Advantages of Non-Accredited HomeSchools

Depending on state laws, there are two ways to teach students at home. One is to create a non-accredited homeschool (legal in all 50 states and accepted by colleges), and the other is to enroll your students in an accredited school that provides lessons taught in your home. Both paths offer "school at home," but there are some differences to consider.

For an online, accredited school, an external organization oversees the school to ensure it meets specific educational standards. The academic level of one accredited school is equivalent to that of another school when both are accredited by the same organization. The accredited online school keeps the student's records, produces the student's transcript, and issues the student's diploma. 

For a non-accredited homeschool, parents have total control of the school but must comply with state regulations. They set the curriculum, keep the school records, create and sign the transcript, and issue the diploma. This type of homeschool has the flexibility to teach subjects that the parent chooses and is self-paced. Non-accredited Homeschools can choose from hundreds of college credit courses that can be placed on the homeschool transcript to facilitate dual credit for high school and college. Our homeschool was non-accredited.

It is implied that a student with a transcript from an accredited school has a better chance of getting into college than a regular homeschooler. This was not the case for us; every college our parents contacted accepted homeschool transcripts enthusiastically. Colleges that accept Non-accredited transcripts include Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and the University of California. It was our parents' impression that universities prefer homeschool students. We cover college admissions in depth here.

Our parents were also aware that schools have incentives to keep students in school, as they get paid by the grade or the school year. With non-accredited homeschools, there is no incentive to prolong the years that their child stays in school, so we finished six years ahead of the accredited schools. 

The distinction between homeschooling and an online accredited school is that with the homeschool, the parent takes on more responsibility but benefits from more freedom to educate their children the way they want. Both accredited and non-accredited homeschools allow children to learn at home, which is a plus.

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