Carolyn Sandonato, entrepeneurship junior, had never seen the inside of a classroom until her first day of college.

"It definitely took some getting used to," Sandonato said.

Like a small but growing number of college students, Sandonato was homeschooled from kindergarten through 12th grade.

In the 2005 freshman class at OU, 22 students were homeschooled, according to OU Institutional Research and Reporting.

Far from being unprepared for college, Sandonato and other students say homeschooling has given them better study skills and time management skills.

"I think I might have better study skills than my friends," Sandonato said. "I'm used to working on my own."

Her parents' retail business kept Sandonato's family constantly on the move, she said.

"My parents wanted me not to have to re-adjust to a new school every time we moved, so they taught me at home" she said.

Sandonato's mother was her teacher until the 7th grade, she said, then she had a weekly schedule and taught herself, doing research on a variety of subjects on her own.

Experts say homeschoolers are thriving in college because the homeschool environment mimics college, with more emphasis on independent study and time management.

"If a parent were to ask me 15 years ago if their homeschooler could go to college, I would say maybe, but it's going to be a long, hard road," said Tamra Orr, author and homeschooling expert. "Today, colleges are accepting and even seeking out homeschooled students."

Homeschooling in Oklahoma is allowed, but not recognized by the state, according to the State Department of Education. Therefore, there are no statistics on the number of homeschoolers in Oklahoma.

More than one million, or 2.2 percent of students, were being homeschooled in the United States in the spring of 2003, an increase from 850,000 or 1.7 percent in 1999, according to the most recent data available from the 2003 National Household Educational Survey.

As the numbers rise, questions from the parents of homeschooled children do too.

Orr interviewed fifteen college-age homeschoolers from a variety of religious and social backgrounds for her book "After Homeschool: Fifteen Homeschoolers Out in the Real World." While not all of the former homeschooled children chose to go to college, the ones who did were benefiting from skills they learned from homeschool, Orr said.

"These students have a pretty good handle on self-discipline," Orr said.

Many institutions of higher education, including Stanford University, are actively recruiting homeschooled students because they score better on college entrance exams, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association.

According to the most recent statistics available from The College Board, homeschoolers who took the SAT during the 1999-2000 school year had an average score of 568 verbal and 532 math. The average scores of public school students in 1999-2000 were 501 verbal and 510 math.

Wesley Stringer, University College freshman, said he is glad his parents chose to teach him at home because he could focus more on personal interests and talents.

"We had quite a few more options in homeschool," Stringer said.

Homeschool gave Stringer the ability to focus on his love of art before college.

He took art classes at community college and museums, and was able to devote more time to the subjects he was most interested in, he said.

David Leon, international areas studies sophomore and former homeschooler, said homeschool allowed him to take community college classes as a teenager instead of going to high school, so the transition to college was not hard.

"I had already spent a lot of time around college campuses, so it was nothing really new to me," Leon said.

Leon said he also was able to engage in more community service activities than traditional public high school students, which made him an attractive prospect for universities.

Although he said he feels he had a positive experience, he has had to confront other student's misconceptions about homeschool.

"I always get a million questions about it," Leon said. "There's basically still a stereotype that we are all bible thumpers or social rejects."

Overall, Leon said he is glad his parents chose to teach him at home, because he has more skills he can utilize in college.

"Homeschool made me more prepared for college, because I was taught that when I have a question, I can find out the answer for myself." Leon said.
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