The Happy Homeschooler Podcast

College is an exciting time for students and you probably already know that the thoughts and plans for college start well before applications are sent in. One of the biggest considerations (and sources of stress) for families can be the cost of college. On this episode, we go over more than a dozen tips to help you and your student make college more affordable.
Remember that the costs are more than tuition
Even if you and your student are thoughtful about the college that they attend and saving for tuition, there may be costs you haven’t considered. Yes, there is room and board and books, but what about travel to and from campus (that could be car rides or flights), “fun money,” and other incidentals when you’re living on your own. Since college costs continue to climb, we rounded up our best tips to help make college more affordable.
How to Make College More Affordable
In our blog series, 36 easy life hacks to make college more affordable, we give you numerous tips related to planning ahead, saving money, and ways to live life more conscious of money to make college more affordable. On this episode, we chat about some of our favorites:
Graduate on time
Reject the party lifestyle
Don’t dismiss the value of a part-time job
Consider alternatives to a dormitory or campus apartment
Weigh price and value when evaluating schools
Buy used textbooks
Consider dual enrollment
Consider distance education
Apply for a high-school honors program and/or pursue scholarships
Take a hard look at your expected earnings from your degree—before you begin school
Test out of routine courses through CLEP
Find a cheaper smartphone plan
Brew your own coffee
Begin using a budget
Seek out experiences, not things
Most important of all—pay attention!
College is still a big investment, but these tips will help make college more affordable.
Resources Mentioned:Check out all 36 of our tips in the 6-part blog seriesSign up for a free trial of Transcript MakerJoin our newsletter for blog posts, tips, and more

Extracurricular activities are important for high schoolers as these activities help them develop personally and prepare them for future endeavors like college and beyond. An extracurricular activity is anything that isn’t required for graduation, so the options are endless when it comes to what is considered an extracurricular activity.
What activities should your teen pursue?
Allow your kids to consider what their passions are and find extracurriculars that align with those. They can look to existing clubs and activities, even if they’re traditionally considered for adults. Your student may be able to start their own club or chapter of an organization if they’re not finding what they’re looking for.
As a parent, you can help find the opportunities, or work with them to do research, for example, checking out local youth civic organizations, but allow your students to pursue their interests. This helps develop those interests and allows your child to become clearer on what they might like to pursue in college or for work. These activities also allow your students to become more well-rounded, which they can then show on their college applications. These activities are where students can set themselves apart from other applicants in the college admissions process.
Using extracurriculars for course credit
Even though these activities are taking place outside of school, there may be times where they can be used for credit. For example, a physics club might be used for a lab requirement and sport team participation could be used for PE. Be sure to check what your student’s requirements are and see where their activities may fit in- this is an extra benefit of these activities. So, your students’ extracurricular activities could show up on their transcript as extra activities or as part of a course!
Resources Mentioned:Learn more about civic youth organizationsSign up for a free trial of Transcript MakerJoin our newsletter for blog posts, tips, and more

High schoolers have a lot going on- from expectations and normal pressures of high school to extreme feelings of stress, understanding how to manage the stress they feel is an important skill for your students to have.
Stress is normal!
With all that your high schooler is likely to have on their plate (classes, assignments, college applications, extracurriculars, a social life, and more), it’s normal that they’ll experience stress from time-to-time. Homeschooled students may experience less stress than students in traditional schools because they have more time available to them, more flexibility, and are less likely to compare themselves to others.
How do you know your child is stressed and what can you do?
If your high schooler is experiencing more extreme levels of stress, you may notice this from their increased irritability, less ability to focus, stomach issues, headaches, and more illnesses. Your student may also complain of stress or talk about how much they have going on.
Even at “typical” levels of stress, there are ways that you can help your student. Getting organized and creating routines can be useful, along with tools like using breathing intentionally to calm down, and monitoring their self-talk, changing it when needed. We cover details on these ideas and a few more ideas in the episode.
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