Who says that you have to start your higher educational career at a four-year university? There is no shame with having started your post high school education at a local community college/city college. The degree that you or your son/daughter receives after transferring and graduating from the university level will not read “the University of XYZ but started at the community college”.
If you or your children do not have stellar high school, grades or SAT/ACT scores then go to a community college. Think of the community college as the off-season for a sport. During the off-season if, you have any injuries you try to get those taken care so that when the season starts you are ready to play. Community college can be an opportunity to start over and prove to a potential university that you can succeed in higher education. Get a solid B average (or higher) to prove that you or your child have what it takes. Most universities after you have achieved the necessary units to transfer will not even request your high school transcripts.
Most community colleges do not require SAT or ACT scores to get into them. In the state of California, all that is required of someone is a high school diploma or GED. When you enter the community college you will be required to take placement tests, which will determine if you will be required to take remedial (lower level, do not go towards a degree) courses such as in math or English.
In California when you have accumulated 60 transferable units (mostly general education units), you can then apply either to the California State University system (San Diego State University, Cal State University Long Beach) or to the University of California system (schools such as UCLA and Berkeley). Private and out of state university requirements will differ so its not to say that once you finish 60 units you will then meet the requirements of out of state public or private schools ( or even in state private schools). If you want to attend a private or out of state school you would have to check with that particular community college to see if they have a transfer agreement setup or check with the school you are interested in to see, which courses they will accept. With the Cal State and University of California systems, they will not ask for high school transcripts once you have achieved the required number of transferable units.
In addition, if you or your children do not want to transfer and find that the education that a community college has to offer is it for you or your children then Associates degree or a certificate are available.
I do not know any specifics in particular about other states and their community college systems so I cannot answer specific questions about them.
Here are a couple of schools and their websites in California, which may be helpful to some of you.
[url]http://www.sac.edu/apps/page.asp?Q=CollegeCatalog[/url]
[url]http://www.sac.edu/students/support_services/dsps/ [/url]
[url]http://www.csulb.edu/ [/url]
[url]http://www.csulb.edu/academics/cat-skeds/[/url]
[url]http://www.csulb.edu/depts/dss/[/url]
http://www.csulb.edu/depts/dss/web_main/sbldp.html (Cal State Long Beach’s Learning Disabilities program).
Good luck and have patience to all of you in your higher education pursuits because I have been there and you will need it.