Gifted homeschool students prove college readiness through Accelerate ASU

For homeschool students, demonstrating college readiness can be a challenge. 

Without official transcripts or teacher recommendations, these students have fewer options for proving academic aptitude when applying to college.

To tackle this problem, many homeschool families have turned to dual enrollment programs, which give students the chance to enroll in college-level courses while still in high school. 

Jaime Smith is the founder of Online G3, an online school serving gifted or twice exceptional homeschool students. In 2021, Smith began a partnership with Accelerate ASU, one of the nation’s largest university dual enrollment providers, to make college courses available to Online G3 students.

Smith says ASU’s program, which offers over 75 Universal Learner Courses (ULCs) through Accelerate ASU, fits the needs of her students well. 

“[Courses through Accelerate ASU] are so accessible, so students are able to build up this credit and show that they’re successful in college,” says Smith. “And they don’t have to live near a college. They don’t need to prove that they’re ready. They don’t need to pay some astronomical amount of money.”

A safe place to try something new

For Smith’s gifted students, who may be accustomed to succeeding academically, ASU’s ULCs offer a safe place to experience failure. 

Because ULCs are open-access, students can try college-level coursework and, if it’s not the right fit, leave without a withdrawal appearing on the transcript. 

Since the start of its partnership with ASU, Online G3 students have taken 490 courses with ULC. Maintaining high course completion rates, Smith’s homeschool students are showing their readiness for the rigors and challenges of college — all through an affordable, self-paced platform they can access from anywhere.

To learn more, visit: ASU gives gifted homeschool students access to college courses