Question! I am about to take the ACT and start taking classes at a community college being that i am a G.E.D. recipient and im afraid i wont score high on some of the sections of the test because i have not been in school in awhile. I dont remember a lot in certain subjects (math and science). This is not a big problem for me as I am not in a rush and would rather start out in "remedial courses" in these things anyway (im a quick learner
), however my goal has been to start school this spring and i just HAVE to meet this goal! Say i dont score all that well on the ACT but do very well in my course work the first year and decide i want to transfer to a decent university. Would they still consider or even look at my old ACT scores and base my admission off of that or would they see my good grades and make their decision based on my GPA?
BOTH maybe?? I ask because I know that adcoms would prefer you take your prereqs at a university opposed to a regular CC...Any insight?
This is a good question for your counselor at your community college. I would warn you that if your community college isn't "decent", then you may want to look elsewhere for coursework once you have remediated what you need to remediate.
Also, beware of using up your financial aid before you complete your community college work. Many people start at community college but get into problems when they register for coursework and subsequently drop classes. Be sure that you can handle the course load before you sign up for more coursework and don't drop anything. Start slow and build up before you sign up for a large courseload.
Community college coursework is OK for most medical schools as long as they take these courses. You need to check with the individual medical schools that you anticipate applying to. A better strategy for you would be to take your general education requirements at your community college but save your premed coursework until you get to four-year college/university especially if you plan to major in science.
In terms of transfer, ACT/SAT score handling is largely a function of the school that you are attempting to transfer into. Again, you need to get into solid advising at your community college and make sure that you are not "spinning your wheels" taking extra coursework or things that you don't need. Get an adviser/advice from the four-year college/university that you anticipate transferring into as some schools want specific coursework completed at your community college before transfer.
Also, be very wary of getting an "associates degree" before transfer. Most students do not need this degree and can end up wasting money. Take only the coursework that you need for remediation/general education requirements and leave the degrees for folks who are stopping at the associates level. You can declare a major but you don't have to complete the degree for transfer (just make sure that you complete the transfer requirements).
Again, many students who start at community college wind up getting into a system where they get bad advice (get advice on both sides of the transfer) or use up their financial aid before they can transfer. Make sure that this does not happen to you. Good luck!
