One of the most common worries homeschooling parents seem to have is: Will my children be able to get into university? The answer to this question is definitely yes. But what about unschoolers? Again the answer is yes. My unschooler is all set to study a Bachelor of Arts degree. How has she got to this point? This is Imogen’s year 12 story…
But how was Imogen going to get onto the course of her choice? Together we formulated a plan, the first plan of Imogen’s unschooling career. The plan, not only had to result in a place at university, it also had to take into account her desire to continue indulging her other passions.
- Completed 3 Open Universities units, one unit per semester: Introduction to University Learning, Critical Thinking and Introduction to Writing.
- Continued singing and piano lessons and prepared for piano
exam.
- Sang with church choir as soloist and choir member, and practised and performed with a second choir.
- Increased her musicianship knowledge.
- Listened to music.
- Taught piano to her siblings.
- Taught singing to her siblings.
- Wrote 3 draft novels during 3 separate NaNoWriMo months.
- Edited her writings.
- Wrote posts for her own blog, Dancing with Dragonflies.
- Participated in online writing forums.
- Read numerous writing books to learn more about planning a novel and editing.
- Read, watched and discussed all the Shakespeare plays the rest of the family were studying.
- Watched and discussed all the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas the rest of the family were enjoying. Sang songs from the operettas.
- Enjoyed other musical DVDs.
- Joined in with family prayers and other devotions, Bible readings and
meditations, spiritual readings and talks.
- Enjoyed her drawing and doodling, improving her skills and filling numerous journals.
- Sewed her own clothes.
- Cooked the majority of the family meals.
- Became a 5 km runner and ran with the family a few times a
week.
- Participated in indoor soccer competitions.
- Watched many documentaries with the rest of the family.
- Watched lots of movies worthy of discussion.
- Participated in all the outings and excursions the rest of us went on, including museums and galleries, the beach and the bush.
- Read classics such as Dickens, Austen, Bronte, Gaskell… and watched mini-series and movie versions.
- Read so many books, I could never list them all.
- Took an interest in everything her siblings were learning.
- Discussed anything and everything.
- She might have done maths and Latin but she finished the courses earlier than expected.
So Imogen had a great year. Her ‘plan’ allowed her to continue following her passions, in an unschooling way, while at the same time she was able to work towards an HSC alternative qualification
With her ‘score’, I don’t think Imogen will have any difficulty getting into an on-campus university course of her choice if that’s what she wants to do. At the moment, she is very reluctant to drop everything and focus all her time on only one of her interests. So she has decided to study her degree (Professional Writing and Publishing) online because it’s a flexible way of learning. She should still be able to find time for her other passions, like music.
Can homeschooled students get into university? Yes. Can unschooled students get into university? Yes. All it takes is a plan.
A plan? Normally, we don’t plan. But maybe when it comes to university learning, a plan for the final year is something to consider. It needn’t be a very structured one with no room for manoeuvre. It can be a very unschooly type plan like Imogen’s.
So this year, I will have one less unschooling child, and one more university student. But Imogen will still be at home with Charlotte, Sophie, Gemma-Rose and me as she studies. She will still be around to share and chat and play and watch and read and discuss. I will probably not notice any difference between this year and last. I think I am going to like this arrangement very much.
PS There are other ways and means of satisfying a university’s educational requirement than with an Open Universities score. This is only one way of achieving a rating. But having no experience with anything else, I can’t tell you more
