<p>Hello, I'm Jeremy. I'm new to this site and I am trying to gain a bit of insight as to my situation. I am 23 years-old and I am finally at a point in life where I can start college 100% but I have a fear that maybe it's too late to make it to where I would like to go. I have the drive and ability to do whatever workload I need to do to get into and through any school I can get into, but I would truly like to get into a somewhat prestigious university. The reason I am having to start so late on the college path is because I have had to work since about 11 years old to keep food on the table in my household since my mother has been near-fatally ill most of my life and she was my only parent, amongst other issues beyond my control. I am currently getting together the money so I can take my SAT's as soon as possible, as I have only gone through one year of community college and it was a waste overall. The standards were incredibly low and honestly I want to be pushed as hard as I can be. As far as academic capability, I know I have what it takes as I frequently help my co-workers with their homework when they don't understand it and most of them are finishing bachelors degrees and a couple getting masters that just try to see what I know. What are my chances at getting into a good university for economic engineering or something similar, or possibly even the likelihood of being able to complete my schooling in an Ivy League school one day? I'm not trying to be a sob story here or be any bit burdensome, but I honestly just don't know if I just have a pipe-dream to be the first person in my family to get a college degree. Any advice and insight is greatly appreciated.</p>
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<p>If you have completed a full year of CC, you will be considered a transfer student at any school. If so, I will move this to the Transfer Students forum.</p>
<p>You should check the college websites, because not all colleges require the SAT from transfers, particularly if you did not take it in HS.</p>
<p>You might also want to check out the Non-Traditional forum which is located under Specialty Topics.</p>
<p>I haven’t completed a full year, I have only completed a single semester at the local community college. But, I’ll post in the transfer student nonetheless. Sorry, I didn’t know what I was supposed to post under. I just joined this site tonight.</p>
<p>You will get some information here, and other information in the transfer forum. Don’t worry about being in the wrong place!</p>
<p>Some colleges and universities will consider you to be a freshman applicant if you have completed less than a full year of college credits when you start there. Some places consider you a transfer if you have taken one credit after high school. You really do need to read the websites carefully.</p>
<p>How do you plan to pay for college? That is the first thing you need to resolve. Spend some time at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) and in the Financial Aid Forum here to learn more about the money side of it. You will be an independent student for financial aid when you are 24. </p>
<p>When money is limited, and the student needs to be self-supporting, the usual advice is to start at the closest community college then to transfer to a public U in that state. Another cheap (if a bit slow) option is to get a job working at a college or university that offers free or cheap tuition to employees. Most do. </p>
<p>Keep your eyes on the prize. You can do this!</p>
<p>And if you really do need to take SATs, there is a way to get a fee waiver for low income students. Check college board site</p>
<p>Hey Jeremy,</p>
<p>It’s not a sob story, just a cruddy situation. The fact that you pulled yourself through and stll have the desire to keep it up speaks volumes.</p>
<p>If you can PM me, I’ll give you my skype and we can chat about this a bit more in detail. You have a lot of work to do, but I don’t think your situation is as dire as you think.</p>
<p>For one, if you get into any school, you can transfer to a better school without taking the SATs. Transferring is not necessarily easy, but it’s also not hard. I just helped a friend/student transfer to Berkeley for Engineering undergrad and he is 22. His story was equally cruddy (Chinese refugee since he was 12, taught himself english, sole bread winner for parents and 3 sisters, detention in thailand, freed by the christians, finally moved to Cali 1.5 years ago, community college, now berkeley!) but he made it through and got in.</p>
<p>How did he do it? He was simply amazing at the quant. You want to go to a good school? Learn the math. Be the best. And start applying. </p>
<p>We can chat anytime, but please PM because this forum isn’t intuitive.</p>
<p>Craig</p>
<p>I definitely will, thanks for the insight thus far. I think myself, like many others look at a situation and view it as much more daunting at face value than it may or may not actually be.</p>