I might be interested in starting up college full time in pursuit of an aero engineering degree. Anyone have any experience getting into good colleges as a nontraditional student without any credits to transfer? By nontraditional I mean several years gap between high school and applying to college, just in case that term isn't clear.

The two colleges I would be most interested in attending don't have special applications for this, there's just the regular freshman application and a transfer application for someone who has some college already. I've asked the admissions offices and they recommended picking up some credits somewhere else and doing the transfer application, but that seems like a pain in the ass because I'd have to get classes that apply to my intended major and that the new school recognizes, and as far as I can tell the only way to get those is to attend a similar quality school (the local community college offers no aero engineering classes), which leaves me facing the same problem.

Another issue is I'd like to establish residency for instate tuition, which is easy to do for any state while I'm still in the military, but if I got out and then tried to move it will be just as difficult for me as it would be for anyone else. So if my goal is ultimately to go to Georgia Tech for example, I'd have to commit to living in Georgia and attending some lesser Georgia school for a year without even being sure I'll be accepted when I put in a transfer application.

So ideally I'd just go straight to my school of choice as a freshman, but when I asked about this option I got some vague response like "Anyone is welcome to submit a freshman application for our review" as if I was asking for a waiter position at Hooters. So my question is am I reading that correctly? Am I likely to be accepted to a school like GT on a freshman application being 10+ years out of high school? And how am I supposed to submit an application that has any relevance to who I am currently when the freshman application focuses on high school achievements? FWIW I would feel somewhat confident in my high school stats if I was applying from high school, but the fact that they're looking at stuff from the 90s makes me wonder if they're just not all that interested in accepting older students.

It's not uncommon to have FTF applications from people who took off time to join the military. Go ahead and submit it, the worst that will happen is you won't be accepted. It doesn't count against you or anything. If you are forced to go the transfer route you don't need to take engineering courses at the community college -- just take some math, physics, and GEs. (Make sure you take the right ones that you will need for your major there should be an online student transfer information system for GA)

If I could apply and get a decision now I would, I'm looking at maybe starting in Fall 2013 though. So as of right now I'm just looking for tips, advice on what paths to take to maximize my odds, and an estimation of what my odds are since I'd be investing a lot of time into this and I'd start looking at something else (or keeping my job) if it was in the "not going to happen" range.

GA tech is pretty competitive, so you obviously need a good high school transcript and SATs. Your military experience will be a plus on your application. You can look at what their average incoming GPA and SAT scores are to see how you stack up.

I might try talking with a dean for the college of engineering instead of just a general undergrad admissions person.

I'm on a similar path now, although I'm still in a CC and gonna be applying to some big schools this year. I also have college from 10 years ago that is less than stellar so I'm just crossing my fingers really.

I actually like the CC route. It wouldn't hurt to get a year or two of GEs out the way. I'm not familiar with how the aero engineering major works but I'd assume you have at least a few math/physics courses to knock out in fresh/soph year. Plus you'll save money, and it might helped with residency as well. Just having something to show you're still a good student.

If you're dead set on going straight to a 4-year then at least leave the 2-year as an option in case you don't get in, you can go to the 2-year and reapply in a year or two. Just make sure you do your best to crush.

In Cali the community colleges and 4-year schools have a pretty clear cut way of showing you which courses transfer to what schools and what classes you should take for certain majors before transferring. If GT is where you want to go I'd peruse the GT website or maybe CCs around GT and see what info they have.

My SAT score looks about mid-upper range of their 25-75% bracket. I can't remember my GPA although I know it won't be my strong point, especially including my senior year. I know I'm not a lock but I'd lay 2:1 that I'd be accepted if I was applying from high school. If I could work my military experience into the decision making process I'd feel even better but from what I've seen they're only interested in GPA/SAT/high school extracurriculars.

This sounds like useful advice, but just so I'm understanding correctly, what can I expect from a dean? Am I looking for guidance tailored to my situation or some string pulling?

Apply to GT.

If that doesn't work, move to GA. Ace the classes at the community college and you will almost assuredly get in. GT isn't that hard to get into but being in state and doing well at a CC could go along way if you can't get in the standard route.

Thanks, that's the kind of info I was looking for. I have some friends in ATL and I love the city, but moving to GA for a community college without being almost certain I'd be able to transfer to GT within a year would be a huge risk for me.

http://transferweb.com/stats/transfer-acceptance-rates/

Looks like it's actually tougher to transfer into GT than getting in the traditional route.

I got in after HS, I had pretty good scores/grades. Not sure if it's easier or harder to get in with all that time in the military. Some schools would probably like it.

I'd give the traditional route a shot if you don't want to risk it. Not sure any other way that can guarantee you a spot unless they set something up with you. For instance asking GT admissions if you moved to GA and went to a CC if you got a 3.5+ or above at a CC with certain classes that you'd get in. Not sure how to remove the uncertainty.

The first one. The people within the different colleges know what they are talking about and can help, the undergrad office people are just trained to answer like ten different questions they get asked hundreds of times a week.

You will almost definitely get in on a transfer after destroying a GA CC with good stuff from high school. As said it isn't hard to get in, they weed people out of engineering once they are there.

Email the dean and the undergrad adviser of the college (aero engineering) are you looking it. Might even be worth driving in to talk to them in person.

You might be able to take classes though open/extension University at GT and if you get good grades than it might increase your chances of getting in.

Other suggestions are good.

Also, you don't need to take AE classes per se. Take things at a CC like Calc I, Calc II, intro to programming (C++, Matlab, whatever), Physics I and II, Chem I and II, etc. That way when you do get to you undergrad you'll hit the ground running.

This is pretty much exactly what i'm doing to transfer into chemical engineering at the better public Uni. I am/was in the exact same position as OP

Nontraditional students (especially military) are valued at most colleges (discpipline maturity yadayada). Use this to your advantage; a private school like GT is likely to have a pretty sophisticated enrollment management office. (I am acquainted with their vice provost, Paul Kohn.) Heck, you may be able to contact him directly and say "What will you do to get me into GT given my background?" There may be good funding available.