<p>(This post, and associated questions, touches on several forum topics. This seemed the most practical place for it.)</p>
<p>Currently, I am 28 years of age, married, and a parent of two toddlers (age 2 and 3). Due to extenuating circumstances, I completed only one year of high school. During what would have been my senior year I decided to take the GED; the resulting scores were equated to the top 10% of my peer graduating class.</p>
<p>Last Spring, I decided to stop waiting for the -perfect- time and enrolled at a local community college. Having never taken an ACT or SAT, I was given a placement exam by the institution and secured a spot in honors English. Opting to take the course secured me a spot within the honors program. </p>
<p>Fall 2013 was my first semester, during which time I completed 12 credit hours of college level courses (3 of which were honors) and 3 credit hours of remedial algebra. As this (Spring) semester begins, I am taking 12 credit hours of honors courses and 3 credit hours of remedial algebra. My GPA is 4.0. I have been invited to join my local chapters of Phi Theta Kappa and Psi Beta, along with the Academic Team.</p>
<p>Between my studies, children, etcetera, I struggle to find time to maintain traditional employment. As a result I have been supplementing the household income with English tutoring, basic computer repair, and prize moneys from campus writing competitions.</p>
<p>I am a psychology major with my area of interest primarily within clinical application; a transfer will be required. As it stands, tuition at my current school is 1/3 that of the nearest senior institution. Even taking the maximum subsidized and unsubsidized loans each semester, it is barely enough funding to cover tuition, books, and childcare. When I transfer, the same resource pool will be roughly $12,000 short each year, assuming I am not taking summer courses.</p>
<p>Though it feels like a lifetime ago and largely seems like deluded thinking -now-, there was a time when my dream schools were Harvard, Berkley, and Stanford. As I understand it, between them they possess the most highly rated graduate Psychology programs in the nation. These years since high school have left me feeling weathered and, honestly, inadequate. I find myself wondering if such schools are beyond my grasp.</p>
<p>My questions are these:</p>
<p>How much of an impact will community college attendance have on my appeal to a senior institution? Specifically, I ask regarding Ivy League schools and the like. Will my curricular and extracurricular activities overshadow the stigma?</p>
<p>Where should I be searching for scholarships? The few sources (my Financial Aid office included) that I have seen, I often do not meet the prerequisites. Either I am the wrong major, wrong marital status, wrong ethnicity, or have the wrong state of residence.</p>
<p>Lastly, does anyone have any advice on any front? Up until this point, I have navigated this system alone. I cannot help but feel that I am overlooking some (yet unknown) vital aspect of the process.</p>
<p>Thank you for your time.</p>