My foster sister has a G.E.D. how can someone with a G.E.D. get into a four-year institution that is somewhat competitive.

I believe you can enroll in a junior (community) college with a GED. After 1 or 2 years, depending on the university requirements, she can probably transfer to a 4 year institution. Might want to look into that in a little bit more detail. Hope this helps.

Check the admission pages for the individual schools. They will often require specific SAT II scores in addition to the regular SAT or ACT scores. Obtaining a GED doesn't automatically preclude going straight to a university.

Make sure that she at least attempts to apply for the 4-year before settling on CC (if she would rather go there), because I was in the same situation, enrolled in a CC with open door policy, and later found out that my scores on the GED/ACT alone were enough to get me into the university.

On the other hand, I'm under the impression that CC is a great way to transition from high school to a full-on university, with smaller class sizes and generally a better ratio of counselors/advisors:students.

The teacher-student ratio, the lower cost & the fact that classes are taught by professors & not TAs make CC a great choice, specially for getting your basics down really well (since you will need a lot of prior info in order to do well in future bio classes)

1. Get GED.
2. Take SAT, ACT, whatever.
3. Apply.
4. Get in.

Penn State.