Can you go to College Without a High School Diploma?

Can you go to any college without a high school diploma or a GED?

• Answer:

  Generally, you need to have a high school diploma or its equivalent in order to get into college. A GED would work, for example. If you are of high school age and have strong SAT or ACT scores, you may qualify for an early entrance program. For instance, the early entrance program at Shimer College is available to high school students scoring above the 75th percentile on the SAT/ACT; other programs have comparable requirements. In addition, most community colleges will admit people without high school diplomas or GEDs, regardless of age, under a program called "ability to benefit." What happens is you contact admissions at the cc. They would have you come in and take some placement tests. If you do okay on them, you will be admitted under their "ability to benefit" program. You'd then need to take a series of specific classes - 24 credits worth. Once you complete those classes, and pass them, you can ask the cc to grant you your GED, and you can go on to complete your associates degree. Many of the classes you took during those 24 credits will count toward the associates. If you're interested in something like this, contact admissions at your local community college and discuss your situation with them. An added benefit to all this is that, once you have your associates degree, no one will care that you don't have a standard high school diploma. The associates degree is what they'll care about. Most colleges and universities not only require the student to be a high school graduate, but often base acceptance on grade point average, SAT or ACT scores, and other factors. Many community colleges also accepting non-traditional students, usually older adults, who lack HS diplomas or equivalent. It really depends on the college or university you are applying to. Each sets its own enrollment policies. Some require a high school diploma or GED certificate, while others may not depending on your academic history. If you are having trouble being accepted, consider taking a few courses at a local community college. They usually have less rigid entrance requirements, and many, many colleges and universities will accept you with good grades (As or Bs) from a few (three to seven) community college classes. If you were home schooled and therefore do not have a high school diploma from an accredited school and do not want to get a GED because you have your secondary education you can still go to college. You will have more to do to get in because you have to prove your secondary academic education. Sometimes home schooled potential post secondary students are required to submit high school portfolio. However, plenty of colleges and universities accept home-schooled students: 27% of Stanford University's 2009 incoming class were homeschooled. Where Do I Take The GED Tests? Visit the official GED Testing Service website at www.acenet.edu for more information or call 1-800-62-MYGED (1-800-626-9433) to find your local GED Testing Center. The center can tell you: Whether you can take the GED Tests Where to find the Official GED Practice Tests Where to find a GED instructional program How much it costs to take the tests When the tests are given Other useful information Requirements for College Written essay and/or standardized test scores, recommendation letters. Edit: I just wanted to say that it is 100% possible to go to college and graduate with a 2 or 4 year degree, without a GED, diploma, or any other form of equivalency. I linked an interesting New York Times article discussing the situation. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Related Links section.