Age 22. Mediocre 4yr college -> Elite 4yr college

<p>I dropped out of high school in my sophomore year, and I basically self-taught for the past 5 or so years. I’m hoping to now apply for an average four year university and eventually transfer out of there after completing two year worth of study to a top 10 national university. Here are some questions I’m seeking detailed answers to:</p>

<li>When I apply, what should I consider myself as? Homeschooled person?</li>
<li>Will having high SAT & SAT2 & ACT scores, playing 2 instruments (composed a few and will include them if beneficial), and being semi-fluent to fluent in 4 languages help in admission, possibly being able to overwrite the not-so-positive (or even negative) factors of being 4/5 years older than most applicants and having no GPA or history of education after dropping out of high school? </li>
<li>Since I actually pretty much learned and mastered 1.5-2 years of college material myself, would it be possible to transfer out of the first college in only one year to the second college as a junior?</li>
</ol>

<p>I'm glad you're not lacking in the confidence department.</p>

<p>If you place high on the assesment tests, many required courses may be waived in your favor. That's awesome that you have the skill and patience to teach yourself, tho I'd bet a top notch school would want to see transcripts and the like. Good luck, sounds like you're on your way to a good place. :)</p>

<p>What kind of stats do you have?</p>

<p>im sure he does not have any yet lol</p>

<p>p.s. Age cannot be used to discriminate against an applicant. That is really not something they look at when offering admissions. Yes, you will have to explain what you did during that gap in your education, probably in your personal statement.</p>

<p>"3. Since I actually pretty much learned and mastered 1.5-2 years of college material myself, would it be possible to transfer out of the first college in only one year to the second college as a junior?"</p>

<p>its part of the process, your going to have to pay them and earn your degree, they arent going to grant you invisible credits
and i think ur in for a rude awakening</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I'm not familiar w/ how homeschooling works, but it sounds like you're just a high school dropout; in which case you're going to need a GED before you get started w/ college.</p></li>
<li><p>I highly doubt any of the factors mentioned in 'number 2' are going to be able to offset the lack of a high school transcript. You're most likely going to have to start out at a community college. When it comes time to transfer, however, these things certainly won't hurt. Oh, and your age is irrelevent. Being over age 24, however, classifies you as a non-traditional student, and adds diversity to a student body. It won't quite provide the boost afforded by URM status (under-represented minority), but is still a plus nonetheless.</p></li>
<li><p>Unless your mastery of college material is represented by way of credits granted by an accredited academic institution, then no.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>-I apologize if these weren't the answers you were looking for, and in all sincerety they were not intended as some sort of put-down. I'm an older student myself (24), and am not trying to discourage anyone from pursuing a college education. It's just that there really aren't any shortcuts, and in order to transfer to a top-tier school (or even attend an "average" 4-year school), one is generally required to prove him/herself at the purgatory that is community college. Good luck to you.</p>

<p>"Age cannot be used to discriminate against an applicant. That is really not something they look at when offering admissions."</p>

<p>Sure it can, and some schools do care quite a bit. Many residential colleges are looking for kids in a certain age range.</p>

<p>Thanks for your responses!</p>

<p>I did read somewhere that the only choice a person such as myself has is to go to a community college, so does that mean my plan of being admitted to a four year college is not too far away from impossible? </p>

<p>If high school transcript is absolutely required, I'm pretty certain I can obtain it from my high school. Will including this look better than not including it at all? I did get straight A's in my freshman year, and my sophomore year contains 2 AP classes (Calculus & Computer Science) although they will nonetheless hurt rather than help, because they're probably recorded as F since I basically dropped the whole thing and eventually not even attended right before dropping out. By the way, I dropped out because of a very personal reason.</p>

<p>My initial plan indeed was going to a CC and transferring out, especially my residency being CA. However, it's still very difficult to transfer to a private school on the east coast, and therefore I thought transferring out of a four year university on the east coast may surely grant me a way better chance. </p>

<p>Not trying to sound overly confident and arrogant even for the least bit (as some of you took me as), but I believe I will have high scores for SAT, CLEP, ACT, GED, whatever since I literally spent the whole last week looking over and taking tests of those big fat study aid books at a book store, and I scored close to perfect in every practice test on many different guides. So unless those practice tests aren't as difficult as the actual test, I believe I'll do well on the exams.</p>