<p>I have a very difficult decision to make, I need to decide whether to I should go to a Community College or a 4 Year University. I am so grateful for any advice you can give me because I am in a really tough spot and have no clue what to do. I am a junior in high school right now and my GPA is 3.0 unweighted. I want my career to be in computer science. I truly believe I am much smarter than a 3.0 student and I am very disappointed in my self for letting it drop that much. Long story short, I had a 3.4 all of freshmen year, 1st semester of sophomore year I stop caring and get a 2.0. I get my **** together 2nd semester and get 3.4. End of sophomore year I have a 3.0 overall unweighted GPA. This year I have completely changed my learning habits and right now I should get a 3.7 1st semester and I will defiantly keep this up second semester. I have taken very difficult courses. By the end of Junior year I will have taken 4 AP courses and gotten 4 and up on all my AP exams. Other than that I have take all honors classes and I have obtained the CISCO A+ Certificate. I am in the process of developing an Android app too. My SAT score should also be pretty high based on my PSAT scores.</p>
<p>My question is should I first go to a Community College and then hopefully transfer to a tier 1 University or go to some decent University straight out of HS that accept 3.4 GPA? Money is not a problem but I am undecided because while I really want to graduate from a tier 1 university (For example University of Maryland College Park) I also want to be a freshmen in University and get the full college experience which for me is meeting new people, joining a frat, and living on my own in a dorm.</p>
<p>If money truly is not a problem, then go speak with your guidance counselor and find out where students from your HS with a grade history like yours have been admitted in the past few years. You are still a junior, you don’t have to make the decision of CC vs. 4-year just yet.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice but the thing is if I decide I want to go to a CC than I want to finish HS Junior year so I don’t waste another year and I can get to a University sophomore year in college. But I need to start filling out the paperwork to finish HS in 3 years if i decide I want to go to a CC.</p>
<p>Keep up your grades junior year, get good test scores, and you’ll be okay. You aren’t doomed to CC. </p>
<p>What’s you’re state flagship? You’ll likely have no trouble getting in there unless it’s Cal, Michigan or Texas, and you could still do that with a great test score.</p>
<p>Are you in Maryland? If so, what county are you in?</p>
<p>Happykid had a good friend who was fed up with HS, graduated early, and spent about a year and a half at MC-Rockville before transferring to UM-CP. Things have worked out very well for him.</p>
<p>You also wrote “My SAT score should also be pretty high based on my PSAT scores.” Ask your counselor whether or not your PSAT score is likely to put you into the range for NMF. If so, there can be perks (such as scholarship money and/or honors programs) that might be worth waiting it out another year in HS for.</p>
<p>You don’t have a difficult decision to make. You will likely be able to find a good 4 year CS college to go to since money isn’t an issue. </p>
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<p>Why not shoot for 5s? I’m taking attitude. </p>
<p>Getting in won’t be a huge problem, but if you want to survive and do well at a tier one CS program, you’d better make getting 5s on Math/Science AP exams in high school your standard of excellence, not a 4. </p>
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<p>Excellent</p>
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<p>There are going to be good CS schools that will accept you. A lot of schools will want your OOS money or your private school money. I don’t think Virginia Tech is too much of a stretch. Depending on how high your SAT or ACT is, you could do really nicely. </p>
<p>I really don’t see community college in your future. That’s not a knock on community college, but if you have the attitude, the money, and good stats to go full speed ahead at a good CS school then that’s what you should do. </p>
<p>I attended UMCP for engineering and freshman year there was a GREAT experience. Nevertheless, I have to say that the CC students who transferred in during their junior year were a different bunch of folks. They seemed more mature, better prepared for the transition after UG, and were able to better connect the theory I learned with real life application. This is a very tough decision. You really have to determine your goals and make the effort to speak to students at the CC you are interested in and UMCP.</p>
<p>If you want the “true college experience”, it’s harder to get as a transfer. Freshman year is when students make the most social connections. </p>
<p>I would work hard for the rest of high school, then apply to a range of colleges. If you have to “settle” for less than a top tier college, so be it. You can still have a great experience at a good college, and there’s always grad school.</p>