Homeschooled Students Ready to Succeed in College

With the extremely flexible hours of a homeschooled environment and the absence of peer pressure/pressure to conform, homeschooled students have a unique and rare advantage over those brought up in a public-schooled environment. Students can work at a pace that's comfortable for them, while spending more time on things of special interest or having the opportunity to travel.
Autumn Lee of Ithaca College (who received options of completing her Bachelor degree in just two years at age 18), said "I didn't miss out on anything--missed prom, but that's not a big deal. I learned more in ninth grade at home than I did in two years at the community college." In 2003, 0.6% of the students who took the ACTs were homeschooled, which has risen from 0.2% in 1997. And, the average score for homeschooled students on the ACT was 1.7 points higher than the overall average score. So why are they being discriminated against (ie. Monroe Community College in Rochester, N.Y.), and just exactly how? The admission process for homeschooled students has been complicated by individual colleges across the nation and recently, Congress issued new legislation against it. Contained therein, Congress encourages colleges and universities receiving government funding to discontinue their discrimination against homeschoolers. The House Report specifically recommends that colleges and universities change any admissions policies which force homeschooled students to take additional tests beyond what is required of traditionally schooled students, including taking the GED and SAT II exams in lieu of a transcript/diploma from an accredited high school. Also in the report: The Committee believes that college admissions should be determined based on academic ability of the student and not the accreditation status of the school in which he or she received secondary education.
Colleges are being asked, or rather told, by Congress to stop discriminating against homeschoolers who essentially do better at standardized tests than those in a public school system.
It seems as though the children of "picked on" or teased parents are reaping the repercussions. A lot of parents who've been very successful in life (professors, etc.), and have chosen to homeschool their children, were picked on and taunted through the majority if not all of their time in a public school system. These parents have done everything in their power to protect their children from the discrimination they so heavily endured. It saddens me to know that educational institutions are the ones now inflicting this discrimination Harvard has no problem accepting homeschooled students with an essay, a recommendation letter from a teacher and one from a counselor. Yet community colleges put these students through unneeded and scrupulous testing. I'm not seeing a connection here. I'm glad Congress has stepped in to help.
In my readings, I've found that some believe high schools waste time or do not use time as effectively as they could. My high school was extremely effective with high curriculum levels. For two out of the four years I was in high school, I had a college professor of 13 years as my engish teacher. I'd not trade that for anything in the world, as it is the solid foundation for the basis of my writing. If not for him, I would not possess the ability to structure my thoughts, as complex as they are, into the flowing pieces of art they've become today. So, I cannot say I would've rather been homeschooled; besides, I didn't really have a choice. My mother was a single mom and a hairdresser, who quit school in the 6th grade. Homeschooling was not a possibility for me. And, even though I was ridiculed incessantly as a child, I'd do it all over again for the experiences I had in high school. Above all else, I believe that our individual experiences serve as a common ground on which both sides may meet.