I am a home schooled student and will be in my junior year in august how do I find applications for scholarships for homeschooled students? When do i need to apply for college?

Shorty:

Almost all schools accept applications from home-schooled students, so long as you are able to demonstrate that you were home-schooled according to the applicable laws in your state. You’ll also be required to submit standardized test scores, which the schools will use to determine whether you are prepared to successfully perform college-level work.

Otherwise, there are no special procedures for home schooled students – you apply just like everyone else – following the directions carefully with regard to the submission of documents that support your home schooling curriculum.

The college hunting season begins in your junior year. You’ll probably want to take the SAT or ACT for the first time in the spring. That’s also a good time to attend local college fairs, where college reps from all over the country attend to provide information about their schools and their programs.

The bookstore (and your local library) have lots of big thick college guides with a wealth of information about thousands of US schools – ranging from information about academics and admissions to the social and party scene. Whether you’re looking for a quiet, serious atmosphere, or a raucous, free-spirited party school, these books can help you narrow down the list of colleges that are worth following up on.

Students used to write away for information, but nowadays, every school has a fancy website that offers everything you need to know about the school. You can read about how to apply, and how tough their standards are, you can read and see pictures of the housing options, you can determine the costs of attendance, and you can read about the academic programs that each school has to offer. That’s a great advancement, because all of the information is free, and you don’t have to wait for that big packet of info to arrive in the mail.

Schedule a serious talk with your parents about the financing of your college program – and remember – a college education is an optional and very expensive purchase, just like a home or a car. There are car options that cost $10,000, there are car options that cost $30,000, and there are car options that cost $200,000. Education works exactly the same way. Come up with a college budget, and focus your attention on schools that you will be able to afford. Williams College in Massachusetts is an absolutely outstanding university, but if you don’t have $200,000 to spend on a 4-year degree, you probably shouldn’t waste your time applying. You need to know if your school budget is $5,000 a year, $15,000 a year, or $30,000 a year – before you begin applying.

If your SAT or ACT score wasn’t as strong as you’d like to hope, take it again in the Fall – by September, or so, you should have a final list of colleges that you want to apply to. Aim for 4-6 at most – you should always have a few, but there’s no point in applying to too many, either.

Start thinking about – and talking to people you know who might be willing to write letters of recommendation for you. You’ll need those with your application, and it’s polite to give your recommenders time to prepare these, rather than hitting them up at the last minute with an emergency request.

Start your applications in October of your senior year – and get to work on all of the essays, both for the colleges and for the scholarships. If the schools that you are interested in are nearby, make the time to attend their open house programs, where you can tour the grounds, and attend helpful info sessions, often with Q&A. Watch your application deadlines very carefully, and make sure that all of your applications are in the mail (or otherwise submitted) by mid-December, latest.

November is time to start reading up on financial aid. Familiarize yourself with the Federal Student Aid system (http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/FundingEduBeyondHighSchool_0910.pdf ), and start pulling together the documents that you will need.

Come February and March of your senior year, you’ll start receiving contacts back from the schools – if they’re writing for more info, be sure to respond to them promptly. These are the months when acceptance letters start to arrive.

Make absolutely certain that you submit your FAFSA application before your school’s priority aid deadline. This will be somewhere between February and April, most likely.

I hope that helps – good luck!