so I’m not a high school student, I’m actually a young adult in his mid 20s with a full time job who never went to college. That is what’s bothering me. Sure I can go to college any time but I can’t go back to high school and change my grades/test scores. I went to multiple high schools. Freshman year got As and Bs sophomore year mid semester I was failing all of my classes. Ended up with mostly Bs and Cs. Then my parents transferred me to an alternative Private school with a different grading system. Where I eventually started to lose interest and skipped a few classes. My senior year I was sent to a boarding school across the country where I did pretty well grade wise. Got a 3.5 gpa my senior year. Anyways will these changes in schools be a red flag to admissions officers? I want to get a degree from a decent college but I’m worried about this causing me to be denied entry.
IMO it is a good reason to start at CC and have all terrific grades and apply to transfer in your own home state. .What is your home state and your financial plan? What have you been doing with your life since you graduated? What major?
CC is a great idea as you haven’t studied for years, and when you did, you didn’t apply yourself. Re learning how to be self motivated will be a challenge, you will need to sit tests to enter even CC. You will need to study for those. Plenty of people take your route, you just need to define “decent” college and financial plans. Look at the non trad student sub forum.
I agree with @Sybylla - one of the reasons that Community Colleges were created is to help people like you get a college education. You can use it either as a way to get that basic education which comes with an associate’s degree or as a stepping stone to getting a bachelor’s degree.
However, you can also likely be accepted to a number of good colleges, if you did graduate college, even if it was a few years ago and you attended a number of high schools. You should look through the requirements for admissions at any college in which you are interested, and contact their admissions offices for more specific information regarding your situation.
One thing you should absolutely NOT do, is attend any for-profit “university”.
Good luck, and congratulations on your decisions to continue your education!
@sybylla well I was hoping for Ivy League but that might be out of reach for me or perhaps a prestigious private university. My home state is Oregon, I’m thinking since I have a full time job right now I can drop down to part time and go to school simultaneously. I’m sure since I’m working maybe colleges would see that as a plus. As for college degrees I’m thinking maybe something related to law or medical field.
What have you done in between? What job? Why would you think a prestigious school would find you a desirable candidate? Those are questions you just need to ask yourself.
Working PT through school is an excellent plan. Approach your employer and find if they have tuition assistance plans, or look for employers that do. Have you worked in any areas that would help you understand what you want to do with a degree? Have a plan to make your undergrad something that gives you employment. Finances? How are you funding this?
Honestly I would forget about prestigious colleges.
Start in CC and take a class or two while you are still working. See how that goes.
Then do part time CC and working and do two years. Then transfer to your State U.
You will have the maturity to talk to professors, get involved, do research. and make the most out of your college time.