Community College Information for Texas Homeschoolers

Community Colleges

Community Colleges offer homeschoolers preparation for a four-university in two ways.

It can save students a tremendous amount of money in tuition and living expenses.

It avoids the entire issue of required courses.

Dual Credit

In Texas, homeschool students can attend college through dual credit programs. Dual credit allows high school students to take classes at the community college for both high school and college credit. Generally, students must have minimum scores on one of the various college admission tests such as the SAT, ACT, or Accuplacer. Some colleges do not charge any tuition for dual credit students while others may charge a discounted tuition.

Dual credit classes are a great way for homeschoolers to take science and foreign language classes that many find difficult to do own their own. They also provide an "objective" grade for transcripts and allow students to start learning how to negotiate college life.

Problems

Transferring. There are several problems with community college classes. Many students find out, only after they apply to a four-year university, that many of their classes will not transfer as course credit required for degree completion. In other words, their classes transfer, but they will only count for elective credits. Students need to plan their community college courses carefully so that all credits transfer. Many community colleges have developed articulation agreements with four-year universities. These agreements guarantee credits for specific classes. Students will need to check with the community college's transfer department for a list of these agreements.

Credit. Another issue is that many colleges will count dual credit classes only for high school credit or college credit, but not both. If you are attending community colleges to save on college expenses, such policies can defeat your purpose.

Graduation Rates. Community colleges have notoriously low graduation rates. For students interested in pursuing a four year degree, graduation rates hover around 20%. If you are taking community college classes as a way to get a four-year degree while saving some money, the results might not be worth the savings. Ultimately, homeschoolers will probably find community college courses to be best used as part of their homeschool transcript rather than a start on their college transcript.

NISD Community Education SAT Preparation

This course prepares you for the Verbal and Math Reasoning sections of the SAT tests. Each class is two sessions; six hours on a Saturday, from 9:00am-3:00pm and, two hours on a weekday, i.e. Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs from 6:00pm-8:00pm. Materials are included in the cost of the tuition. $55.

9/27/2008 Clark High School

10/25/2008 Stevens High School

11/15/2008 O'Connor High School

1/17/2009 O'Connor High School

Paying for College Made Easy

There's no escaping the fact that college costs are rising. But don't panic - help is here! Financial aid is intended to make up the difference between what your family can afford to pay and what college costs. This comprehensive course will cover: how to manage the financial aid process, traditional financial aid programs, tax credits and deductions, academic programs to reduce costs, public service and other higher education financing opportunities to assist with self-planning. It is designed for families with students in grades 11-12 and activities are for both traditional and home-schooling students. Dr. Lynn Byrne is the Assistant Director of Financial Assistance at the University of the Incarnate Word. A $12.50 workbook fee can be paid to the instructor in class or can be downloaded from www.lulu.com/hillcountryecs/.

MacArthur High School Rm. A206, 2 Weeks, Mon., Beg. 9/22/2008, 06:30 PM-08:30 PM, $41.00

NEISD Community Education SAT Preparation

Each student will receive the text "The Official SAT Study Guide," which includes critical reading strategies, writing practices for the PSAT and math strategies. The workshop offers intensive practice. $30 materials fee payable to instructor at first class. Bring a calculator and pencil to each class. Tami Shaw is a high school counselor and Karen Taliaferro is a high school math instructor. When registering for the class, please sign in and register with the student's information. SAT test dates are November 1, 2008 and December 6, 2008.

Madison High School Portable 21B, 8 Sessions, Mon. & Wed., Beg. 9/29/2008, 06:15 PM-08:30 PM, $130.00

The Great Scholarship Search

Educational costs continue to soar year after year. Dr. Lynn Byrne, Assistant Director of Financial Assistance at the University of the Incarnate Word will assist students (grades 11 and 12) and families in this hands-on interactive workshop. She will provide you with the essential information you need to know about scholarships and help develop your personal scholarship search.

Reagan High School Rm. IND 104, 1 Session, Wed., Beg. 10/22/2008, 06:30 PM-08:30 PM, $23.00