<p>I'm 25 years old and went to high school in Israel. I never finished my diploma and moved on to military service in Israel and then a career as an engineer. Two years ago I took a job in the bay area and have worked my way up to a Lead SE position at one of the high end companies in the bay. I now work with fortune 500 companeis to plan and deploy security solutions that protect them against information leaks.</p>
<p>Today, I'm after college education. My question is, what steps should I take towards gaining admission to a good university?</p>
<p>Should I complete my high school diploma in Israel?
Should I take the SATs/GED here?</p>
<p>Will my resume help me in the admission process?</p>
<p>Do I have a shot at an ivy league school (e.g., Stanford)?</p>
<p>I'm interested in a B.A. at Computer Science.</p>
<p>Your situation is interesting. I would call these schools and ask them specifically what they would like you to do, unfortunately you have missed the deadline for applying for Fall 07 admission. Though this is good, now you have the maximum ammount of time to prep.</p>
<p>But do not call Stanford an Ivy when you talk to them at admissions, I'm not sure they'll be too impressed. (while academically comparable, it's not an ivy)</p>
<p>Good point. You've made me go and read the wikipedia entry for Ivy League.</p>
<p>Do you think they'll be open to counseling me on this? Aren't there a lot of people who'd love to receive advice on how to gain admission to a top school?</p>
<p>
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Aren't there a lot of people who'd love to receive advice on how to gain admission to a top school?
[/quote]
You bet ;)
Depending on who at the college you will be talking to, the person might even enjoy helping you. It might be a welcome change from dealing with pubescent teenies :D I would not call there with the expectation of getting some real counselling, though, but rather clarifying your application requirements.</p>
<p>Another thought that just struck my mind - are you really looking for a broad American undergraduate education (with 50% of classes taken outside your major), or would you prefer some speciality training in computer science? If latter is the case, you might want to look at adult programs that cut away some of the general education requirements (though I don't know any at prestigious universities) or British universities where you would study computer science more in depth and get your degree faster (three years vs four years in the US).</p>
<p>I'm definately looking for broad education. I can learn about computer science from a book - but ultimately I'd like to broaden my horizons and equip myself for jobs and situations beyond engineering.</p>
<p>I took the community college route and am now about to transfer (so far, 2 acceptances to pretty solid schools). Technically, I never graduated high school, but I'm pretty sure the one and a half class I missed needed to enroll at universities at my home country won't be held against me since community college really, really shaped me up. It's just letters and numbers.</p>
<p>But yes, if you lack too much of the diploma, there is such a thing as a general "diploma" exam available in the US that formally counts equally to having completed high school (in reality, employers wouldn't look at it twice). It might be the perfect solution in your case.</p>
<p>I think the fact that you have risen to such high ranks would help. Ivies like tpo get kids INTO these jobs, and have them as alums. You're already there, applying to an ivy.</p>
<p>If you decide to attend a community college, you can enroll as soon as this coming fall if you would like. Some cc's let you apply for admission until July 1st and some don't even require the TOEFL or any other standardized tests.</p>
<p>If you pick the right college, it definitely happens. Be picky about their offer of Ph.D faculty and resources for transfer. Coming in from a CC in your situation will equip you with material proof that you can handle college-type work.</p>