Will Pace accept a homeschool transcript?

The worry is familiar: a family finishes a homeschool high school program and wonders whether the transcript they issued themselves will move through a private university's admissions office at all. Pace's published guidance is straightforward — homeschool applicants follow the same steps as every first-year applicant, add one Pace-specific form, and keep the test-optional policy. This page maps what their guidance asks for to what a family-issued verifiable record provides — including the one enrollment-stage wrinkle worth planning for.

Eformogi is not affiliated with or endorsed by Pace University, and nothing here claims Pace accepts Eformogi. Every fact below comes from Pace's homeschool applicants page and its general how-to-apply page, which are the source of truth. Admissions policies change every cycle — read their pages before you apply. Policy last reviewed 2026-08.

What Pace's published guidance asks for

The same steps and documents as all first-year applicants — application (Pace's online application, Common App, or Coalition App), a 250–650-word essay, and two letters of recommendation from a teacher or counselor who knows the student well.
Plus one homeschool-specific item: the “Pace University Homeschool Student Information Form (PDF),” emailed to Pace's undergraduate admission office.
Testing: “SAT or ACT scores are optional for homeschool applicants” — Pace's test-optional policy explicitly extends to homeschoolers.
Before Orientation (all students): proof of high school graduation — “an official high school transcript with date of graduation” or a diploma from a state-issued completion exam like the GED, TASC, or HiSET. Pace notes that not submitting it affects course registration and federal or state financial aid.

What they ask for → what your record provides

Pace's published requirement	What a family-issued record provides
Application transcript	The family-issued verifiable transcript — Pace's homeschool page adds no accreditation or third-party demand at the application stage. The public verify link lets Pace confirm integrity with no account.
Homeschool Student Information Form	The family fills Pace's own PDF — and the record feeds the answers: courses, materials, evaluation methods, all already written down as course descriptions.
Proof of graduation before Orientation	Partly — and worth an early question. A verifiable family transcript with a graduation date is the closest match to “official high school transcript with date of graduation,” but Pace's page does not say a parent-issued transcript satisfies “official.” Ask Pace admissions directly. The alternative on their page is a state-issued equivalency exam diploma (GED, TASC, HiSET), which no record can provide.
Two teacher/counselor recommendation letters	The record does not provide these. Witness co-signatures complement the letters by naming the instructors and mentors who were there; they do not substitute for them.

How to apply: the Common App homeschool workflow

Pace accepts the Common Application (alongside its own online application and the Coalition App). On Common App, the documented homeschool workflow is that the student invites their homeschool supervisor — for example, a parent — as their counselor; the parent completes the School Report, with its homeschool-specific questions (educational philosophy, instruction setting, grading scale or other evaluation methods), and the transcript travels with it. Pace's Homeschool Student Information Form is submitted separately, by email, per their page.

The New York note: graduation proof comes at enrollment, not application

Pace's proof-of-graduation step lands before Orientation — after admission, at the enrollment stage. Nothing on Pace's published pages asks a homeschool applicant for equivalency evidence to apply. For New York families, the state background from NYSED's own home instruction Q&A is worth knowing while you plan: parents cannot issue a state-recognized diploma, and a district superintendent may — but is under no obligation to — attest in writing that a student completed a compliant §100.10 home instruction program; the GED-based HSE is the other state pathway. Which documents Pace will treat as satisfying its Orientation requirement for a NY homeschooler is exactly the question to put to Pace admissions, early.

See what Pace would see

A receiver checking a family-issued transcript opens one link, in any browser, with no account: a live example transcript, as a receiver sees it — the seal proving nothing was altered after issuance, and any witness co-signatures, by name.

Frequently asked questions

Does Pace accept homeschool applicants?

Pace publishes a dedicated homeschool-applicants page: homeschooled students follow the same steps and submit the same documents as all first-year applicants, plus the Pace University Homeschool Student Information Form (a PDF emailed to Pace’s undergraduate admission office). Pace’s own page is the source of truth, and admission decisions are always Pace’s to make.

Does Pace require SAT or ACT scores from homeschoolers?

Pace’s homeschool page says it explicitly: "SAT or ACT scores are optional for homeschool applicants." Unlike some colleges, Pace does not carve homeschoolers out of its test-optional policy. Confirm the current cycle’s policy on Pace’s page before applying.

What transcript does Pace want at application time?

The same transcript every applicant submits — Pace’s homeschool page adds no accreditation or third-party requirement at the application stage. A family-issued transcript with per-course descriptions and a grading-scale note fits that slot, and its public verify link lets Pace confirm the document wasn’t altered after issuance, no account needed.

What does Pace require before Orientation?

Per Pace’s page, all incoming students show proof of high school graduation before Orientation: "an official high school transcript with date of graduation" or a diploma from a state-issued high school completion exam like the GED, TASC or HiSET. Their page notes that failing to submit it affects course registration and federal or state financial aid. What counts as "official" for a family-issued NY homeschool transcript is not defined on the page — ask Pace admissions directly, early, so there are no surprises at Orientation.

Can witness co-signatures replace Pace’s two recommendation letters?

No. Pace asks for two letters of recommendation from a teacher or counselor who knows the student well, and letters are what satisfy that. Witness co-signatures on an Eformogi record complement the letters — they show, with named signatures, which instructors and mentors were actually there — which helps a family decide who to ask. They are not a substitute.

How would Pace verify a family-issued record?

Any receiver can open the record’s public verify link in a browser — no account, no login. The page confirms the document is byte-for-byte what the family issued and shows any witness co-signatures by name. Verification proves integrity; acceptance of the underlying claims is always the college’s decision.

Other college policy guides: Fordham · SUNY New Paltz · Binghamton · Mercy · SUNY Purchase · all receivers