23 years old. Average HS student, and I want to attend a Computer Science program. What are my chances?

[bbugyi200]

Hello All,

As the title summarizes, I am 23 years old, and did very average in high school. I never took my SATs because I did not think that I was going to go to college. Now I have regrets, and realize that I made a huge mistake.

I have been working in IT for 3 years in a Help-Desk role, and would like to start up a Computer Science program soon. I've got a few questions (and am sure to have many more soon).

What should my next move be? Should I take my SATs?

I've heard going to a community college for the first two years, and then transferring out is a great way to go. If I excel in community college for 2 years and get my Associates, would that increase my chances of getting into a half-way decent college for an undergrad program?

I appreciate the help everyone!

 

[babernet_1]

Yes, go to your local community college and get an appointment with a counselor. They will have all the info you need.

 

[Entomber]

Depending on how well you do in CC you could transfer to a top-tier 4-year institution as well. In fact, it's actually a pretty smart move because you'll save a ton of tuition money through that route, since you'll only be at the 4-year for 2 years (thus saving 50% on tuition).

Also depending on the CC you go to, some of them have so-called guaranteed transfer programs that stipulate as long as you take a certain suite of classes and fulfill certain requirements, you will be guaranteed admission into a 4-year institution.

 

[yosimba2000]

Going to CC for 2 years then xferring to a four year is a great idea. Saves tons of money. But if you've graduated HS since you were 18 or so, that's 5 years you've been out of the loop of education. Comp Sci is a difficult course no doubt, and will require a lot of advanced maths. If you're rusty on math, I suggest reviewing Pre- Algebra, Algebra, basic trig fuctions (geometry shouldn't be too important), Algebra 2, and Calculus 1. Don't worry about Calculus 1 if you haven't taken it yet since you'll learn it in college. Eventually, you'll go up to Calculus 3 or so, and Linear Algebra.

So basically.... get good at math! Seriously. If you want, you can google "Computer Science course plans" and view courses required for Comp Sci by various universities to get a feeling of what you need to understand before your first year.

Also, learn basic programming. I'm talking like, get a Dummies book or some such.

 

[Dagstar]

Many community colleges are aware they have nontraditional students that aren't straight out of high school so they have remedial courses in subjects like Math and English. They'll probably have you take a placement test. When I went back to school I didn't need to provide my SAT score because they were over 5 years old, but I'm not sure if that applies if you've never taken it before, and also might depend on the school. I previously attended the same school many many years ago so that might have factored in also. As stated, going with a CC then transferring is a great idea. Focus on getting the general education classes out of the way at the CC. The number one thing you need to figure out though is if the credits will transfer to the 4 year colleges you're looking at so you'll want to form a plan well ahead of schedule. Some CCs also work with 4 year schools and allow automatic acceptance and credit transfer so look into that. I recently went through the same thing and lucky me the 4 year school took all my credits.

Also don't worry about having been an average high school student. I barely graduated high school but now I'm a straight A college student...albeit many years later.