Myths about unsocialized home-school students, experts say, are mostly false, and that oftentimes they are well prepped for college, perhaps even more so than in-school students.
Parents and students from the home-schooling community say the nontraditional method yields teens that are more independent and therefore better prepared for college life.
More than 2 million U.S. students in grades K-12 were homeschooled in 2010, accounting for nearly 4 percent of all school-aged children, according to the National Home Education Research Institute.
Homeschooled students graduated at a higher rate than their peers -- 66.7 percent compared to 57.5 percent -- and earned higher grade point averages along the way, according to the study.
Admissions counselor and author Marjorie Hansen Shaevitz, who previously working in the office of the dean of students at Stanford University, says home-schooled students often choose academic and social pursuits because they find them important and meaningful, and college admissions officers are drawn to that authenticity.
