<p>So here's my story:</p>
<p>I graduated from high school in 2006 with a 2.6 GPA and went to community college for a year after that where I only took two classes (English and Spanish) and honestly don't remember the grades. I believe around a B in English and C in Spanish. I scored a 1370 on my SAT. I'm now 24 and looking into going back to school. Back when I was in high school I didn't take school seriously hence the bad grades. Now I'm motivated as ever to finally go back and get my Bachelors in Creative Writing but hindered by my past decisions. I want to avoid the community college route (I've done the research and no, once you went to community college you don't have to do your first 2 years there) and get into a good college or at least start at one and transfer to my dream college. My dream college is NYU and Columbia is a close second. Obviously I don't have a chance at getting into either right now so I'm looking into other schools in the NY area that will accept me so I can start off there and transfer a year or two later. My questions are :</p>
<ol>
<li>What schools are recommended as being reputable but with a higher admission rate for transfer students around the NY or LA area? (I live in CA)</li>
<li>What chances do I have at actually getting into a good college?</li>
<li>What can I do to better my chances of getting into the college I want?</li>
<li>Which of the higher admission rate schools are known to have good writing programs?</li>
<li>Any other helpful information!</li>
</ol>
<p>From my understanding about transferring you will need more college classes to be taken seriously as a transfer. I remember my college counseling telling me most four-year colleges would like to see at least two years or 32 semester units of college work. In all honesty, community college seems like only way you can transfer to colleges like NYU and Columbia. Tried to do a couple of years community college and then apply as a transfer student.</p>
<p>For some colleges I recommend:</p>
<p>University of Southern California - CA
University of Redlands - CA
Bard College - CA
NYU - NY
Columbia University School of General Studies - NY
Brooklyn College - NY
Skidmore College - NY
Sarah Lawrence College - NY
The New School - NY
Hobart and William Smith Colleges - NY</p>
<p>Your best bet is to go to a CCC for two years and then transfer. While you may feel that you are motivated to be a serious student now, it doesn’t show in your academic record and that’s what colleges will be looking at. Wait until you have a full year of grades before you develop a list of 4 yr colleges to apply to.</p>
<p>The above users are right, as much as you probably don’t want to hear it. What do you have against community college? Just the idea of it? The fact is, it will save you serious money, while preparing you for a university. If you were to just jump in to a university after such a long break from school, provided you were actually accepted by a university up to your standards, which is unlikely in all honesty, you might not be able to keep up. Also, once you mess up at a 4-year university, it’s much harder to get back in the game. Community college provides a degree of safety in that regard. I know where you’re coming from, but put your ego aside, and go prove to the universities that you are willing to put in the work to succeed. Good luck.</p>
<p>hello, im in the same exact boat as you. im 24 and my grades are mediocre at best. here is my advice/story:</p>
<p>right out of highschool, i took a couple classes here and there at a CC, then i quit and started working (I was not sure what i wanted to do with my life) after struggling for 2 years, i decided that education is the best chance I have at a decent life. In my culture (korean) if you don’t graduate college, you are not human… you are just…a…being that has no life lol. </p>
<p>so, last year, i went back to school at that same CC and after 2 semesters and ended up with 3.0 GPA. i transfered to UMBC (University of maryland Baltimore County) which is a medium level state university here in Maryland. i thought i was ready to take on a higher level education, but BOY WAS I WRONG. i had a horrible life at UMBC, everything was just HARD AS CRAP. I took 4 classes (Chem 101, Calculus I, Physics I, Engineering 101) i know they are all core classes and maybe i shouldn’t have done that but i was eager to graduate as fast as possible. and i had to drop physics, and below Cs on all others…now im back at the community college. im working hard right now but im not even thinking about transferring as of now because i know Im not ready. Don’t underestimate universities. You only get 1 chance and you don’t want to screw it up like I did. </p>
<p>I think people like us are at a disadvantage because of the fatal error that we made of taking a break in between. it’s going to be really hard adjusting/balancing work and school. if you don’t HAVE to work, i suggest not working. I have no choice but to work so thats a huge disadvantage for me. But anyways, sorry for the long story, but as i was saying, do your best at CC first, its a guage of how you will do at a 4 year university. there is no way that “all of a sudden” you’ll do good at a 4 year university. well maybe others can but for me it was not easy! </p>
<p>i would only think of transfering if i get above a 3.5 at a CC. do you best and good luck!</p>
<p>oh and i forgot to mention, as long as you took relative courses at CC they will all transfer. all of my 25 or so credits transferred to UMBC without any problems. so don’t be afraid to go all out at CC. </p>
<p>Thank you guys so much for all the advice! The more time that passes the more I’m realizing you’re right. I might have to start at CC. Being so motivated makes me feel like I can conquer anything but it has been 7 years since I’ve been in school so there’s a high chance it’s going to be too much for me to start at a university. </p>