Giving Homeschool Diplomas

How are children going to get homeschool diplomas? That question is asked a lot especially when people talk about high school. Let's look at what a diploma is. It is a certificate of achievement. A diploma means that a person has completed a set course of study.

How Can Your Child Get Homeschool Diplomas

What I have found out from the internet is that you can make you own diploma. For me this is good news since my children will be doing high school at home.

You can buy diplomas from an office supply store. You can also download templates from the internet.

There are several other ways to get homeschool diplomas. Your child could be part of an umbrella school that gives out diplomas. You could belong to an academy from a homeschool provider. Your child could go to an online high school or take correspondence course. If you are part of an umbrella school your child will need to successful complete the course before he can get his diploma.

Check with your community colleges and see if you can get a high school diploma. In the state of Washington if you receive an associates degree from a community or a technical college you can also get a high school diploma.

You can also get a GED. Your child will need to take tests to receive a GED. Most jobs and colleges treat the GED the same as receiving a diploma. Some do feel that the child could not finish high school, so there is some sigma attached to the GED.

What to Include on Your Homemade Diploma

If you make your own high school diploma, make it look professional. You can also have the diploma notarized. On the diploma you should have:

• the fact that it is a high school diploma
• the name of the school,
• the student's name,
• the signature of the person that knows that the child finished the work,
• the date that the document was signed

Do Colleges Care?

No. Most colleges do not ask for a high school diploma. They want to see transcripts. They also want to know that the student did well on the SAT or ACT test. They may also want to interview the child. Colleges may also want to see samples of your child's work. Besides transcripts it would be a good idea to keep a high school portfolio.

Who Does Care?

To join the military you need to have a high school degree. If my child was interested in the military I would talk to a recruiter to see if they accept homeschoolers. I might also plan to have my child take classes from an accredited high school. A lot of the online and correspondence schools give out an accredited diploma.

Some employers have a question on the application about if you have a high school diploma. If you gave one to your high schooler then they can answer yes.

A homeschool high school diploma is a certificate of achievement that should be in your child's high school portfolio.