Homeschool Students

Admission Criteria

PLU welcomes applications from students who exhibit capacities for success at the university level. Admission to PLU is competitive. We look for students who:

• Demonstrate success in a challenging college preparatory curriculum
• Desire academic and personal challenges
• Communicate clearly
• Exhibit leadership and service in their community, church or school
• Will share unique or special talents

Each application is reviewed based on grade point average, class rank, transcript patterns, standardized test scores, personal essay, and an academic recommendation.

Applications for admission are evaluated without regard to race, color, national origin, creed, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, disabling conditions, financial resources or any other status protected by law.

Official Transcripts Information

We will accept take any form of transcript you may have kept over the years, and in any format.

If your schooling is a project-based curriculum instead of a traditional in-person or online curriculum, please submit course evaluations.

Only transcripts with a 4.0 GPA scale may be considered for academic scholarship eligibility. If you have opted out of a traditional 4.0 grading system, we will make academic scholarship decisions solely on SAT or ACT scores.

When filling out your application, mark which ‘school’ you attended on the Common Application with the CEEB code: 970000 to indicate that you are homeschooled. The Common Application also asks for class size and class rank, both of which you can simply stay 1/1 if you prefer, or leave blank.

Transcripts submitted directly from families via email (send to admission@plu.edu or cady.bigelow@plu.edu), mail, or fax are considered official.

SAT or ACT Test Scores

Although PLU is a test-optional institution, we will require SAT or ACT scores from homeschooled students.* Since homeschool curriculum varies family to family, this requirement ensures that all homeschool students are evaluated fairly.

*Please note that if a student has earned more than 30 transferable college-level semester credits, or 45 transferable college-level quarter credits, then they may apply test optional.

For admission purposes, we will accept unofficial scores reported in the application, or submitted via email to admission@plu.edu or cady.bigelow@plu.edu. Once a student has decided to enroll in PLU, official test scores will be required.

Academic Recommendation

We require one letter of recommendation at PLU for admission purposes, and ask that it come from someone besides the parent – a tutor, instructor, etc. If you are participating in Running Start, a college level teacher is our primary recommendation, however anyone who knows you well and can speak to your academic record is okay. If a parent is the primary and only educator, we will accept an academic recommendation from that parent.

The Common App will ask for a counselor recommendation. If the parent is the primary educator/counselor, it is appropriate for them to fill this section out. An additional recommendation is not needed if the parent will write both letters.

We will accept more than one letter of recommendation in the admission process. If you would like to submit letters from athletic coaches, tutors, musical or theatre coaches, employers, etc. you are welcome to do so. We do prefer at least one letter of recommendation comes from an academic source, and will read up to 3 letters of recommendation.

*We do not require an interview as part of the admission process, but if you would like to meet with an Admission Counselor to talk through the application process and any specific questions you have, please contact Cady Bigelow at cady.bigelow@plu.edu or 253-535-7405.

Required & Recommended Prep Courses & Curriculum

To help prepare for PLU’s rigorous academic environment, we encourage students to challenge themselves through a college preparatory curriculum. The following are required and recommended courses that may be used as a guideline when selecting classes to teach:

Required:

• Mathematics – Two years of college prep math with an average grade of C or higher.* (Typically Algebra II)
• Foreign Language – Two years of the same language with an average grade of C or higher.*

*If you are deficient in the math or foreign language entrance requirements, but are admissible by all other criteria, you may still be offered admission. You will be required to complete the deficiencies during your first year at PLU.

Beyond the above two subjects, we require that students meet state graduation requirements and are able to provide proof of a diploma/GED before entering PLU.

Typical Washington State requirements:

• English – Four years
• Social Studies – Three years
• Science – Three years
• Visual or Performing Arts – One year
• Electives – Three years (selected from the areas listed above, as well as courses in additional college preparatory subjects. Courses may also include Health and Fitness or Career and Technical Education.)

College-level credit policies

Any student who has earned college credits through Running Start or other college-level coursework before earning a high school diploma or the equivalent is considered a first-year student with advanced standing.

If you are unsure of what classes you will take in winter or spring quarters when filling out your Common Application, you can simply leave this section blank, or record what classes you are taking this fall.

Please see our College-level Credit Policies webpage for further information about college-level credit policies – including CLEP testing – as well as the financial advantages of being a first-year student with advanced standing.

If you have earned college credits after achieving a traditional high school diploma you are considered and must apply as a transfer student.

To transfer Running Start or other college-level credits, please submit official transcripts to the Admission Office. Transcripts are evaluated by the Registrar’s Office in a manner consistent to PLU’s policy on transfer of credit. To see class by class transfer credit equivalencies from a specific community college or university, please visit our Interactive Equivalency Guide. To see major-specific two year transfer guides for some of our nearby community colleges, please visit our Washington 2 Year Colleges to PLU webpage.