do you have to take a sat to get into college

There are three ways of answering this, in each case the answers are "No".

First, almost every college which requires applicants to take the SAT would be equally happy accepting the ACT instead -- colleges have ways of comparing SAT score to "equivalent" ACT scores. (https://www.princetonreview.com/college-advice/act-to-sat-conversion) That said, many students find they prefer one test over the other for one reason or another.

Secondly, and probably more importantly for you, there is a growing number of colleges and universities who make standardized testing optional. You can research this here: http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional

Finally, most community colleges do not require standardized testing -- in fact, most are open enrollment. Many students complete their first two years of college at a CC setting, transferring to a college or university to complete their degree. Not only does this give you an opportunity to save a ton of tuition, when you do apply to transfer after two years, you are applying as a transfer student **primarily** on the strength of your grades in your first two years. Even if the college you are transferring to asks for SAT/ACT tests, keep in mind the purpose of those tests are to guess at your potential for college work. If you've demonstrated your potential for college work at the community college, that testing will be given far less weight in your application.