Decision Time (High School Senior)

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hello. I am a high school senior who has a very difficult choice ahead. My current stats are:</p>

<p>2.34 GPA
26 ACT
ECs: Orchestra and sports. Probably not important at this point.</p>

<p>I'm currently wondering if I should just get my GED and enter community college this winter with the hopes of transferring to the University of Michigan as a freshman one year later. My plan includes a taking a summer semester at a cc in order to get enough engineering credits to be competitive. By the time I apply for the winter semester of 2007 I will have built a portafolio showcasing my graphics programming abilities (I've spent a year learning the fundamentals of C++, OpenGL, and Linear Algebra/ Trigonometry outside of school). </p>

<p>The reason for my not wanting to graduate with a high school diploma is that I simply cannot take another year with my current class schedule. I'm stuck taking intermediate algebra for math but know materials which match the prerequisites of Calc AB and AP Statistics. I have never met the academic prerequisites for honors classes offered at my school and going through three years taking only marginally interesting/challenging coursework has been a severe blow to my confidence. My school is responsible for not allowing me to challenge myself and I am responsible for knowingly not participating in the classroom. </p>

<p>The freshman/sophomore experiance is important to me and if I do not gain admission to Michigan as a sophomore then I will be perfectly happy with transferring to Michigan Tech or Michigan State engineering schools. But of course they, while good, do not have the reputation of the ivy league level engineering school at Michigan.</p>

<p>Is a high school diploma important at this point and would it be worth just sticking it out in my current possition for an extra semester? Or do I have a real chance at gaining admission at Michigan with a GED/3 semesters at community college transcript? </p>

<p>I realize that was a bit long winded but this is an extremely important decision and alot of you guys have experiance with "playing the admissions numbers game" so to speak. Your comments won't be my only source of info but will still be greatly appreciated. Thank you.</p>

2

<p>Get your diploma. Even if you go to a CC with a GED you might be required to take "Transitional Studies" or something like that. Besides, what do you plan to do for this spring...Relaxing?</p>

3

<p>I'm planning on knocking off some early engineering credits at cc for the winter(spring?) semester. The cc I'm looking at waives their transitional studies credit with acceptable ACT scores. I can get a solid start class wise if I go to the local cc... It's just a matter of how I will look when I try to transfer.</p>