NCHE College Fair

Today I got to check out the College Fair at the NCHE Conference.  I must say, every year this gets a little bit bigger.  That says a lot about homeschooling and colleges.   Even a great big college like Baylor University was there.  So what does that say about the caliber of colleges coming to the conference?  They want our kids!

I spent some time talking to reps. from Alabama University, Anderson College and Lees-McRae College.  I encourage you to take time to talk to the reps.  They are a wealth of information.  Encourage your kids to open up and talk to them.  I think that’s they one thing I see as a blogger.  It’s nerve wracking sometimes for our kids to open their mouth and talk.  But everyone I’ve met, this year and in previous years, are super nice and helpful.

I asked the rep. from Anderson University a really good question, “What is the one thing that homeschoolers are lacking?”   He gave a really great answer!  He said that  I asked a  hard question because on the whole most homeschoolers are really well prepared for college life.  Due to the fact that by high school a lot of their school time was spent doing independent study; so they are great with their study habits.  They are able to figure things out on their own and aren’t having to be reminded to get things done.  They perform as well, if not better, in the classroom and they adjust to campus life better.  He did say that if he had to pick one thing, it would be that they aren’t as quick to ask for help when they need it.

All of that independent spirit can be be an asset and a liability.   On the one hand when stuck, homeschoolers will try every possibility internally to get to an answer, which is great.  But the flipside is that a lot of them don’t ask for help soon enough.  I guess we just need to make sure our kids know when and how to ask for help.  Remember asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength.  We need to remind them not to let their perfectionism get in the way.  So, not really a bad thing!

I also found out from the Lees-McRae College rep. that you can set up a tour of their college and probably others as a group.  I knew you could do individual college tour, but I didn’t know that you and whole group could come.  She suggested that an entire homeschool group could come together for a tour.  How fun!  Things are always more fun with a group.  So why not make a day or a couple of days college visitation days for your homeschool group?

That’s all for now!  Stay tuned for more from the conference!

Look at the colleges that came:

• Anderson University    Anderson, SC
• Baylor University    Waco, TX
• Berry College    Mount Berry, GA
• Camp Caraway for Boys    Ashboro, NC
• Carolina Center for Civic Education    NC Mock Trial, NC
• Fire School of Ministry    Harrisburg, NC
• Great Wolf Lodge    Concord, NC
• Heritage Bible College, Dunn, NC
• Laurel University    High Point, NC
• Lees-McRae College    Banner Elk, NC
• Liberty University School of Law    Lynchburg, VA
• Meredith College    Raleigh, NC
• Montreat College    Montreat, NC
• North Carolina Wesleyan College    Rocky Mount, NC
• Patrick Henry College    Purcellville, VA
• Regent University    Virginia Beach, VA
• Rivendell Sanctuary    Bloomington, MN
• The College at Southeastern     Wake Forest, NC
• The University of Alabama    Tuscaloosa, AL
• Universal Technical Institute    Mooresville, NC
• William Peace University    Raleigh, NC