<p>I'm currently in the Army and am getting out in 99 days for my MEB. I will have access to my G.I. Bill and will apply for financial aid as well. The main problem I have is that I graduated high school in '07 and never took a SAT or ACT. I went to my education center and they told me I'm out of luck until October. My GPA was very low while I was in school, I kind of just gave up. I got out and worked and then enlisted and now I feel I am finally ready to do this. I feel my past inadequacies will be viewed heavily against me.. which is fair. Does anyone have any advice as to finding helpful resources and information particularly aimed at military? </p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about it. Depending on how selective the school is you’re trying to attend, you may just need to do a year or two at a community college or high-admit four year school and then transfer. Once you have some college under your belt, your high school career will matter very little, if at all. </p>
<p>You can go to community college and then transfer, or </p>
<p>Take the ACT/SAT, which the Army should pay for, before your 99 days are up. Then apply in the fall as a Frosh applicant. Depending on which school you apply too, your essay may or may not “trump” your HS grades.</p>
<p>I barely graduated high school, and had SAT scores that were below your admitted average to a top program. I did quite well at a community college after the military and was recently accepted into several Ivy league schools. The poor performance in high school doesn’t matter, admissions committees can see that you have matured by the way you craft your application. Less emphasis will probably also be placed on your SAT/ACT score. As long as you can figure out how to tell your story and show what you can bring to a college campus, and do well in some two or four year school, you will not be looked down upon at top schools.</p>
<p>I don’t remember what my SAT scores were, but from what I remember they were pretty pathetic and my HS GPA was nothing special either. Having matured quite a bit since then, I’m now a Junior at OSU; my essay and good grades from community college thankfully seems to have trumped my rather poor HS record. </p>
<p>You could do a free and frequently offered Compass Math, Writing, & Reading placement test at a community college, which would give you a sense of where you’d land in your ACT or SAT test. See this example of Compass test prep: <a href=“http://www.smc.edu/enrollmentdevelopment/assessmentcenter/pages/preparing-for-the-math-test.aspx”>http://www.smc.edu/enrollmentdevelopment/assessmentcenter/pages/preparing-for-the-math-test.aspx</a>. </p>
<p>If you think you could self-study, perhaps using a related MOOC or recommended prep materials, take a CLEP test in several subjects to show that you’re college-ready in those subjects (maybe college algebra, American literature, college English composition, Spanish, German, or French, Biology, etc.). </p>
<p>At test-optional colleges, this could be used to bolster your application. There is always the tried and true “community college first” route. </p>
<p>Oh, and some colleges have student/veteran associations, along with admissions specialists for vets. Contact a few for advice. </p>
<p>Just a few random ideas. </p>