As the number of homeschool students grows (currently 1.1 million), colleges are revamping application policies to accommodate them.

According to a recent news article by CNN, 83% of colleges now have a formal evaluation process for homeschooled students. This is up from only 52%, just 4 years ago. As the number of homeschoolers increases, many colleges—including UC Riverside and MIT—are actively encouraging homeschoolers to apply. This is good news.

Partial excerpt from the CNN article:

Some private colleges have eagerly recruited those students for years and tailored application processes to include them. Homeschoolers still face challenges when applying to many public universities, but their chances of being considered are improving.

In 2000, 52 percent of all colleges in the country had a formal evaluation policy for applications from homeschoolers, said David Hawkins, director of public policy for the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Four years later, the number jumped to 83 percent. During that time, 45 percent of colleges reported receiving more applications from homeschoolers, he said.

Major schools that now post application procedures for homeschoolers on their Web sites include Michigan State University, Oregon State University and the University of Texas. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is also willing to consider homeschoolers. The highly regarded school does not require a high school diploma. As part of its admissions process, it considers scores from college entrance exams and asks applicants to submit a 500-word essay, detail five extracurricular activities and offer two teacher evaluations."