The Ins and Outs of College for Neurodivergent Homeschoolers

My Little Poppies LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate links from Amazon or other programs are used on this website. For more information, please refer to our disclosure statement.

Transcripts, credits, college apps, oh my! One of the most common questions I receive is a version of this one:

“But Cait, what about high school? How the heck do I homeschool high school?!”

It can be intimidating to think about high school science labs, credits, grades, dual enrollment, and looming college applications.

And if you are the parent of a neurodivergent kiddo? The thought of navigating high school and college applications can feel downright overwhelming.

If you can relate, you’ll love this week’s episode of The Homeschool Sisters Podcast!

Table of Contents

The Ins and Outs of College for Neurodivergent Learners

Are you homeschooling a high schooler? Is your high schooler a unique learner? Are you worried about creating transcripts? Does the thought of college applications make you break it into a cold sweat? Are you looking for practical tips and strategies for making the college application process easier? If so, you’re going to love today’s episode. Please welcome Jessica Nelson from Collegewise.

The Homeschool Sisters Podcast welcomes Jessica Nelson of Collegewise

Although Jessica may tell you she accidentally fell into a career in college admissions when she accepted a temporary position at a small liberal arts college back in 2006, her admissions career started long before that when she was a tour guide at Miami University (yes, the one in Ohio!). That temporary position turned into seven years in college admissions spanning from the beaches of Florida to the mountains of Vermont. During this time, she worked with traditional first year students, transfer students, homeschool students and everything in between.

After her time in admissions, Jessica sharpened her college counseling teeth at Landmark College, the premiere college for students that learn differently. While there, she counseled students through every step of the transfer process, and became certified in career counseling. At Landmark, she launched Landmark College Works, a campus employment program for students with learning differences that was recognized by the National Student Employment Association in 2017 for innovation in student employment. Before joining Collegewise, she read 1500+ applications for Georgia Tech.

Jessica has experienced a little bit of everything in the college world, and it definitely informs the way she works with students. She attended big universities for her undergraduate and graduate work, she has worked at the smallest liberal arts colleges, and taught classes at multiple community colleges and state universities. Her top goal when working with students is to make the unmanageable feel manageable, and help students recognize their inherent strengths and how to leverage them in the application process. She also brings a good dose of humor and empathy to all that she does. When not working with students, Jessica might be playing chauffeur to her kids, feeding her backyard chickens, on the hunt for vintage treasures, or trying to talk her partner into watching just one more musical.

What is Collegewise?

Collegewise is on a mission to help students access the transformative power of higher education. As one of the largest private college counseling companies in the United States, Collegewise leverages the power of more than 70 admissions experts to help students identify the best possible school they can flourish in while also bringing a sense of calm and joy into the college application process. Over the last 23 years, Collegewise experts have studied the changing landscape, identified the stressors and pain points of the whole process, and designed an approach to give more than 26,000 students the right information and tools to help guide them toward their best fit college. For more information about working with Collegewise visit www.collegewise.com to schedule a free consultation with one of their expert program advisors who will take the time to get to know your family and recommend a program to meet your student’s individual needs. Would you prefer to handle the college application process yourself? Take advantage of their array of free resources:

· Resource Library

· Wiser Notes: The Collegewise Blog

· Upcoming Webinars & Seminars

The Homeschool Sisters Podcast [Episode 132]

Listen to the episode on all major podcast applications: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more. (We’d also love for you to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoy the podcast!)

Watch this episode on YouTube:

Special thanks to our sponsor, Homeschool Planet

Homeschool planning doesn’t have to be overwhelming, and Homeschool Planet makes it easier than ever. Homeschool Planet is an online homeschool planner, but it’s SO much more than that. It’s like an online family command center.

Homeschool Planet is available on all devices. You can switch between planner and calendar views. Homeschool Planet is super customizable. Depending on what your state requires, Homeschool Planet can keep track of attendance and grades, and they even have a transcript option that will automatically populate your kiddo’s progress and grades for high school transcripts.

And get this- Homeschool Planet has a functionality that allows you to directly integrate lesson plans from many of your tried-and-true favorite curriculum companies. I could add an Art of Problem Solving course to my planner in seconds. And it’s fully adjustable, so if your kids get sick or you fall off track for whatever reason, you can reschedule assignments in seconds- no whiteout required!

Other integrated lesson plan partners include:

All About Reading and Spelling
Apologia
Master books
Notgrass history
Beautiful feet books
The Art of Problem Solving
Teaching Textbooks
…and many more.

But there’s more. Homeschool Planet is so much more than a lesson planner. It’s a family command center. You can include chores, meal planning, appointments, to-do lists, shopping lists, and more. And you can actually set up text message reminders for your kids. You can do this for lessons that are due, or you can do it for chores and extracurriculars.

I am currently using Homeschool Planet as our family command center. I have schedules for all three of my kids (15, 14, and 12), and I even use it with my husband and my 84-year-old father-in-law, who moved in with us this past summer.

Homeschool Planet offers a 30-day free trial. This is an actual free trial; no credit card is required. With THIS LINK, you can get 30 days free and a free integrated lesson plan of your choice.

Links from this episode:

Additional resources:

Never Board Learning is a safe space for outside-the-box learners and their moms!

One thing I’ve learned in our 9+ (!!!) years of homeschooling is that homeschooling shouldn’t look anything like the public school of your past. I created NBL as a safe space for creative parents and educators to authentically connect, share ideas, and support each other as they raise their wildly and wonderfully unique children and teens.

I’d love for you to step outside of that ol’ proverbial box and join the fun! Right now, download a free copy of our monthly playbook! Join the fun today and have a better tomorrow!

Pin5