Want to help your homeschooled student stay ahead of their class? Helping your homeschool student find opportunities to earn more college credits is a great way to challenge them academically and showcase their high level of performance. Here are four ways you can help your homeschooler get an edge up on the competition:

Joint enrollment at a nearby school: Have your homeschool student research nearby colleges in your area. Many local universities and colleges offer classes that can be taken by high schoolers for college credits. Even if your homeschool student doesn’t plan on attending that school for college, they can use the college credits they’ve earned to show admissions officers their readiness for college-level coursework. This is definitely helpful for students that are interested in applying to or attending an institution with a competitive admissions process.

College summer school programs: Another way to give your homeschool student a leg up on their peers is to consider enrolling them in summer school programs for high school students. Some colleges and universities offer academic programs that your child can enroll in for six to eight weeks to earn college credit. Find out what your student’s interests are, and research summer school programs that award credits and are geared towards high schoolers. If they want to attend a specific university, find programs specific to that school. Again, this is another way to show achievement and passion to admissions officers.

Find a DSST exam: If you know that your homeschool student has mastered a specific subject during their high school program, have them further showcase their skills by taking a DSST exam. DSST exams can be taken for more than 30 subjects and offer your student the chance to earn credits that take the place of many freshman-level courses. Analyze your homeschooler’s overall performance to see what information he/she already knows; that way a DSST exam can simply serve as a comprehensive review and be easily passed with little study time.

Challenge your student at home: If you find that your homeschooler is whizzing through worksheets and high school information faster than their peers, select some basic-level college work to challenge him/her with. Notate your homeschooler’s progress and high marks. Including a note about your homeschooler’s performance and ability to successfully complete college coursework with your student’s college application will help admissions officers assess their level of competency. In addition, your student may be able to skip a class, enroll in an upper-level course, or gain credits for showing readiness in this way.

Original article: http://getcollegecredit.com/blog/article/4_ways_your_homeschooler_can_earn_college_credit