<p>This may be a little long winded here, so my apologies in advance.</p>
<p>I am currently a 24 yr old college drop-out that is looking at getting back into college (working in the "real world" with no degree is just not cutting it). I have narrowed down the degree I believe I want to pursue to Mechanical Engineering. This may change in the future. I know it is a difficult field.</p>
<p>I really need to stay in Texas, as I get residency here. Any tips on getting residency elsewhere would be appreciated. No help from parents, limited loan ability based on credit, and about a $15 per hour, full time job is financially all I have to work with. Gladly I am old enough to qualify for financial aid on my own, but $6000+/- aid a year for $22,000+/- a year for out of state tuition may not be possible for me.</p>
<p>Personally, UT Austin is where I would love to end up. The city is great, and the school is listed as one of the best public schools for the Mechanical Engineering degree. Texas Tech and A&M are also listed up there and are a possibility in my opinion.</p>
<p>My high school education is nothing to do cartwheels over. I was a solid B student, but took no AP classes, or honors. Just "skated" through. I only took about 12 hours of Community College, then dropped out with about a 3.0 GPA.</p>
<p>I was wondering if it would be worth my while to take the SAT or ACT again. I took it so long ago, it was still on the old scoring system. An 1100 was my score. </p>
<p>Obviously I know that UT would not accept me now. Should I go the Community College route first, then transfer in, or do something like UNT, and then transfer? Also, any extra things I should consider doing to make my chances better?</p>
<p>Even with a 4.0 and heavily involved in extracurricular activities, I haven't found someone with a similar situation to mine. Lets say, with a 3.5 to a 3.8 GPA, and moderate extracurricular activity in somewhere like UNT, what do my chances look like?</p>