Homeschooled Applicants

Parents and students often ask our Admissions Officers how we evaluate homeschooled students. The application and review processes are the same for students from all academic backgrounds: we consider your application within the context of your high school experience. Every year, Caltech enrolls students who were homeschooled who engage deeply in our community and thrive in our academic curriculum.

Who is Considered a Homeschooled Student?

At Caltech, we recognize that homeschooling is not a "one size fits all" approach. We see applicants with a wide variety of educational backgrounds, and we consider a student to be homeschooled if their high school experience includes any of the following:

• Parent-Led Instruction: Instruction carried out solely by parents.
• Shared Instruction: Education shared with other homeschooling resources in their community.
• Formal or Online Curricula: Using formal homeschooling curricula or taking the majority of courses through an online homeschooling organization.
• Hybrid Models: Taking some courses in a traditional high school while maintaining homeschool status.
• Early College: Taking some or all junior- and senior-year courses at a college outside of a high school partnership or dual curriculum program.

We want to understand your program, why your family chose homeschooling, and how you set about choosing your curriculum. Regardless of how your homeschool education has been structured, be sure to clarify it for the admissions committee to provide the necessary context for your academic journey.

Academic Preparation and Performance

Caltech's required academic preparation is the same for students of all academic backgrounds. Whether you take classes through a local college, online, in a traditional high school, or as independent study, we need to see official grades for them. Your application should include any official school transcripts that you have received, and your homeschool supervisor (often a parent) can create a transcript for the classes that they have taught you.

Secondary School Report

The Secondary School Report (SSR) provides the Admissions Committee with important context about your homeschool education. It allows your homeschool supervisor to describe your program—including why homeschooling was chosen, what courses you are taking, and how you engage with your curriculum.

The person most closely fulfilling the role of a college counselor or principal in your education should complete your Secondary School Report (SSR). This may be a parent or whoever oversees your studies.

Looking for a guide? To help your counselor provide meaningful context about your educational journey, we have created a Homeschool SSR Template that they can use to ensure they include the information our Admissions Committee finds most helpful.

Letters of Recommendation

Your teachers give us an idea of how you work in a classroom setting: how you engage with course material, interact with others, perform in class, for example. They have a unique perspective on your academic potential.

Caltech requires two letters of recommendation

• one from a STEM teacher
• one from a humanities or social sciences teacher

If you have taken courses at a high school or college, feel free to choose from these instructors. If all of your instructors have been parents, we require an additional recommendation from someone you know who can describe your ability to do demanding college-level academic work.

Check out our Writing Advice for Recommenders for more information.

For questions about homeschool admissions, please contact our Homeschool Coordinator, Jonah Magill, at +1 626-395-6341 or [email protected].