Hello guys! I’m new to CC and this is my first post. I graduated High School 2014 and I’ll be starting college this Fall 2017. I am planing to attend my local community college for two years to have better chances of being accepted to one of my top universities. By the title of my post you’ll probably guess what my top option is 
My high school GPA was pretty horrible. I am not sure what my overall GPA was, but my cumulative was 2.9. I am aiming to get a 3.7 GPA on my two years on community college and then apply to a couple of 4 year universities. I guess my question is how realistic is this, specifically for Northwestern. I am concerned about A) low High School GPA and B) the fact that I am trying to transfer to Northwestern from a community college (outside of Illinois, on top of that!) Any tips/notes/experiences/hard truths are highly appreciated. Thank You guys! :-*
Northwestern requires transfer applicants to submit high school transcripts and SAT/ACT score.
Yeah, I’m aware of that. Well I didn’t take the SAT or ACT so I have to take it now. They already told me they’ll accept scores from tests taken after High School, which is awesome. I guess I was wondering if grade growth from High School to College would suffice.
Get as high a GPA in CC as possible.
Yep. That’s what I’m aiming for. Can’t hurt anyways, right? 
Northwestern is a private college as you know, so there isn’t a huge emphasis on which state you come from (unless you’re from a very underrepresented state, which might be a hook if anything.).
Why are you aiming for a 3.7? You haven’t even started yet, aim for a 4.0 Once you get your AA, your high school grades will hold little to no bearing on your admission decision to Northwestern. On the issue of coming from a CC, don’t worry too much about that. Get a 4.0(or anything near it) in the most rigorous classes at your college, establish relationships with your professors, engage in on campus clubs and hold leadership positions. Prepare for your essays in advance. Lastly, make a list of colleges, under no circumstances apply to just one.
I have three top Universities: UT, NYU and Northwestern. I agree! I should probably aim for a 4.0, that’s good advice You know, I’m not sure if I’m going to get an Associates degree. I figured I wanted to take as little classes as I could on a community college, but I don’t know.
Expect community college to be more difficult than high school. Also, you will need to pull up your GPA considerably in order to transfer to a “top” university such as Northwestern.
As such, you need to keep ahead in your homework. Do your homework (including reading) as close as possible to when it is assigned, and don’t wait until it is due. Make a habit of doing homework in breaks whenever you can. Sit near the front of classes if you can. Pay attention. Ask questions. Seek out additional help in classes if you need it, and consider seeking out additional work if there are classes that you are good at and really like. Focus on this week and this semester and do the best that you can. The long term will take care of itself.
Also, after two years of community college if you do well then I doubt that your high school GPA will hurt you at all.
Good luck!
Do you think there’s an important difference between doing two years at community college and not completing an Associate degree and actually completing one? Thank you for your tips, by the way. They’re quite helpful.
Check your target 4 year schools to see if earning an AA or AS degree matters.