Many post-secondary schools are guided by a particular educational philosophy or aim to attract a particular type of student. Most large public and private colleges and universities aim to provide a high-quality education to the largest number of students possible, so the educational programs and opportunities they offer are typically quite diverse, with the potential trade-off of less personalized attention for each student. Other categories of post-secondary schools have slightly different goals. Here are just a few examples of specific approaches to education:

Vocational training at a school or apprenticeship focuses on hands-on training for careers in labor-focused industries. These careers often require a base level certification or a specific number of on-the-job supervised hours to enter, and vocational schools aim to give students experience doing the job they’re being trained for. Many vocational schools offer a streamlined route to job placement for students who complete the program. If you attend a vocational school or enter an apprenticeship program, your time will be heavily focused on the actual practical skills you will need for a certain career. We discuss vocational training in greater detail in Chapter 7.

An education in the  liberal arts and sciences at a college or university provides a broad academic foundation in subjects like literature and languages, history, mathematics, and science. This type of degree, whether you attend a community college, four-year college or university, or both, is focused on the development of critical-thinking skills that can be applied to a wide variety of career paths. Some degrees can immediately be utilized in a particular job, but other degrees are more general and prepare you for a variety of jobs. 

In a vocational program, all of your courses and assignments will be focused on the career you are training for, and your post-education transition to a career may be more predictable. This allows you to be efficient and optimize the time and energy you spend on your education towards a specific, pre-identified goal, with the potential downside of more hurdles if you decide to change careers later on. On the other hand, an education in the liberal arts and sciences gives you the opportunity to explore multiple paths and acquire knowledge and skills that may be useful across a variety of careers. This allows you to be well-rounded and flexible in terms of the careers you can pursue, with the potential downside of a less straightforward transition to a career after you graduate. Different paths will appeal to different students, and they can all lead to a fulfilling educational experience!

Community and junior colleges largely teach what are sometimes called “general education credits,” although some also teach a variety of skills-focused, vocational classes, similar to a vocational school. General educational credits are classes, such as entry-level English, math, history, biology, chemistry, or a foreign language. You may hear these entry-level classes called “101s” or lower-division classes. (Course numbers that start with a 1 or 2 are typically taken in your first two years of college.) General education credits are classes taken earlier in college, as they are prerequisites (meaning, required for) upper-division classes (with course numbers starting with 3 or 4) taken later at a four-year college or university. 

Four-year colleges and universities also teach these general education classes, but they also teach more advanced classes in different subjects.  While the two are very similar, universities differ from colleges in that 1) your class sizes will likely be larger, and some classes will be taught by graduate students as opposed to professors 2) universities may present more varied areas of study and more opportunities for undergraduate research, although this is not always the case.

Somewhere between these two options are four-year online universities attached to public state universities, such as ASU Online, UMGC, Thomas Edison State College, and Southern New Hampshire (the only private school on this list). These fully online schools are very affordable and offer in-state tuition to all students, including out-of-state students. The benefits of these schools include ease of access and flexibility for working people, such as asynchronous classes (allowing you to work at your own pace); familiarity for homeschooled students and alumni who may have experience with online programs; and a potentially lower-stress environment for students struggling with the social transition from high school to college. Potential drawbacks include fewer opportunities to network and make friends. Note that these legitimate, relatively high-quality schools are different from for-profit colleges, which CRHE recommends against (see 4.4 below).

In both universities and colleges, students choose their advanced classes depending on their major, which is the specialization ultimately printed on your degree (such as physics, history, engineering, etc.). We recommend reading or watching videos online to hear from actual students about their experiences, both at particular schools you might be interested in, but also students who have majors that you might be interested in. The college experience varies greatly for different people.

Within the category of four-year colleges and universities, most schools are co-ed (admit all people) and teach a large variety of subjects. However, there are different types of colleges and universities with particular history, religious affiliation, or subject-matter expertise. Some of these include:

Arts colleges and conservatories provide training in the fine and performing arts and design. They may require a demonstration of artistic ability for admission and their educational programs center on training and mentorship by master artists.

Minority-serving institutions are liberal arts colleges and universities designed to provide programs, services, and activities to students who have traditionally been excluded from post-secondary education. For example, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) specialize in providing a variety of types of education while emphasizing Black opportunity, history, and culture; Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) are controlled and operated by federally recognized Native American tribes; and institutions may qualify as Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) if a large percentage of their students are Hispanic or Latinx.

Single-gender colleges admit only women or only men, in contrast to most post-secondary institutions which admit all students. While there are a few men-only colleges (typically for religious or historical reasons), women-only colleges are more common due to the fact women were previously barred from attending many institutions, especially selective ones. 

Religiously-affiliated colleges, all of which are private schools, range from those with merely a historical link to a religious community to those requiring a signed statement of faith and adherence to a religious code of conduct while enrolled. Some of these schools’ educational programs situate learning within a specific religious framework, and some may not teach subjects or ideas that are in conflict with the particular religion of that school.

Remember, there are many different types of post-homeschool education! While some may be more or less familiar to you, you should take the opportunity to explore the variety of options available to you. You may be surprised by the possibility of selecting an educational path that matches your needs and interests!