All the military academies accept homeschoolers, and homeschoolers are on completely equal footing with every other applicant. The academic preparation for a military academy is actually the easy part. It’s the extracurricular, leadership and physical fitness aspects of preparation that are much more difficult to achieve! It’s completely possible if you have the right kind of child. I have a local homeschool friend and her son was recently admitted to an academy – REAL homeschoolers REALLY do get in.
They will ask you to give a “list of courses with materials used.” That means they want very detailed course descriptions. If you want an example, that is why I published my book, the “Setting the Records Straight.” Consider it a template for creating your own very impressive records.
Military academies also want to see a reading list. “Setting the Records Straight” also includes our homeschool reading list, so you can see what that looks like and how it fits within the whole package of course descriptions. The reading list includes ALL the books that the student reads. Books for school, books for pleasure, Christian books, classics, fluff pieces. It’s actually important to have a good mix of classics AND current literature. I have heard some colleges complain that homeschoolers only read the classics and don’t seem to have enough popular literature. This can make them look a bit artificial. The reading list is just a LIST, not a bibliography. It just needs to have the title and author of each book.
It can help your chances of success if you meet with the Military Academies early in high school. Visit their booth at a college fair, and ask detailed information about preparation and what they require. You’ll be amazed, because homeschooling will be the very least of your worries, and the easiest part of the process!
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Christianbook.com Curriculum Page
ChrissieGirl says:
Thanks Lee!
We have a couple families here who are wanting to get their child in the military and this was very helpful. One family just wanted to enlist their son, and the Army is giving mom a very hard time about it. He is requiring a certified transcript and all sorts of stuff HSLDA said they don’t have to have.
Thanks again!!
September 4th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Christy says:
Our local homeschool resource center has a college fair and two(? maybe 3) military academies send representatives. The Naval Academy even has a page on their admissions info that addresses homeschoolers. (It is my oldest son’s #1 college choice.)
September 5th, 2009 at 4:23 am
Deanne says:
We have sat in on a couple of academy admission meetings..definitely begin the application process early! And if serious, find some leadership opportunities for your young people–according to our Congressman’s assistant, the main disadvantage homeschoolers have is in the area of leadership -they strongly value leadership in sports, band, student council etc. One of our friends (a non homeschooler) was accepted to the Naval Academy and his application process took 3 years-he started his Soph year of high school. Another option is the ROTC program-they also like leadership but less stringent-LOL, can you tell we are military focused…also check for a local Sea Cadet program if your area has one. This is a high school program that is sponsored by the Navy League and although has no military requirements post high school-gives exposure to the military “way” to teens and also if they do decide military is what they want to do-will earn them higher rank in the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard after boot camp.
January 22nd, 2011 at 5:25 pm