Matching Your Child’s Interests to What Colleges Want
If you’re a homeschooling momma of a college-bound student, you may be asking yourself the following questions: What do colleges want from applicants? And how do I match my student to his or her preferred college? I have discovered the importance of helping my children to craft their experiences into an admission application package that resonates with the college’s ideal student.
As our oldest inched closer to graduation, I was in survival mode. She would be our first to complete homeschooling, our first to be launched to college, and our first to allow me to wear the proud badge that says, “I Did It!” (The badge doesn’t exist, but it should.) I honestly had no idea what I was doing. I just knew she wanted to go to college, and we needed to figure out the process to get her there.
Our next to graduate was our other daughter who desired to play college soccer at the D1 level. Her dream meant we had to not only match to her preferred college, but we also needed to get past the NCAA gates.
Our third to cross over from high school was our firstborn son, followed by our middle son who loved Model United Nations in high school. His eyes lit up for only one university. With each one, we had much to accomplish.
So, how did this all turn out? Did all four successfully make it to their desired universities? Yes, they did, praise the Lord. Here are a few correlations that I discovered.
Colleges have mission statements and profiles of their ideal-fit student. How do you discover this? Easily! Google their website and peruse their mission statements and admissions information. Let me apply this to my four graduates so you can get a vision of exactly how this works.
Both of our daughters were seeking a Christian college where our family’s values could be further developed during their four years. Their searches were quite similar, except our younger daughter desired a D1 university. It was important that their Christian worldviews would be affirmed. Our oldest began at Regent University online so she was able to accompany us to our next military assignment in Naples, Italy. After one year of studying and traveling, she desired to experience life on a college campus. Her sister was soon graduating and had been offered a D1 soccer scholarship at Liberty University. Consequently, they both found what they were seeking in Liberty University with the motto “Champions for Christ.”
Our first son, the third child to graduate, had three years of living abroad and experiencing different cultures, which began to develop in him a strong interest in international studies. While overseas, he ranked to Eagle Scout, completing a project on ancient Roman ruins on our military base. His transcript consisted of subjects like European History and Italian, with extracurriculars like laying flowers in an American military cemetery near Florence. Eventually, he chose American University in Washington, DC, ranked top ten in international studies. Its areas of focus are change in action, environmental activism, and of course, international service. His acceptance letter referenced his attainment of Eagle Scout.
Our fourth to graduate, our middle son, followed his older brother with a strong interest in international studies. His high school career was marked by a commitment to journalism, Model United Nations, and Scouts, attaining the rank of BSA Life Scout. Through his involvement with MUN, he annually participated in the large Model United Nations conference, sponsored by George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. GMU prides itself on its diverse global community and experiential learning, research projects, and internships. His proven interest in globalism and his completion of a five-course journalism certificate via Michigan State University exemplified the mission of GMU.
Where are they now? My older daughter, an international baccalaureate coordinator, received an M.Ed. in international education, is fluent in Mandarin, and is a Fulbright Global Scholar. My younger daughter completed her MSW as a graduate education diversity internship fellow and works as a social worker. Our oldest son works for a non-profit. The middle son just completed his sophomore year as an honors college Bonner Scholar.
Our youngest is a rising high school sophomore, currently a Life Scout, with a strong interest in the environment. He was accepted into the summer Virginia Youth Conservation Corp and will begin focusing on the Scouts BSA Distinguished Conservation Service Award prior to working on his Eagle Scout project. I now know if this interest continues, then his best-fit college needs to be one that matches his experiences.
AUTHOR
Natalie Mack is an author, speaker, and veteran home educator with over twenty years of service to military homeschooling families and military homeschool support group leadership. She is known for her words of encouragement, strategies, and advocacy for homeschooling, particularly during the journey from high school to college. She currently serves as president of Belvoir Home Educators and is also a frequent guest on educational and motivational podcasts. You can find her on Natalie-Mack.com and on https://shopbellblingbynatalie.com/ or on Facebook at Bella Bling by Natalie. Copyright 2022, The Old Schoolhouse®. Used with permission. All rights reserved by the Author. Originally appeared in the Fall 2022 digital issue of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, the trade publication for homeschool moms. Read The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine free at www.TOSMagazine.com, or download the free reader apps at www.TOSApps.com for mobile devices. Read the STORY of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine and how it came to be.
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