Does anyone regret it?

[PonyGirl93]

@sanantone: Sorry, wasn't trying to "take things personally." It seemed like you were addressing me personally. Disregard whatever caused offense

Sanantone, I'm in agreement with you except for one thing. Even if parents have done their research, there is still a high chance they are wrong, particularly if they are of the controlling type. They can't know what's best for their children who have turned into adults, not clones. Like your post, this isn't directed at the original poster.

You have to be careful even if you aren't the controlling type. My oldest started out choosing accounting just because he didn't know what to pick and thought it was what we wanted. He was much happier once he asserted himself and switched to marketing.

Thanks for sharing more of your story. This may be why we have had different outcomes. When I heard that it was possible to complete college in high school, I jumped all over it. I chose my own major based on my preferences. My parents were encouraging, but didn't push. In fact, often they would say, "Are you sure you don't want to slow down a little bit?" So maybe this process works well when the student is the driving force behind it.

As an add-on to all these posts, it is certainly true that all parents need to be cautious about this. My mother didn't force me to do this. I was very motivated to do it. I didn't use CP, I did it on my own, and I planned it all myself (honestly, my mother had virtually nothing to do with the planning aspect of it.) It was more of a manipulation than an actual force. There weren't any other options. Although we were never officially Quiverfull or any other official group, that was very much the doctrine that I was force-fed (with some very odd inconsistencies thrown in- ex. my parents are separated.) Colleges are secular (read: evil.)

I think possibly the biggest reason parents need to be cautious is that some of the kids who will be most excited about this opportunity are also the ones who would most appreciate the opportunities a traditional university would afford. I was very academically inclined, I was feeling extremely unchallenged in homeschooling (in all honesty all formal homeschooling had disintegrated by that point,) and the idea of starting college work was so exciting! It was only later that I realized all of the opportunities I missed out on. Some of the opportunities I am most looking forward to in my new program: being in an honors program, doing undergraduate research, studying abroad, completing a thesis, possibly getting an internship/co-op. If you had told me that those were an option at 17 I wouldn't have believed you. And I don't blame distance-learning for that, I blame my parentals, but distance learning was a tool that my mother used and I want to raise awareness of this. (blame is a poor but convenient choice of word. I have no animosity toward my mother over this)

It seems to me that so many homeschoolers are using the "college is a waste of money&time at a time in your life when you don't even know what you want to do" as some kind of twisted excuse to do it even earlier!