<p>Leaving high school I had no idea what I wanted to do, or if I even wanted to pursue college. I took a year off and worked. Now it's all kind of hit me at once, what I want to do and that I'm truly passionate about continuing my education. It just came a little too late for applying to 4 year schools, which I didn't think it was a problem because I thought online college would be more up my alley (I did some of my high school at a private online school). After researching online for a few weeks I'm really getting an uneasy feeling about the quality of online colleges. So now I'm thinking about starting community college and then transferring in a year. But I'm hearing it's more then anything just a big hassle and waste of money. Me being completely apprehensive about spending the smallest amount of money makes me question doing so. The only other thing I can think of is applying for spring semester, which I'm partially against because I don't want to delay anymore than I have. Also I haven't taken the ACT yet. So I guess my questions are:</p>
<p>Any routes you think are a waste of time (cc to uni, online to possibly uni, waiting till spring semester)?
What would the best route for not abusing funds?
Does anyone have any experience/advice with transferring from community college to university/ online degree/ applying in spring?
Does anyone have any experience/advice for a student coming into college from a gap year?</p>
<p>Thank you for your time.</p>
<p>I do not think any routes are a waste of time. Going CC route is usually cheapest, but not always. People who qualify for aid may do much better at a 4 year.</p>
<p>Lots of people transfer all there time. There is even a specific transfer forum here. </p>
<p>Spring applicants are fine if you are paying your own way but if you are eligible for need based or merit aid and you have the grades you may be better off in the fall. Waiting till spring is no big deal, just a few more month’s for crying out loud, and does save the hassle of one semester of CC then transfer. I would wait if that’s what you are going to do. Some colleges will not take you as a transfer with only one semester of credits. Are you familiar with the policies yet at the colleges you are thinking of? Read the transfer pages.</p>
<p>Lots of people have experience doing a gap year and post about it. Sometimes the first round of applications didn’t go well, mostly it is because they want to work or save money, travel, do a project, mature or just take a break. Applications are the same and application season for next fall is just starting. Maybe look at both options, How do your HS transcripts look?</p>
<p>I haven’t really dug deep into the fafsa/additional aid stuff yet. But could I start school without the funding this year and then pick up next year? I should have elaborated more to the spring section. I’m also planning on trying to do an internship that would require 6 months off in the middle of school. So between the 6 months and the months of waiting for spring it’s almost another year that I’m not in school. My GPA unweighted is 3.58 and weighted 3.72.</p>
<p>I think you need to talk to advisers at the local community college. Find out specifics about taking general ed requirements at the cc and then transferring to a four year college for a bachelor’s degree. Community college does not have to be a waste if time and money! You do need to have adequate planning though. Also, have you looked into career options for two year degrees? Out local CC offers a staggering array of 2 year degrees in employable fields. I think this is really an over looked area in career options.</p>
<p>If you want a four year degree you also need to be talking to advisers at your target university/college. Are you thinking of going to your public instate U? They probably are accustomed to helping students transfer to a four year degree after attending community college. Many students go this route.</p>
<p>If you attend a cc and then transfer to a four year school, it may limit your ability to get freshman status scholarships. But…you really need to contact your target school or read their websites to find out if this is still an option for you. There may also be fa for the community college, but you really need to contact them.</p>
<p>Freshmen get better financial aid/merit aid than transfers (who get poor financial aid overall). In addition, applying for Fall 2015 would guarantee you more choices. Keep working and study very hard for your ACT. Get a prep book from the library, practice. Then BUY “Real ACT’s” (red book) and take the first tests, timing yourself. Schedule one test on Monday, and study/review for at least one week on each type of question you missed. Keep going until you rarely miss questions. A 32 on the ACT (granted, that’s top 2% 
so not easy to achieve, but you have time to do it if you stick to a schedule and don’t have homework) will net you lots of scholarships, including full tuition and even full rides, some being automatic, as long as you apply for Fall 2015 as a freshman. It means really working on it as most scholarships have deadlines on December 1st.
If you’re worried about two years without studying:
- read one book per week on anything that looks interesting, including novels that were on your summer reading lists in high school but never read, plus non fiction, graphic novels, etc.
- register on Coursera or EdX and take online classes (those don’t count against freshman status)</p>
<p>The alternative is registering for community college. You could likely start in the Fall. But you would lose on financial aid once you leave the CC for the 4 year college and depending on your state, CCs may be geared toward remedial education or technical/vocational credentials so they may not offer the classes you need to transfer to a 4-year university. In most cases, that university will be a public university from your state; some community colleges have agreements for automatic admission with public universities, see if there’s such an agreement at the CCs within driving distance. Some States have other articulations, such as the 2+2 in Pennsylvania: you attend a local “branch” campus where you take your first two years of general education then as long as you have the GPA required for your major you automatically move to the Main Campus (Pitt or Penn State) - Greater Allegheny would likely still take apps since they’re trying to expand. You’d likely have to spend 2 years at the community college (in California or Illinois, for instance, or agreements between Richard Bland and W&M, or Virginia Piedmont and UVA, or Georgia Perimeter and GTech) before being allowed to transfer; at most CCs, the material is covered in less depth than at the 4-year college (kind of like regular vs. honors in HS) and your classmates may not ambition to transfer so they may not provide the ideal peer environment, depends on what type of atmosphere you like. On the other hand, CC is typically cheap in-county or in-state, certainly cheaper than a 4-year university, so if you choose one where there’s an automatic agreement, you don’t have to pay room&board, and they offer the classes you need, it may be a good solution.</p>
<p>My advice for you would be to take a practice test on the ACT, then decide.</p>