Most home-schooled students require a portfolio of their academic work. The academic portfolio should have a list of courses that the student has studied and about which the colleges would be interested in knowing. These portfolios help colleges assess the student's academic performance and his strengths in various subjects. The portfolio must be creative and informative, and must give information about the student's activities during her high school years. It must have a record of the academic performance from grades nine to 12.
Many colleges that admit home-schooled students need students to sit for entrance tests. Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Testing (ACT) scores are the most widely accepted ones in America. These tests cover areas such as English, Math, Reading Comprehension and Science. Preparations for these tests could be done through self-study or study materials available online. The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) is an ideal preparation for the SAT test, as it gives firsthand experience relating to what students can expect during the actual test.
One of the major advantages that home-schooled students have when compared to regular students is the amount of time on hand. Colleges place more importance on the extracurricular activities of a home-schooled student than a regular school student, as it helps them assess how effectively the student has made use of the additional time during his homeschooling days. It also lets them gauge the talent and potential of the home-schooled student in disciplines other than academics.
Home-schooled students should start acquiring letters of recommendation as soon as they contemplate admissions into college. The recommendation letters should come from influential people, such as those who are part of the university's alumni or belong to some other prestigious university's alumni. The letter should talk about the student's leadership skills, oral and written communication skills, passion for the course chosen for admission and team-building and other relevant skills. The more influential the person providing the recommendation letter, the brighter the student's chances are to gain admission to the college.