College Pathways

An apprenticeship is an earn-while-you-learn career pathway where students receive paid on-the-job training alongside a mentor, progressive wage increases, and earn nationally recognized credentials—all without accumulating college debt.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) provides hands-on career training across 16 industry clusters, with many programs now accessible to homeschoolers through part-time public school enrollment or community college dual enrollment.

The Coalition Application is a free college application platform used by 160+ member schools, designed to increase college access for underrepresented students, with unique features like a digital locker where students can store materials starting in 9th grade.

The Common Application is a standardized online college application accepted by over 1,100 colleges, allowing students to apply to multiple schools using one form. Homeschool families use it with the parent serving as both educator and school counselor.

Early college refers to programs allowing high school students to take college-level courses and earn college credits before graduation, often saving significant time and money on higher education.

Homeschool-friendly colleges are institutions that treat homeschooled applicants fairly, accept parent-issued diplomas and transcripts, have clear admission policies for homeschoolers, and often provide dedicated support or recruitment for homeschool students.

Portfolio-based admissions allow students to submit curated collections of work samples, projects, and documentation to demonstrate academic abilities and achievements to colleges, supplementing or sometimes replacing traditional transcripts and test scores.

ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) is a college program that prepares students to become military officers while earning their degree. Homeschool students are fully eligible for ROTC scholarships, and federal law now requires public schools to admit homeschoolers into JROTC programs.

Service academy prep refers to the academic, physical, and extracurricular preparation required for admission to one of the five U.S. military service academies, as well as official preparatory schools that help candidates strengthen their applications.

A trade school (also called vocational school or technical school) is a postsecondary institution that trains students for specific skilled trades in 8 weeks to 2 years, offering a faster, more affordable path to employment than traditional four-year colleges.