Tips for a transfer student from community college trying to get into Ohio State?

I’m looking forward to feedback on here. This is my first time posting.

I’m 19 years old. For reference, i’m an autodidact, and a volunteer math/science teacher at an adult learning center, and i’m very interested in physics. I want to go to community college for a year and then try to get to Ohio state from there, or perhaps even somewhere more selective if i can do well enough. I’d like to know if perhaps my plan is flawed, or if there are other programs and options i could take advantage of aside from the JKCF scholarship.

I’d be an in-state student for OSU, and i was wondering if any of you would perhaps know about any partnerships OSU has that i might want to look into. The only thing i could find had something to do with dentistry.

Aside from that, i’d be really interested in hearing any tips or advice from anyone who has been through a non-traditional path such as mine.

There’s nothing wrong with your plan – Ohio State isn’t a particularly tough school to get into (especially as an in-state student). My only concern would be betting on the JKCF scholarship. I worked for the organization that managed JKCF scholarship applications years ago, and I remember the competition being exceptionally tough even then (it has become tougher since). The recommended GPAs for applicants was more like the cutoff point; there were so many applicants, those who merely met the recommended GPAs weren’t seriously considered. Even among those who did have perfect grades and extremely low household incomes, it was extremely tough. My point is – you can probably get into OSU, but I wouldn’t bank on getting the JKCF scholarship.

Yeah, i actually wanted to avoid applying for the JKCF scholarship. Not only since it’s very tough to get, but also because i’d like to transfer by sophomore year, which i would have to spend in community college in order to be eligible for the JKCF anyway. Do you think i could possibly transfer to UC Berkeley? What about Cornell? I want to choose some “reach schools” that i’d have a decent shot at.