Selective colleges often ask homeschool applicants for course descriptions alongside the transcript, and the request usually arrives with a deadline attached. Writing eighteen of them in November of senior year is miserable. Fill one of these out as each course ends and the packet is already done.
What is on the sheet
- Course title, credit value, and year taken
- Prompts for the primary text and supplemental materials
- A topics covered block for the actual scope of the course
- Assignment types, assessments, and the grading basis
How to use it
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1
Complete one sheet per course
Fill it out while the course is fresh, at the end of the term.
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2
Name the spine text first
The main textbook or curriculum anchors the description and answers the rigor question before it is asked.
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3
List topics, not weeks
Admissions readers want scope. Eight to twelve topic phrases is the right size.
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4
Say how the grade was earned
Tests, essays, labs, projects, and their rough weights. This is the part families skip and colleges notice.
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5
Keep them in one folder
By senior year you will have 18 to 28 of these, and they become the course description packet.
Common questions
What is a homeschool course description?
A short paragraph, usually 100 to 200 words, that says what a course covered, what materials it used, what the student produced, and how the grade was determined. It backs up a line on the transcript.
Do all colleges require course descriptions?
No. Many state universities admit on the transcript and test scores alone. Selective private colleges and some honors programs ask for them, and a few states require them for scholarship eligibility.
How long should a course description be?
One paragraph per course. Long enough to name the text, the topics, and the assessments. Short enough that an admissions reader gets through 24 of them.
Can I write course descriptions after the fact?
You can, and most families end up doing some of it. It is slower and less accurate. Writing them as courses finish is the difference between an afternoon and a lost month.
Free Printable Course Description Worksheet
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