In this study, the researcher investigated whether the degree of communication apprehension reported by college freshmen who have been homeschooled differs significantly from that reported by their peers with more traditional high school backgrounds. Inspired by the researcher's college classroom experiences, the study provided insights into the validity of a common stereotype that labels homeschooled students as socially handicapped. A review of existing literature found no previous research on this question but revealed a wealth of background information on the respective subjects of homeschooling and communication apprehension. The researcher recruited faculty at four private, Christian, 4-year, degree-granting institutions to administer the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) to students in freshman English courses during their first semester of college. Having added simple demographic questions to the standard PRCA-24, the researcher was able to group respondents into categories suggested by the research questions for the study. Survey administrators returned the finished surveys, which students had completed anonymously, to the researcher for analysis and statistical testing. The researcher utilized a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to sort the raw data and to identify descriptive statistics. Spreadsheet data provided answers to the basic research questions about percentages of communication apprehension levels reported by each group in the sample. To answer questions pertaining to statistical significance and to test the hypothesis, the researcher conducted both parametric and non-parametric tests using the Statistical Program for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Statistical analysis of the data did not allow the researcher to reject the null hypothesis that no significant difference would exist between the communication apprehension levels of homeschooled students and that of their peers from public or private schools. The researcher considered this lack of statistical significance quite noteworthy and has included suggestions for additional study in the concluding chapter of this dissertation. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]