Whitney Sorensen has been taking online and on-campus classes and violin lessons at UVSC for about a year, but she’s not a traditional college student. First of all, she’s 14, and second, she’s a home-school student.

SHE USES THE UTAH VALLEY STATE COLLEGE courses to supplement the curriculum she’s learning at home, much like a high school student would do through concurrent enrollment courses.

Sorensen is one of Utah County’s more than 2,000 students who choose to forgo public school and learn at home. Home schooling is gaining popularity. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, nationwide there were more than a million students being home-schooled in 2003, up from 850,000 in 1999. In addition, students with nontraditional backgrounds are becoming accepted at colleges and universities.

Craig Dilger/Daily Herald Whitney Sorensen practices the violin with her teacher Donna Fairbanks at UVSC on Tuesday, November 20, 2007.

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