Due to some social anxiety, I began homeschooling from tenth grade on out. I am twenty-one years old now, I’ll be twenty-two in October. I graduated with a 3.8 GPA and I have a diploma from the homeschooling so I have no need for a GED. The problem is, I learned pretty much nothing in those final three years. I know it’s embarrassing. It wasn’t entirely my fault though. My cousin who was helping me with my curriculum at the time, got injured and it put things off track. I have some questions about my future. I plan on applying to colleges next fall. Could I still become a physician? Could I still become an investment banker or lawyer? If I attended a year of community college before starting my four years of undergraduate, would that catch me up on things? Should I use Khan Academy to help catch me up on things? Should I buy textbooks from Amazon on different subjects? My last question would be this. If I caught myself up on the subjects and material, would I still be able to get into any non Ivy League schools if I scored well enough on the SAT and/or ACT? Thanks for any answers.
Did you take the ACT or SAT when you were in HS? If so, what was that score?
What type of things (jobs, activities, volunteering, etc.) have you been doing since you got your GED?
Starting at a CC might make sense for you, fundamentally your budget will determine what options you have for college. What can/will your family pay for college?
I agree that starting at a community college is a smart idea. This will allow you to gauge whether you can handle college level work before spending a small fortune or taking on debt.
Where are you in state? Financial aid is generally more generous to incoming freshman. Attending community college can make you ineligible for those large scholarships. We have schools in Ohio that provide so much automatic merit aid to entice students to start on their campus that they can sometimes be cheaper to attend than community colleges. One of the barriers for transfer students is the inability to afford completing their degree due to limited aid. What is your college budget?
You could take a practice ACT / SAT. That would give you an idea of where your gaps are.
I attended college a few years out of HS. Based on my college placement tests, I had to take some remedial classes before I could take some of the college level classes. The remedial classes were taken at the college.
If you do attend community college, you can’t then restart and go to a 4 year college All course work taken in college (at any college) is part of your record.
Khan Academy has free SAT prep and you can pick the sections you want to work on. You should start devoting a small amount of time everyday. You didn’t mention what you have been doing in the years since high school but becoming an avid reader can help you be more successful in school.
Practicing on SAT subject test questions may be more helpful to determine your readiness for college level work in specific subjects. Since you may want to do pre-med, a high school level knowledge of biology, chemistry, and physics would be helpful before taking the college versions of those courses, so trying the SAT subject test practice questions for those subjects may be useful.
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat-subject-tests/subjects
For math, you can also try the math level 1 (through algebra 2) and math level 2 (through precalculus) SAT subject tests. You can also try the following quizzes to help you find out where you stand with respect to math offered at colleges:
http://www.math.buffalo.edu/rur_index.html
If you can find an English teacher to evaluate a writing sample, that may help you determine where you stand on writing skills.
I have several nieces and nephews in this position, due to my (!xzc) family. They did graduate from college but it was a slow path because they truthfully weren’t prepared for college level learning. Bright kids, poorly educated.
But they moved in with a supportive person, finished AA at a community college at a deliberate but fairly slow pace, and then transferred to a four year college which they completed. If you feel unprepared, take it slowly until you get you feet. Get your bearing, and then move forward. Try to have a support network and take advantage of the supports the CC offers. There is no reason you can’t be anything you desire.
You Are 21 years old? When did you graduate from high school according to that home school degree? What have you been doing since then?
I think it would be a good idea as others have said to go online, take a baseline practice SAT or ACT . However, a visit to your local Community College would be A good idea. They have academic assessment protocols in place so they and you can see where you are academically. They also offer precollege courses for those like you who need to catch up. You are not alone. This happens a lot for many reasons.
OP hasn’t been active since May.
But for other homeschoolers, there is such a thing as self-direction. Colleges want to see students display some initiative. If you’re in a stable home and have access to a computer and the internet there’s really no excuse for not learning anything.