
Why?
Incidentally, the logic that leads people to opt out of the traditional education experience is the same reason they should avoid college.
If the goal is to create an individual experience, then why would a young person go off to learn in the same institution everyone else pursues?
The value of a college degree is determined by the people who hold it.
This is the reason homeschoolers should take a step back and think about the college experience. What does the degree really signal? If it puts you on the level of every other college student that holds the degree, does it really set you apart?
When you have already been set apart by your homeschool experience, there is no reason to try to give yourself an edge. You already have one.
Homeschooled young people are supposed to be ahead of the game. Otherwise, there’d be no reason to learn at home instead of in a school environment.
They’re ahead because they’re different. They’re different because they haven’t gone through the exact same schooling process that everyone else has finished.
But…
College also trains young adults to think inside a box.
At the very least, it gives each person the same blueprint.
This is the antithesis of homeschooling.
To be fair, there was an advantage to college several decades ago. But technology has advanced to the point where information can be accessed much more cheaply than before.
Technology has also made it possible for individuals to signal value without a degree. They can learn while creating content, using their skills to reach others.
Besides, college textbooks can hardly keep up with the advances in technology. It makes much more sense to involve yourself in the advancing world than to hide away for several years while you “learn how to think.”
Homeschoolers, don’t break the mold just to put yourself into it again.