Have you previously wondered about the distinction between an “accredited” and an “official” homeschool transcript? A mother got in contact with me because she was assured her son could play on a private school baseball team – IF he came into that school’s Independent Study program. The school said he needed an accredited home school transcript from his 9th grade year to establish that he is in the 10th grade this year. The mother was under the impression that his work was accredited by her. The school disagreed and stated they could examine his transcript from last year for $50 per credit hour.
So, what does accreditation really mean? How does a homeschool student get “accredited” transcripts without spending hundreds of dollars?
There is a big difference between an “accredited” and an “official” homeschool transcript. Homeschool credits are official, and our transcripts are official. Homeschool transcripts are ordinarily NOT accredited, however. Accredited transcripts are offered by certified programs, with some sort of government oversight. For that reason, they are typically avoided by independent homeschoolers. Even though it’s vital to note that a certified program is not essentially better than your homeschool program, in this case the school was correct. Our homeschool credits are not accredited. They are official, however, when you act within your state law.
There are a lot of programs that can accredit your transcript. They may cost about $50-$100 per credit or more. It accumulates quickly, and it can be VERY expensive in the long term. At one point I estimated that a whole 4-year high school would be $2000-$5000 just for a piece of paper that said “accredited. ” Accreditation organizations make a lot of money this way!
The price of accreditation wasn’t worth the difficulties for my family. Seemingly didn’t matter to our college or university choices either. My sons acquired great scholarships from each and every college where they applied. They were in addition both given a four-year full-tuition scholarships based on my “mommy-made” official yet unaccredited transcripts. The admissions director at that university said my transcripts and records were the finest he had ever looked at. And he had seen many of transcripts, accredited and official!
Accredited programs often come with strings attached. You have to join up with them, and use their curriculum, follow their procedures, and work at their speed. They may need to have increased record keeping from the parent. Using accreditation programs can greatly reduce your autonomy and versatility to build the best homeschool high school experience for your child.
Strangely enough, the mother who got in contact with me might possibly have had better luck with a baseball team associated with a public school. Ask public schools about playing on their sport team, and see if they will let you access under part-time enrollment. That will allow for you to take part in without being a student at the school. I know parents who have picked that choice.
If you decide to save some money by building your own “official” transcripts, you will need to start by keeping good high school records. Did you know that failing to keep good homeschool records in high school is one of the “5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School? ” Learn how to avoid all 5 mistakes in my free e-mail mini-course.
And make sure you check out my latest homeschool high school product, the Total Transcript Solution to learn the techniques of making an AMAZING “official” homeschool transcript that will win over the universities.