Despite the stereotypes, homeschoolers are, by definition, some of the most diverse people you will ever meet. While you meet some homeschoolers who fit most stereotypes, you will also meet many others who defy them in ways completely their own. But despite (or possibly because of) the fact that homeschoolers are so different, they are often asked these same questions.

1. What is it like being homeschooled?

Unless the person you’re asking has also been to public or private school, they won’t be able to give a straight answer because they’ve never experienced anything different. A good comparison would be asking someone who has always been to public school how they like public school. Regardless of the things they like or dislike, they accept all these things as a way of life because they’ve never experienced anything different.

2. Why are you homeschooled?

This is probably the only valid question on this list. Everyone has a different reason, but the top three are bullying, religion, and parents’ educational philosophies being different from that of the school system.

3. Do you like being homeschooled?

As with the first question, it’s impossible to give a straight answer unless they have something else to compare it to. It’s like asking someone in public school if they like public school. Unless they’ve had experiences somewhere else, they just accept public school as a way of life. It’s just the way it is.

4. How does homeschooling work?

Homeschooling works differently for every family. But generally the main difference from public or private school is that it’s a more individualized education. So if you’re interested in a certain topic, all your subjects will revolve around that topic. For example, when I was little, I was really into dinosaurs. So I would read about dinosaurs and write about dinosaurs for English, learn about dinosaurs for science, and learn about where dinosaurs lived for geography.

5. Are your parents certified teachers?

Many homeschool parents are, but there are also many who aren’t. But no matter what, they care enough about the education of their children that they take it into their own hands. Many parents spend hours every summer researching what their children need to learn during the upcoming year of school.

6. How do you learn?

One thing most homeschoolers understand differently from other people (especially children) is that different people learn different things at different times, and at different paces. How people learn is still one of the bigger questions psychologists are asking.

7. How do you know you’re getting a good education?

How do you know you’re getting a good education? It’s really impossible to know until you start your career and realize how well you were prepared from your schooling. But according to studies, homeschoolers are more likely to be successful in this way.

8. Do you have to do homework?

Most older homeschoolers do. That is, if you count reading, writing, and workbook problems as homework, not “work you don’t do at school.” Homeschoolers are less likely to have busy work, but we tend to define everything done outside of class as homework, regardless as to whether or not it’s done at home.

9. Do you have to take standardized tests?

In some states there are laws that specify what homeschoolers have to go over each year, so parents have to provide a curriculum every fall, and kids have to take a test every spring. But this is only true for some states, and others let homeschoolers do their own thing. Still, many homeschoolers choose to take SATs or ACTs to give colleges an idea of their test-taking ability.

10. How can colleges accept you?

As I said in the previous question, many homeschoolers take standardized tests, even if it’s only the SAT or ACT. From that alone, colleges can get an idea of what kind of student an applicant would be, even if they were homeschooled. And it’s also worth mentioning that most parents give grades to their kids (for high school if nothing else), and colleges also look at the whole application, not just grades and test scores, to determine whether or not to accept someone.

11. Don’t your parents just give you A’s in everything?

I suppose some parents would, but from my experience, homeschoolers are more likely to have harder grading standards to meet, because less emphasis is put on grades and more is put on mastery of the subject matter. So grades are only a thing to show colleges, rather than something that kids not only can get punished for, but teachers are more likely to be fired for if they give bad grades. While grades are something schools and the government use to track students’ mastery of their classes, they really don’t work as well as people give them credit for.

12. Do you have a homeschool diploma?

Many homeschoolers do, and others decide to get their GED somewhere else. Others go straight to community college while they’re finishing up high school, and then go on to get their associate’s degree.

13. Are you going to be homeschooled through college?

While you can be homeschooled up through high school, homeschooling in college just doesn’t work the same way. College lets students focus on a certain major, and study it in a depth most parents just aren’t able to teach. College is great for making possible career connections that can help you find a job later as well. Unfortunately, it’s harder to get some of these opportunities if you’re homeschooled.

14. How was the adjustment to college?

Every college freshman (except maybe the freshmen who went to boarding school) has to deal with being away from their family for the first time. And most of these freshmen have to deal with homesickness. Being homeschooled changes none of this, and this part of the transition will be more difficult for different people, regardless of schooling. But the main difference in adjusting to college for homeschoolers is that most homeschoolers are already used to working at their own time to get assignments done. For many other students, this is a big adjustment, causing them to procrastinate. But most homeschoolers have already been doing this for at least high school, so this isn’t a change for them.

15. Why don’t you go to regular school?

First of all, this question is asked under the assumption that public school is “regular school.” As there are other kinds of school to go to, it’s hard to describe any school as “regular school.” But if you’re talking about the most common kind of high school in America today, the answer would probably be public school. However, if you look back 100 to 200 years ago, most people were homeschooled (so yes, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and Louisa May Alcott, among others, were homeschooled), so historically speaking, homeschooling is “regular school.”

16. Have you ever wanted to go to public school?

Usually, if a homeschooler wants to go to public school, they go. Some people try it and hate it. Others like it. So if the person you’re asking is happily homeschooled, they’ve either never wanted to go to public school, or they tried it and hated it.

17. How do you play sports?

Some homeschoolers are lucky enough to be able to play through their town’s school. Others aren’t, and play for club teams, town leagues, or YMCAs. Also, many athletes are homeschooled for time and flexibility to focus on their sports.

18. Do you have any friends?

Most homeschoolers leave the house every once in a while (usually a couple times a day, to different places). Most homeschoolers have lots of friends, who are all different ages, who they had to come out of their shells to meet. Or they met them at sports practice or homeschool group, which are places just about anyone can make friends. Some people even say that homeschoolers are better socialized than other kids.

19. Don’t you get sick of being home all the time?

Believe it or not, homeschoolers do often leave the house during school hours. Since homeschoolers do have friends, especially homeschooled friends, they often visit each other while everyone else is in school. They also sometimes go on field trips. In fact, homeschoolers are said to get out more than public or private schoolers, due to flexible schedules and more socialization. Homeschoolers also enjoy going to public places during school so they have the place to themselves.

20. When do you start school every morning?

One of the easiest ways to tell newer homeschoolers apart from veteran homeschoolers is by what time they start in the morning. New homeschoolers think they have to be like public school, and start early in the morning, at a specific time. The veterans, however, know different. It doesn’t matter when you do the work, just so long as you get it done. (So maybe they use a specific start time as a punishment for not doing work, but it’s definitely not a regular thing.)

21. Do you have class in your pajamas?

…Why wouldn’t you? You’re at home, no one is going to see you, and pajamas are comfortable. Anyway, it’s much easier to think about what you’re supposed to be learning if you’re comfortable. But if it’s time to go out or go on a field trip, homeschoolers are like everyone else and get dressed.