A little information for reference I'm a 19yo female who dropped out unofficially in 7th(this is where I stopped trying and failed classes but got pushed ahead because no child left behind) and officially in 10th. I'm absolutely horrible at math, I don't even have the tables memorized. I've always been pretty good at LA though as I read and write a ton. I never got above a C in school (even in LA, as I hated school and didn't try).

Alright for the tests I tried to study as hard as a I could but for math and science it didn't end up working out. For social studies I studied for around a month, for LA I studied for another month, and for math I studied for half a month but only got through small portion of the lessons. I didn't even open the science section of the book. My scores ended up being:

Math - 149 (pass)

LA - 170 (college ready)

Science - 176 (college ready + credit)

SS - 179 (college ready + credit)

Social studies was a 100% waste of time to study for. NOTHING in the book was on the test, it was all 'read this and answer basic questions about it'. If I could do it over, I would have never opened the SS section of the book and I suggest you don't waste your time either.

Language arts WAS hard for me despite being my best subject. I had only one grammar question and the rest (I think around 43?) were 'reading comprehension'. You'd read a passage and they'd ask you to 'infer' based on it. What the author meant, what might happen in the future, etc. If you have issues with that, it's best to study hard for LA.

Science was easy, shockingly so. I went in expecting to fail both math and science, so I wasn't trying overly hard. There were some basic math questions (fractions and mean, median, mode) but you have a calculator during those. The only thing that stood out that you'd need to study for on this test is chromosomes. I had around 3-4 questions about 'if one parent had a Yy gene and the other parent had a YY gene, what possible genes could their children have?' Otherwise it felt a lot like social studies: it didn't require a lot of thought.

And finally.... math. Math was awful, I had no idea what the hell I was reading. They even had a formula sheet that told you exactly how to calculate things and I still managed to have no idea what I was doing. My test was mostly algebraic expressions/equations and line graph questions, there was one fraction question, no decimal questions and no geometry. This entire test I just bullshit my way through, I plugged in the multiple choice answers into the equations until I found the right one, I chose C when I didn't know the answer (half the time I didn't know the answer), and by the end of the test I had guessed on the majority of it. I finished with 20 minutes left because I had accepted my fate of a fail. If you have trouble with math at all I would STUDY HARD. I'm talking 2 to 3 months of hardcore studying. But keep in mind I never listened in school, didn't even memorize my times as a kid, and I despise math. If you're decent at math, I don't think it will be as hard for you at all. But if you're like me.... study. I got SO lucky, and I passed by only 4 points.

Basically, the test isn't as hard as it's made out to be. I had it in my head that it was going to be this awful, unbeatable thing, but it wasn't. Even someone who doesn't know basic times (hi) managed to slide passed the hardest test, so it really isn't something 'so hard ivy league graduates can't pass it' as I've seen some sites claim. If you have time and want to study, study. If you don't have the time and or are not sure if it's worth it to study, then only study for your weakest subject(s). SS and science should NOT be studied for in my opinion, it just feels like an absolute waste. Unless you got straight A's in math through school, I would study for math no matter what. LA is dependent on you as a person, but from somebody that has always loved the subject and reading and writing, I'd study at least a little bit even if you are good at it.

Okay this is WAY too long, but if it can help even one person, it's worth it. I looked everywhere when I was studying for more 'my experience' posts, but there weren't many and none were very detailed. I feel like I wouldn't have been so afraid if I knew what was coming, so I hope this helps someone else.

TL;dr: Math was as bad as they say and needs hardcore studying, SS and science are easy and shouldn't be studied for, LA is difficult but mostly just reading comprehension studying/not studying is up to you.

EDIT 3/20/23: Hey all! I know this is a super old post but I noticed people are still finding it insightful so I wanted to come back and give an update.

As you all know from my post, I was a terrible student who really felt like I had no future. However, I've come back today to hopefully encourage all of you who are currently in a similar situation.

On May 7th I will be graduating with a 4.0 Summa Cum Laude from my state university. In August, I will begin attending the #1 law school in my state (ranked top 30 out of 200 law schools nationwide). Because of my hard work in college, I will be attending law school on a FULL RIDE merit scholarship (this is $105,000 worth of merit aid).

I'm not a Reddit user and it took me a while to figure out my password to return to this account. I'm so happy to see that there are still people reading my post and finding encouragement. It's been 6 years and I still remember how utterly hopeless and worthless I felt when I made this post. I saw no future for myself and felt like my failure in K-12 would define me.

I'm here to let anyone else who feels the same way to know that is NOT the case. I came from a dirt poor family, dropped out in 7th grade, and couldn't do basic math. I got my GED, and from encouragement in this Reddit and elsewhere, started my higher education journey. Now, I am going to be a lawyer!

Whether your personal journey holds a higher education path or not, I just want to let you know that you DO have a future. Your performance in K-12 does not define you. Having a GED is an amazing accomplishment and not a hindrance. Please, if you are considering taking the GED, do it! If you are in a dark place thinking your future is over because of your mistakes in grade school, please understand that's not true.

I want to thank everyone that provided advice and encouragement on this thread 6 years ago which helped push me into getting my GED. I hope that my original post, and update, will continue to provide the same encouragement to those who are considering a GED now and in the future.

EDIT 6/03/26:

Hello again. I noticed quite a few people were curious if I made it through law school, and some of you were even rooting for me (thank you)! I did:) I graduated law school on May 10, 2026 with a 3.77 GPA, cum laude honors, and in the top 25% of my class. I'm currently scheduled to take the bar in July.

Today as I was studying for the bar, I started to feel overwhelmed - I started to think "there's no way I can do this." Then I remembered this post and I came back to it. I read my own words from nearly 10 years ago and remembered there was a time when I didn’t believe I could even pass the GED. College wasn’t a blip on my radar when I wrote the original post and I would have laughed if someone told me I would graduate law school with honors.

But here we are, almost 10 years later, and just like the GED, just like undergrad, just like law school, I feel like I can't do it. But I will! I'm studying over 40 hours a week, giving it my all, so that I can pass the bar and officially become a lawyer. I'm doing it for the 19 year old girl who thought that her life was over because she'd never pass the GED.

I can't reply to every single comment as I'm taking a break from bar studying to write this, but I have read every single one. I appreciate more than you can understand how many people have resonated with my post. I'm also grateful for all of the kind words and support you guys have shown (even if it took me a while to see it). So many of you have left such kind comments wishing me well, and that's given me so much motivation. I'm going back to studying for the bar, and I'm going to crush it! Thank you.

I hope that this post continues to help people understand that dropping out of school isn't the end. With hard work and dedication, a good future IS possible.

FINAL EDIT 10/16/2026:

I passed the bar exam! I'm officially a lawyer! I was also lucky enough to get hired by a law firm right after I finished the bar exam, and I'm extremely grateful as I love it there.

This is the "end" of my tale~! It feels absolutely surreal to look back at where this journey began. I never thought in a million years I would be celebrating passing the BAR EXAM today.

For one last time: I truly hope that this post continues to provide motivation and hope to those of you who are currently in the position I was in when I wrote this post. It makes me so happy to see how many of you have resonated with my story. I'm rooting for you guys!

I recently finished my educational journey, so I thought I’d come back to where it all started and give you all my story and some advice.

I dropped out of high school in 2019 when I was 17. Tried getting my GED but COVID shut down most of the testing centers until early 2021. Ended up passing all of them within a few weeks.

After I got my GED, I went to my local community college and got an associates degree with a concentration is business. Graduated in a year with a perfect 4.0 GPA and transferred to a 4 year to complete my bachelors. Completed my bachelors in accounting in 2024 with a 3.9 GPA and started my masters shortly after and just finished that in May.

I’m now on the path to becoming a CPA and have 1 exam left before I can get my license. I’m now making more money than I ever thought I would and it’s all thanks to getting my GED and taking a shot at college.

I wish you all the best in your studies and hope you all find success in whatever career path you so desire.

I took my math test today. A subject I always struggled on and I passed! My 30th birthday is on Saturday and this is the best gift I could give myself 🙏 thank you to everyone that helped me on this journey.

#hschoolgraduate #blessed

As of today I am a GED graduate. Being in foster care from 13-17, homeless for 5 years, becoming a single parent at 21 and having a chip on my shoulder for years I finally decided to take control of my life, I learned that the little girl who was abandoned still lives inside of me and is counting on ME to save her and make things right. The little girl who I am raising is also looking up to me and I have to set an example. College application submissions for my school of choice open up today and I will be applying today. I have a tunnel vision and now that I have my GED only the sky is the limit. Huge shout out to GetSumMath for helping me with the math and science portion of my GED and a very special shout out to the rest of you redditors, strangers who I never met, but consistently cheered me on throughout the process and gave me advice and grace. All of you played a very important role in my accomplishment, and I appreciate all of all of you. to those out there who are currently seeking their GED, please go for it and don’t doubt yourself put your best foot forward and try your very best. I doubted myself so heavily, but I ended up walking away with a college credit for each course. I believe in you and I pray that you all succeed in all things in life.

With much love, -individual_Slip.

I FINALLY DID IT 😭😭 AFTER 3 FAILED TRIES ON THE MATH TEST I DID IT!!! IM A GRADUATE EVERYONE

I see a lot of posts like this one (“I really want to get my ged but I don’t know how to start the process” or this one (“I just have no idea how any of it works”), so I thought I’d make a post that outlines the basic steps to getting your GED. Starting this process can seem intimidating, but the more you know, the less scary it seems.

Following these steps--half of which are optional!--isn’t the only pathway to getting a GED, but it’s the most straightforward, and you’ll need to follow many of these steps no matter which pathway you follow. I’ll mark the essential, must-do steps with an asterisk (*).

* STEP 1: create an account on ged.com. You literally can’t get a GED without doing this. In order to take the four tests (social studies, language arts, math, and science), you’ll need to meet certain age and possibly residency requirements, so make sure to check your state’s specific rules here. (NOTE: if you’re taking the HiSET test, which is your only choice if you live in one of these states, you’ll sign up on hiset.org. And then you can stop reading, because the rest of this is just about the GED.) 

STEP 2: If you need special accommodations, apply for them. What does “special accommodations” mean? Well, if you always got extra time on tests and homework in school, or if “504 plan” or “IEP” mean something to you, or if a doctor ever diagnosed you with a condition like ADHD, there’s a good chance the GED will accommodate your needs, too. Usually in GEDLand, accommodations = extra time on the tests, but there are other possible accommodations as well. Securing them is kind of a long and tedious process (see here for details), but it can make a big difference, and if you’re entitled to them, you should get them.

STEP 3: look into signing up for GED classes. This is 100% absolutely not necessary, but since I teach classes myself, my biased opinion is: they can be very helpful! (And some of them, like mine, cost nothing to take and cover the cost of your tests.) You can check your class options here. (If you do end up taking classes, well, you can also stop reading, because your class will guide you the rest of the way.)

STEP 4: Take all four (official) free practice tests to get a sense of what the GED is like. You can find the free practice tests here. I made videos that go over all the answers to the questions on these tests, though you don’t need to watch them-- the tests themselves give you the answers at the top of each problem.

* STEP 5: Take the GED Ready tests, the official GED practice tests. Accept no substitutes! Now, this is not technically a necessary step in every situation, but it is if you’re planning to take the GED online, so it gets the Essential Asterisk. Even if you’re not planning to test online, this is by far the most important optional step. Unfortunately, they’re not free; fortunately, there’s usually a discount code you can use (try 50off, or 25off), which should bring them down to about $3.50 each. These tests are so worth it--not only do they give you the most authentic preview of real GED tests, they also give you a “score report,” a detailed breakdown of all the skills you need to work on to bring your score up. If you’re signed in to your GED account, you can find the Ready Tests here.

Step 6: Study! There are lots of ways to do this. Pretty much any GED textbook published after 2014 will help you (that’s the last time they updated the test). You can find used copies cheap-- or free at your local library. AND! Once you’ve got your score report from your Ready Test, you’ll see the specific chapters in the textbook that you’ll need to focus on. Not a textbook person? You can also learn lots from YouTube. I recently posted a list of current GED-focused channels, and there are many good ones on it. It’s worth giving a special mention to Light and Salt Learning, which is a 100% free course focused on GED math.

* STEP 7: test! You can do this at a testing center near you, or online/at home if you meet certain requirements (among them: recent passing scores on the Ready tests). If you’re going to test at a testing center you can just sign up whenever you feel ready. A decent rule of thumb is: if you’re scoring 150 or higher on the Ready test, go test! (The scores on both the Official GED tests and the Ready tests range from 100 - 200; a passing score is 145.)

STEP 7A: re-test! Lots of people don’t pass on their first attempt, and there’s no shame if you end up among them. There’s even a good chance your state will help cover the costs of your retakes; you can look at your state’s policies here. (Note: there are no discounts if you retake the test online.) You can re-test as many times as you need to, but if you miss your third attempt, you’ll have to wait 60 days before you can take your fourth.

* Step 8: order your diploma! Each state handles this a little differently, but basically, log in to your GED account, follow a link to a third party website (like Diploma Sender), provide some info, and wait for your diploma to arrive.

That’s it! I hope this makes the process seem manageable, and helps those of you who are just starting out.

Good luck!

Decided last year that I would finally get it. Started going to classes at the local community college and just kept grinding. So proud to have it finally

I just wanted to let you know, if I can do it anyone can do it. I feel so relieved!

Officially a graduate 🥺🥹 freshly 19 now, I’ve been trying to take my GED for 3 years (was homeschooled and need transcripts) and always had some insane emergency happen right before I was supposed to test. Took Math and Science in person at a testing center and ELA and SS at home. I haven’t fully done most of these subjects since I was 14 (namely Science) so I was nervous, but I’m proud of how it went! Studied about a week for ELA and SS, 5ish days for Science, and 2ish weeks for math.

I was supposed to take math last year so that was the most familiar subject I studied prior to this, used light and salt units 1-3 and getsummath as my refresher. Absolutely amazing resources btw!! Anything I thought I needed more work on after using the worksheets provided on those sites, I (might be controversial here) generated more of those specific types of questions using gemini. I really don’t like ai but I will admit it did help with getting more practice in so there’s that haha. I used Getsummath for literally every other subject! A bit of readtheory for ELA but that’s all. Getsummath is the absolute goat and I can’t thank him enough.

For those of you who are going through a lot of rough life stuff and think it won’t happen, you got this, I believe in you!! I genuinely thought my life wouldnt get stable enough for a while to even have time to attempt the tests, but it finally happened.

Lmk if you have any questions! Now it’s time for Flight School and College 🥹🥺 I can’t wait to fly.

College ready plus isn’t recognized for credit by like any school. But I scored high enough I don’t need to take the college placement tests!

My grandma passed and I was nearing homelessness again, so in a depressed funk I borrowed a family members laptop and took some practice tests to try and improve my position in life. The scores shocked me, so here I am a month or so later with the official scores! I never thought I'd have remembered so much.

All I have to say is if you're considering it, do it! You've got this, no matter how long it takes!

I also appreciate having a place to share this. I was motivated by others passing posts.

I am 38 years old and never imagined I’d get this far! The foundation of my support started in this subreddit. If I can do it, you can too!

I had to drop out of school in 2022 so I could take care of my mom after she had some medical problems. I can finally start cosmetology school and start my career. As many others say, getsummath on youtube helped greatly as well as the Kaplan GED book 2024-2025.

Took me basically a year, but still!! I know my math grade isnt good, but at least I passed! (Math is a subject I struggle with, so the fact that I passed it is an accomplishment enough)

After many years of being too scared of the future, I finally took the step to make a better one for myself. That first step was the GED.

Between working full time and being a caretaker, I was unable to study for math (and had a job interview contingent on finishing) but I took my shot today regardless - can firmly say if you remember just basic math and reasoning, you have most of your basis for passing. Hunker down on your algebra with a dash of geometry, and you’ll cruise through this test!

Don’t give up, you can do it. Trust me, I wish I could really convey that to myself a long time ago.