I’m thrilled to bring you big news from an accomplished homeschool teen in our community. She’s been Homeschooling for College Credit since age 13 1/2. Her mom, Pam, carefully explains how they got BOTH of Ella’s degrees fully funded AND had money left over. AMAZING!
(This is the original post from May 9, 2023; the new update is at the end!)
Thank you to HS4CC parent Pam S. for sharing her daughter’s happy HS4CC celebration story! We are so proud of her smart and resourceful high school planning!
“On May 1st, a day before her 17th birthday, Ella, our youngest daughter, graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 GPA, earning her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Southern New Hampshire University. This Fall, Ella will pursue her Master’s degree from Texas Woman’s University, which she should earn the week she turns 19.
While the total cost of her undergraduate degree (including tuition, books, and fees) was $11,039.96, not one penny came from our family’s pockets. Ella is funding her educational pursuits through merit awards, grants, and scholarships. She currently has over $29,000 in excess scholarship funds, which she will use towards her future degrees, and she is applying for more scholarships.
While pursuing her degree, Ella gained induction into Mu Alpha Theta, Phi Theta Kappa, and the National Society of Leadership and Success. Acceptance into the Dallas College Honors Program and STEM League at 14 was an exhilarating feat. Earning the bronze, silver, and gold President’s Volunteer Service Awards was also worthwhile. Although lofty accomplishments make Ella stand out, her compassion distinguishes her. With over 2,000 hours of volunteerism in the past five years, tutoring refugee students has been her most impactful leadership project.
In the Fall of 2019, while searching online for scholarships, I came across Jennifer Cook DeRosa’s book Homeschooling for College Credit: A Parent’s Guide to Resourceful High School Planning At that time, my oldest child was a public school senior and was on track to graduate high school with 37 college credits. With her path already determined, I read Homeschooling for College Credit: A Parent’s Guide to Resourceful High School Planning with my youngest daughter, Ella, in mind. Although I earned CLEP credits in college, and my oldest child earned dual credits, I did not realize the many different ways to earn college credits. I devoured the book and HS4CC’s online content. Then I started thinking even further outside the box.
During HS4CC Academy‘s 2019 Black Friday sale, I purchased the Degree Planning Masterclass and Private Coaching. The information I gained from Jennifer and Danika was invaluable. While I designed a plan for Ella to earn a degree from Liberty University, thanks to my private coaching, Danika helped me see my blind spots. The degree I planned from Liberty University would not give Ella the desired outcome she was seeking. Working with Jennifer and Danika, we resourcefully planned Ella’s degree in Mathematics. We selected Southern New Hampshire University, one of the “Next-9” universities on Jennifer’s list. SNHU is a Transfer Partner with our local community college, so before taking a course at the community college, Ella would get it approved by SNHU to ensure it would count toward her degree plan. We also liked that SNHU offers 8-week terms, allowing Ella to earn her degree faster.
2025 Comment: HS4CC’s Degree Planning Masterclass was discontinued during Covid, but we still teach the principles and strategies of degree planning in our HS4CC Alternative College Credit Facebook group, which is open to anyone.
Ella started earning credits at 13 1/2. The first three were free ACE credits through the Institutes. We then incorporated Jennifer’s Sophia Strategy and purchased six courses for $594 from Sophia. Then the pandemic hit. Many within education responded to the pandemic with immense generosity. Sophia opened up all of their courses at no charge. Arizona State University offered its Earned Admissions Program (now called Universal Learners Program) classes for free and charged only $99 to add them to the transcript. Ella also studied for her first CLEP exam and passed it as soon as testing centers in our area reopened. We took advantage of these opportunities and others. Ella also started taking 8-week courses through our local community college. By 15, Ella had earned 88 college credits that cost $1223, less than $14/credit. In the fall of 2021, she enrolled at Southern New Hampshire University to complete the final 11 courses her degree required. Courses at SNHU are $320/credit. Ella’s membership in Phi Theta Kappa provided her with a 10% merit discount at SNHU. Her time at SNHU was rigorous yet rewarding and has prepared her for the next stage in her education. The support Ella has received from her many scholarship donors is greatly appreciated. We are beyond grateful for HS4CC, which showed us how to open up doors in Ella’s education that we would have never thought possible. Most importantly, we give glory to the Lord, most high, for gifting Ella as he has, giving her a heart for Him, and providing this path.”
Ella, age 17
Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Southern New Hampshire University
May 2025 UPDATE!!
“Jennifer,
“Happy Stories” take two! This is a follow-up to what I shared two years ago. We are still in awe of how HS4CC helped pave Ella’s path to success. Less than a week ago, Ella celebrated her 19th birthday. Tomorrow, she will cross the stage, earning her Master’s in Teaching Mathematics with a 4.0 GPA. The past two years have flown by. Having completed her master’s course, student teaching, and multiple state certifications, Ella is now qualified to teach 7 – 12 grade mathematics. While she plans to teach other upper-level mathematics at the high school and college levels, next year, she plans to serve in a ministry role before starting her career.
During the pursuit of her master’s degree, Ella continued volunteering in the community and serving in various leadership roles. This summer she will serve as a counselor at a camp in Austria. Along with her team, they will plan and facilitate camp activities, lead small groups, and counsel campers from Austria, refugees to the area, and other students from surrounding countries while sharing Christ with them.
Ella’s compassion is still her most distinguishing characteristic.
I recently read a blog post where you said, “the most affordable college plan combines early college credit with smart scholarship strategy,” and I could not agree more. Ella’s educational journey is proof of this very concept. While I have already shared Ella’s success in securing funding for her education, she continued to relentlessly apply for every scholarship we could find that she was qualified for. Not only was every penny for her undergraduate degree and master’s degree funded through merit awards, grants, and scholarships, but she also has over $55,000 in excess funding to use for future degrees or however she sees fit.
NOTE: When I asked Pam to tell me more about Ella’s amazing scholarship success, she shared with me the following ‘Ella earned her first scholarship shortly after her first college credits at 13 1/2. Once she was enrolled in dual credit, I had her apply for scholarships open to college students, since she was taking college courses. Now, I am sure that many scholarship committees quickly discarded her application, but there were plenty who didn’t. In the 5 years she sought scholarships, she earned over 50 scholarships, with a few that she won multiple times. This paid for both her bachelor’s degree and her master’s degree, with $55K in excess funding. I will say that the process is not for the faint of heart, and tenacity is essential. One must realize that they will receive more rejections than awards, but if one is persistent and applies with proven strategies, success is just around the corner.’
We are amazed how the Lord has provided for Ella and are so thankful for the assistance we received from HS4CC throughout this journey. You are a treasure. Thank you for all you have done to assist us on Ella’s educational journey.
for HIS glory alone,
– David & Pam Stone”
Wow! I can hardly express how fulfilling it is to get an email like this. If you don’t already know, everyone at HS4CC is a volunteer. Our crew of 61 serve this organization because we hope to make an impact in our homeschool community, and reading about a young woman who was homeschooled, found her path, earned her degrees, and is starting her career without debt? Who could ask for more!? That is something I hope for everyone in this community!
