<p>I am done applying to colleges. Along with trying to pull up my atrocious GPA and keeping up with my extracurricular activities, I need a back-up plan. I applied to schools FAR beyond my reach with a couple of safeties. But, even my chances at safety schools are low. Will community college be a good option for an academically poor student like me? I do plan to transfer to one of my top choices after completing one year, though.</p>
<p>GPA (excluding senior year): 3.0
Senior year first semester (not that it matters much): 4.07
Course difficulty: Pretty easy. 15 total AP and Honors classes before my high school graduation.
ACT: 29 (English-35, Math-24, Reading-32, Science-23, Essay-11)</p>
<p>Your stats seem like they would get you into a mid-level four year state university. You did not include such schools in your safety list? A school is only a safety if you will definitely get in and will definitely be able to afford attending.</p>
<p>Community college can be a good option for many students:</p>
<p>a. Undecided students can have more time to explore and experiment without being on the two year must choose your major clock.</p>
<p>b. Students who need to attend part time to work will find that easier at community college.</p>
<p>c. A good record in community college can allow transfer as a junior to a more selective four year university than one could get into as a freshman based on high school record.</p>
<p>d. State universities, including flagships, tend to have well defined articulation agreements listing which courses to take at community college to transfer into the desired major at the four year state universities.</p>
<p>e. Usually less expensive than a four year university.</p>
<p>There are some disadvantages:</p>
<p>f. An advanced student will not be able to take junior level courses early.</p>
<p>g. Some community colleges are overfull, which can make getting into courses very difficult.</p>
<p>h. Some majors may require courses not available at community colleges, so transferring students need to “catch up” after transfer.</p>
<p>Thank you! Your post is very informative. I think attending a community college and then transferring after my sophomore year seems most realistic at this point, unless some miracle happens and I get accepted into my top choice for Fall 2012.</p>
<p>My safety schools have a 70% acceptance rate and higher average GPAs, so I am not positive I will be admitted.</p>
<p>If you decide to go to a community college you can easily petition for honors and you’ll get priority registration for classes do you won’t have to worry about classes filling fast.
I know kids w similar stats like you who easily talked their way into honors at community college.
Best of luck w whatever you decide to do. </p>
<p>If your top choices are “far beyond” your reach as a fr applicant, they are not necessarily going to be easy to get into as a soph transfer, due to 2 reasons:</p>
<p>Some schools have significantly lower acceptance rates for transfers than for fr.</p>
<p>As a soph transfer, decisions will be made when you have completed 1 semester of college coursework. As a result, admissions still heavily weight your HS record and test scores.</p>
<p>I think you are being too hard on yourself. This website (college confidential) can really mislead perfectly good students into believing they are not as competent as they really are because there are so many Ivy-bound students and parents. Don’t fall for that!</p>
<p>You can find plenty of good schools that will like your GPA and ACT scores. Keep in mind that with all the AP courses you have taken, some schools may also weight your GPA in your favor. Go to CC search tool, ■■■■■■■■■■ or parchment to look for a list of schools where your GPA and ACT makes sense. You can also go to most college websites and search ‘common data set’ to find statistics on the student that were accepted in prior years. In your case, look for schools where your GPA is near the 25th and 50th percentile and your ACT is above the 75 percentile. Also look at state flagship schools that are not your home state. At those schools, you would likely even get merit aid with that ACT score. Some schools have rolling admissions or application deadlines on Feb. 1 or Feb. 15th, so you still have time if you are a senior now.</p>
<p>Your ACT score and GPA suggests you are smart, but perhaps need more time to build up your discipline for academics. Your 1st semester grades start to show that discipline coming into check, and with the strong course rigor (15 AP classes) I would think most mid-range schools would love you.</p>