Will the GED be of any help?

Let's skip the questions about the GED because it is not what you need. The GED is a substitute for a high school diploma, and is considered by many to be less respectable than the diploma itself. Getting a GED would be a waste of time for you. So here is what you should do. Enroll in a community college and take the English and math courses. In many places, those courses will transfer, and they will supersede your grades from high school. As you are coming close to finishing the courses in which you need to improve your performance, contact the admissions departments of the colleges to which you are considering transferring, and find out about enrolling in the major in which you are really interested. It is highly likely that you'll have no problem, assuming, of course, that you get good grades in the areas in which you are currently weak.