Poor SAT or ACT Results? You Can Still Go to College!

For teenagers who are not accepted into a four year university in Texas, there are feasible educational options within the community college and junior college systems of Texas. For many parents, when faced with a teenager who does not show promising results on the SAT or ACT, the hopes of college attendance are often overshadowed by these less than perfect test results. As parents, and graduating high school seniors, when facing this situation, consider the option of attention a two year university in Texas.

Community colleges in Texas offer high school students, with poor SAT and ACT scores, an opportunity to obtain college credit, even an Associates degree, with few requirements in the admissions processing. To apply for admission to a two year university in Texas, a Texas resident high school student should complete an application, online for a nominal fee, and submit high school transcripts. The application to most colleges in Texas can be completed through www.applytexas.org.

With the high school transcript, the two year university will usually request the high school student submit SAT or ACT scores along with the high school transcript. As a general rule, the high school graduating senior will not be denied admissions to the university, even with poor SAT or ACT scores. In fact, most two year universities offer Texas high school students the opportunity to take academic placement tests known as Accuplacer or THEA, using these test results to best gauge the academic performance of a student.

Upon completion of the Accuplacer or THEA testing, the high school graduating senior's student advisor will review the results with the high school student to determine what classes are best suited for the student at a college level. Should the Accuplacer or THEA testing results indicate the high school student does not meet the minimum requirements for college level courses, the two year university will accept the student contingent upon completion of developmental courses as a pre-requisite to the college level courses. While the high school student will not obtain college credit for these remedial courses, as a college freshman, these college classes are necessary as they are designed to prepare the student for college life and to remedy any academic deficiencies that exist at the time of graduation from high school.

For high school seniors, moving into the next chapter of life, with college, is an exciting time, filled even with a sense of anxiety. While many high school students perform poorly on the SAT and ACT, the student should not be discouraged from attending college. By taking the THEA or Accuplacer exam, the graduating high school senior can move directly into a two year university, in Texas, in the next school semester.