I’d like some general information on what people think of my current, albeit odd, circumstances. I’m 18 years old, low income and GED holding living in a somewhat rural area of Illinois. I moved to Illinois around 3 years ago. I attended 1 semester at an accredited community college about 20-25 minutes from my current town. I passed with a 3.6 GPA on a 4 scale, would have had 4 had I been able to attend every day. I took a practice SAT exam, only 1 and yes I am completely aware it is a practice exam so it means absolutely nothing. It scored somewhere in the 1200 range (don’t have it currently) but I fully anticipate being able to raise this score to around 1400-1500. I know that’s a goal, but I know my current limitations and the 1200 does not reflect my full ability.
I have no real information about how universities do the admissions process. I have no extracurricular activities to show currently, and I know that’s something that is usually important. I’d like to know what some people think my ceiling is, like I said, I know I can achieve a better SAT score than the 1200, so please try to keep that in mind. But I would also like just some general guidance of what to do. I don’t know if it would be beneficial to transfer with only 1 year of college, and improved SAT scores, over doing a full AA/AS at the community college. I don’t have a major selected.
If anyone could give me any real information that’d be great. I’d like to try to get into a good college, I’m not currently worried about the “low income” side of things. I do mean good college, as in, higher tier colleges. Not HYPMS high, but I would like to keep something like USC in contention, so if anyone could tell me if that’s even plausible, and what sort of path I should take to continue that goal.
Since community is cheaper, I would finish the associate’s there, before transferring. But look at the Uni’s transfer guide, as some credits might not transfer. If you finish an associate’s degree, then try to transfer and only 20 credits transfer, then you just wasted money on the other 40 or so. Do the research with the colleges you want. A 3.6 can get you into several colleges, and in-state tuition would be easier and cheaper.
Agreed…finish 2 year degree at your community college but you need to plan. Go to your career counselor office and share your goals with them. Explain to them that you don’t know a lot about how to make your goals a reality and what the process is. If the first person won’t help you, talk to another. One of the things you want to do is to make sure you are taking classes now that will transfer. Seek out mentors and advisors who can help you. Good luck! You can do this!
If you are able to boost your SAT score to a 1400/1500, you will most likely be guaranteed to be admitted into a very good school. I would definitely finish your degree, and then start looking at schools that accept students with grades similar to yours. Many students transfer from community college to very good schools. Best of luck
I noticed that Cornell University seemed to accept a good number of students as juniors. That’s a great school that you may want to research and reach out to to learn more about it. By identifying a few schools that you really like and finding out all the details about getting accepted to those schools, you can create a good goal to work towards as you complete your associates degree. The sky’s the limit if you’re willing to do the research it takes to get there. Best of luck, you’re already one step closer
Thanks for the insight everyone. I struggle to receive sufficient help from the advisers at the college because they mainly just steer everyone to the local university. This definitely is helping me work towards a decision. I am still open to any other comments anyone else has as well.
Though I don’t know much about community college or transferring, I hope my advice is helpful.
Something that seems concerning is not only the fact that you don’t have any EC’s, but you don’t know what your major is going to be either. Nearly all college juniors know what their major is, so you might have trouble getting in if you haven’t decided on a specific subject.
Because of this, I’d say your best bet is to finish CC only if you are able to set your sights on a certain field and then demonstrate interest with your EC’s – maybe get an internship in that field or something similar. You definitely want to find a way to show leadership if at all possible, so instead of speaking with your advisors about where to go to university, ask them for advice on how to get more involved and build your extracurriculars.
With this extra year, you will also have plenty of time to improve your SAT score (which others have expressed the importance of) as well as improve your GPA.
