Applying to Duke: How To Apply: Homeschooled Applicants

Homeschooled students are encouraged to apply for admission and are eligible for all scholarships offered at Duke. The admissions application itself is the same for all students, regardless of educational background. We require a transcript (homemade transcripts are perfectly acceptable as long as they list the courses of study a student has followed for the four years of high school or equivalent), recommendations from three instructors (at least two of whom are not related to the applicant—and employers, religious leaders, sports coaches or other adults can write these recommendations if all academic instruction takes place in the home), essays, an extracurricular activities list, and standardized testing. Applicants are not required to present a GED or proof of accreditation. There is no separate application for Duke's merit scholarships; all students are considered for merit scholarships on the basis of their application for admission.

Most homeschooled students admitted to Duke have followed varied curricula. We do not support or prefer any particular program. Some of our homeschooled applicants follow packaged curricula with outside evaluators, some enroll exclusively in local college classes, some teach themselves independently, some rely on their parents' instruction—but most offer a combination of different approaches. In an effort to encourage homeschoolers to choose the most appropriate individual academic path, we do not endorse any one pattern.

The standardized testing requirements are the same for all Duke applicants. Students must take either the ACT including the writing exam or the three-part SAT plus two SAT Subject Tests. Applicants to the Pratt School of Engineering must take one SAT Subject Test in mathematics. Homeschooled students may choose to submit more than the required SAT Subject Test scores, but are not automatically favored by doing so. In general, the more scores we have, the easier it is to understand any student's academic performance, but the required SAT Subject Test scores are certainly sufficient.

We encourage homeschooled students to submit their applications in time for us to arrange an interview in the student's local area with a member of Duke's Alumni Admissions Advisory Committee. Because of the time it takes to process forms and arrange for interviews, we ask that homeschooled students who want to be interviewed submit the Duke Student Supplement (Form A) as soon as possible and postmarked by October 19 if they apply under our Early Decision plan, or by December 10 if they apply under our Regular Decision plan.

The number of homeschooled students applying to Duke has steadily increased over the last several years. Each application is read very carefully, and if the Admissions Committee has questions about the information submitted, we will call the applicants themselves. For the past several years, homeschooled students have been admitted to Duke at a rate equal to or higher than that for the entire applicant pool. We hope that you may be among the next group of homeschoolers to apply.