Homeschoolers and College Scholarship Competitions

Colleges love homeschool students, and they love to give scholarships to homeschoolers.  Sometimes those scholarships will require extra effort.  Judy asked me about College Interviews:

We have homeschooled since 5th grade.  My son has been accepted at the University with the President’s Scholarship (hooray!) which is $17,000 per year.  On Feb 7th, he will be interviewed for the Full Tuition Scholarship. Only 5 of the 100 interviewed will receive it. Do you have suggestions for the kinds of questions he should be prepared to answer?
~ Judy in Washington

Dear Judy,

During most interviews, colleges are looking for a kid who has good social skills.  Do they look you in the eye and have a firm handshake?  Can they talk with anyone of any age?  That’s one of the reason why homeschoolers do so well with interviews – they often have great social skills.  So relax,  most of your preparation for the interview has already been done!  They are looking for someone warm and friendly.  They do understand that kids will sound like kids and not adults.  At the same time, they are trying to decide if “the lights are on” inside.  If they mention President Obama, can the child give an opinion?  That sort of thing.

Colleges will likely ask, “Tell me something about yourself?”  For that reason, it would be a good idea to ask that question, and brainstorm some possible answers.  They may ask specific questions about your area of specialization: sports, music, or an academic area for example.  Think for a moment about some possible topics that you could bring up.   You may want to think of questions you can ask the college about your major, or the living situation.

Here is a list of “Don’ts” from the College Board website, www.collegeboard.com

Don’t …

• Be late
• Memorize speeches—sound natural and conversational
• Ask questions covered by the college catalog
• Chew gum
• Wear lots of cologne or perfume
• Swear or use too much slang
• Be arrogant—there’s a fine line between being confident and boasting
• Lie—it will come back to haunt you
• Respond with only yes or no answers
• Tell the school it’s your safety
• Be rude to the receptionist or any other staff you meet
• Bring a parent into the interview

I was in the same situation with my children.  They went to an all-day competition for the full tuition scholarship at Seattle Pacific University.  They invited 108 students, and 10 were chosen.  Two of the kids selected were homeschoolers – and both were my children!  Boy, did we have a party that day!

When they were invited, they were asked to bring something that represented themselves.  My younger son brought a charcoal drawing he had made of a French Economist.  My older son brought a chess demonstration board that he used to teach chess in inner city classrooms.  Every applicant had fabulous academics, great test scores, and an interesting passion.  All of them were able to talk intelligently.  There were some “Survivor” moments, when students would try to out-answer, out-talk, and out-volunteer others.  My younger son was surprised that other kids would actually speak up more than he did!

I remember when they came home from the competition.  They both told me “It was so much fun!”  The LOVED getting to know new people, really smart kids with lots of interests.  They met kids who would talk about interesting things all day, and it was a blast!

Ultimately, we found out that they weren’t chosen just because of their performance that day.  They were chosen for intangible reasons.  How did they interact with the other students?  How did they handle the competitiveness?  How did they behave when they thought nobody was looking?  So really, it boiled down to socialization.  And character.  Most homeschoolers have those two in aces!  I think they won because it was fun for them.  Even my “quiet” son did well – it’s not about being outgoing as much as it is about being genuine.

Relax.  Have fun.  Think about a few bullet-point ideas you can use for the general “who are you” questions.

I hope that helps!  And congratulations!

Here is my 52nd article on ezinearticles.com!

Why Homeschooling Works Better Than Government Schooling

This is the one that made me the top homeschooling author on that site!  Please let me know if you like it by leaving a comment on that site!  Thanks.