When a student is applying for admission and doesn’t have a high school diploma, it says to the admissions office that this student flunked out, dropped out, was kicked out, or wasn’t dedicated enough to graduate high school. The last thing you should want for your student is to be lumped in with this group!

Since homeschoolers are some of the brightest and most academically gifted students in the country, don’t demean yourself by stooping to the level of the GED. If you keep accurate records and transcripts, most universities won’t even ask to see a diploma. If you do wish to provide one for your student, check out Home School Diploma for custom made diplomas and other graduation goodies designed specifically for homeschoolers.

It is possible that you may run across a college biased against or ignorant of homeschooling who will require your student to take the GED before the application is considered for admission. If you encounter this, look for another school. The GED is for high school drop-outs, and homeschoolers are far from drop-outs! Although now a much rarer occurrence, it does still happen, and when it does, can be very disconcerting for many parents and students. Don’t play into this game. Rise above it and prove your student is well above this inferior academic level. Don’t take it personally, they just don’t know. If you want to try and educate them, go ahead, but many times it’s easier to save the headaches and simply move on to another school.

So, to recap, don’t take the GED, unless you feel it’s easier than fighting with the school who requires it, and you don’t mind your student being categorized with high school drop-outs.

Can my child earn a diploma of some sort, or is the only option to have a certificate stating that he passed the GED?

If you decide to use a 3rd-party curriculum, they will most likely award a high school graduation diploma. Many of these “schools” are fully accredited, so the college or university chosen should accept this without issue. Since practically every school now requires the ACT or SAT to be taken, the need for an accredited curriculum has been greatly diminished. You may even choose to award your own “home-made” diploma. Nothing wrong with this at all. Many parents do this and have no problems.

Taking the GED is an option, but one I would only recommend as a last resort. There is a stigma attached to it that will probably never change. Someone with a GED as their only credential screams “high school dropout.” If the college in question lists the GED as a requirement for homeschool admissions, I would look for another school.

We have named our Home School. Is it fine to use this name on any documents asking for school name, or is it best to include that it is a Home School?

By all means, use the name which you have given your home school, as it adds an element of credibility. Depending upon the state in which you live, by doing this, you may actually be considered a “private school,” and this tends to make the reviewing university more lenient.

Kristen, thanks for the great questions!