HSLDA members receive 10% off! Access the HSLDA member coupon code on the Academy's Member Savings page.

Preparing for College

Preparing for college can be a scary process, but HSLDA is here to help with free resources, online courses, and our experience with thousands of college-bound families. We've found students succeed in college when they are academically and financially ready for it. 

Preparing for College Academics

College-Level Courses

College-Level courses, like HSLDA's AP® courses, help high school students experience college-level difficulty while still in high school. Even if you aren't ready for AP® courses, you can also prep for college with engaging but challenging high school classes. Check HSLDA's high school courses for some great options!

Transcripts

Admissions counselors use transcripts to asses students' academic readiness, so it's critical that your student's is in good shape! One of HSLDA's high school consultants, Carol Becker, has a free crash course on creating a transcript. HSLDA also has a transcript service that will format the transcript properly and automatically calculate the GPA. 

Homeschooled students are accepted at almost every college and university in America today, and being homeschooled is not seen as detrimental by admissions counselors. In fact, some colleges and universities actively recruit homeschool students and staff homeschool admissions counselors to help students navigate the process.

Soft Skills

Mastering the soft skills of time-management, accountability, and independence in high school will set up a student for college success. When students know how to read a syllabus and set reasonable schedules, they lay the foundation for a worthwhile and rewarding college experience. Every HSLDA Online Academy course requires students to practice these soft skills. In fact, graduating seniors who have taken an Academy class frequently cite the time management and accountability skills as one of the most important things they learned. 

Preparing Finances for College

SAT/ACT

Your SAT® or ACT® score can help you get into the college of your dreams and pay for it too. Many colleges and universities award academic scholarships based on a student's SAT® or ACT® score. Boosting your SAT® score by a mere 100 points can increase your scholarship potential up to $10,000. 

HSLDA Online Academy offers SAT® Prep Genius, an 8-week course that teaches students a critical thinking strategy for the SAT®, ACT®, and PSAT/NMSQT®. Watch a free 90-minute webinar to see how these strategies can help your student. 

PSAT/NMSQT

Most families think the PSAT/NMSQT® is a practice test, but it's actually one of the requirements for the National Merit Scholarship. The top 1% of test-takers in every state become semifinalists, which unlocks additional scholarships from colleges and universities. If you become a finalist or a recipient, you can score even more scholarships and other perks. 

Our SAT Prep Genius course helps students score well on the PSAT/NMSQT® in addition to the SAT® and ACT®. Watch this free webinar on the PSAT/NMSQT® and what you and your student can do to earn these scholarships!

Academy College Scholarships

HSLDA Online Academy Student of the Year

Every year, HSLDA Online Academy students can participate in the Student of the Year Scholarship competition to earn up to $1,000 for college. Students are judged based on an essay, short video, and a special achievement. This opportunity is only available to enrolled HSLDA students.

Academy Alumni Scholarship to PHC

When students take an AP® course with HSLDA Online Academy, they are eligible for a tuition-match scholarship to Patrick Henry College. Students can take an AP® course with the Academy, potentially earn college credit, and then use that money again as tuition at PHC. 

Other Scholarships and Financial Aid Opportunities

There are countless other ways to earn scholarships for college. HSLDA's consultants prepared a brief guide to scholarships for homeschoolers. Check it out!

Earning College Credit in High School

There are several ways to earn college credit in high school, which then reduces the tuition paid while in college. AP® courses prepare students for the college credit-earning AP® exams. Students can also take CLEP tests, but they aren't as widely accepted as AP® exams. 

Dual credit courses are high school courses that count for credit at colleges and universities, like our Pre-Calculus & Trigonometry and AP® Caluclus AB. Dual enrollment is an option for students who want to take courses directly from colleges and universities while still in high school, and some states even offer programs that will cover or reduce tuition for high schoolers. 

Not sure which option is best? Passing AP® scores are accepted at over 90% of colleges and universities, so AP® is often the safest bet, and 80%-90% of Academy students receive passing scores. However, every institution is different, so we recommend consulting the admissions offices of the colleges your student wishes to attend.