Homeschoolers

Please be sure to read the “How to get into university” page for detailed university admissions information that describes the admission process for all categories of applicants, including homeschoolers!

This page will be updated with information for Canadian homeschoolers looking for information on high school level academics and university preparation as well as issues related to university admissions for homeschoolers and general homeschooling through high school resources.

And don’t forget to check out these articles on Sarah Rainsberger’s Ontario-based website:

7 Ways to get into university without a high school diploma – This is what the site’s all about: options for getting into university when you don’t have the traditional requirements. Rest assured, it can be done!
Homeschool Highschool Diplomas – Fact vs. Fiction – Since diplomas are the educational standard to signify high school graduation, it’s only natural to think that you need one, by any means necessary. This article clears up the confusion surrounding making your own diploma because a school didn’t give you one.
Homeschool Admission Policies – Freeing or Constraining? – Now that you’ve embraced your alternative status and realize that you don’t need a diploma, you have to come to terms with applying to university as a homeschooler.
Afraid of your “average” homeschooled kid’s university admission chances? Spend LESS time on academics! – Does all this talk about standardized tests worry you that your “average”-ly academic child is at a disadvantage taking an alternative or homeschooling university entrance path? It shouldn’t! Even “average” students can benefit from getting into university without a high school diploma. Read how!
6 ways to turn your interests into extra-curricular activities for your university application – Now that you believe you can do it, here’s a not-to-be-missed post that tells describes one way you can use your non-traditional schooling, and the opportunity it gives you to focus on your interests, to your advantage when applying to university.

Sarah Rainsberger of UniversityAdmissions.ca also answers your questions about secondary and post-secondary education and admissions in the new Canadian publication:

Canadian Homeschooling Resources on the Web:

Academic Resources:

It’s no use getting into university if you don’t have the skills and knowledge to stay there.

Below are some links that can help you in your high school and university level studies. Many can be used as self-teaching high school or university courses. Check back for updates!

But of course, you don’t have to do it on your own. Many students use tutors, mentors, private or group lessons, study groups with peers, libraries, community groups and resource centres to assist in self-directed learning. Self-study doesn’t mean you can’t involve other people in your education. It just means that you take control of your own learning and pick and choose what works for you and which resources (human or otherwise) you consult. It means that you can change course along the way, or revisit something that worked for you in the past.

GENERAL ACADEMIC STUDY WEBSITES

http://www.academicearth.org/subjects/
http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm
http://open.edu/itunes/
http://www.open.ac.uk/openlearn/
http://openstudy.com/ – make the world your study group!
http://www.clrn.org/fdti/ California Learning Resource Network – Digital Textbook Initiative
http://instructionaltech.rusd.k12.ca.us/digital_textbooks.htm – more high school math and science textbooks free online in pdf format
http://www.ipl.org – a public service organization where thousands of students and volunteer library and information science professionals have been involved
http://www.sophia.org/ – short instructional teaching videos on a variety of school subjects

MATH
http://www.khanacademy.org/ – Video lessons and interactive course work with performance and achievement metrics. Highly recommended for learning through short video lessons!
http://emd.athabascau.ca/opencourseware/index.html – Complete high school math support to prepare for Calculus
http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/ – Paul’s Online Math Notes – complete class notes, cheat sheets, downloads and reviews. Highly recommended for learning through notes! Be sure to check out his page of math links, too.

ENGLISH
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/ – Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/ – LEO: Literacy Online
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/ – Guide to Grammar and Writing
http://www.bartleby.com/141/ – The Elements of Style writing handbook
http://kimberlychapman.com/essay/essay.html – How to Write an Essay
http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/arguments/argument1.htm – Essays and Arguments: A Handbook on Writing Argumentative and Interpretative Essays
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/EngPaper/thesis.html – Getting an A on an English Paper