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<p>Thanks! Guess I should have attempted to find colleges sooner :/</p>
<p>@those who said CC might not be right for me, why do you think so?</p>
<p>My Mom used to teach math at a non-flagship state U. She found that the CC-transfers who had taken pre-requisite math classes at the CC were generally much less well prepared compared to those who had taken the similar classes at the University. She said that the community college just covered less material in their classes.</p>
<p>My son (now a senior) has taken a couple of CC classes during the summer, and found them easier than the honors/AP classes he has taken in high school.</p>
<p>I’m concerned that you might not feel motivated and challenged at a CC. I don’t know you, so it’s just a guess on my part. But my son tends to rise to challenges, and doesn’t put in much effort on things that don’t interest him. I can’t imagine him being happy at a CC. And I just find it hard to imagine that a student who applied to U. Chicago (and was deferred but not rejected) would be a fit at a CC.</p>
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<p>That’s a really good question. You have scored in the 99th percentile on a nationally normed college entrance exam, you have challenged yourself, perhaps too much, but nonetheless, you probably need and can handle a richer and more intellectual environment. If you go away to a good 4-year liberal arts college, in my opinion, you will learn both in classes and from your peers in ways that far exceed what is available to you at a community college.</p>
<p>I think it’s fine to leave the CC as your last resort, but there is still time to find a 4-yr college with a good fit. You should at least read the book “Colleges That Change Lives” by Loren Pope. You can probably get it at your public library. You can read about what you might be missing. If you don’t find it compelling, so be it.</p>
<p>I agree with CRD and I tried to say it earlier, but probably not as well…I think you should keep CC in your pocket and keep looking. Michigan State (look at James Madison residential college) and Kalamazoo College both are strong in the areas you are interested in. Kalamazoo’s merit scholarship deadlines are early February I believe. Michigan State has several pages of scholarships that you can page through some are score based, many are not.</p>
<p>OP–If your user name means you are in Maryland, why don’t you apply to UMBC?</p>
<p>Thanks for the kind words everyone :)</p>
<p>momofthreeboys, I’ll look into it, thanks!</p>
<p>MD Mom, got rejected from UMBC too :(…that’s what prompted this “CC as Back Up” plan</p>
<p>What about Towson?</p>
<p>The SUNY schools are also have quote low OOS tuition, compared to others.</p>
<p>^ I didn’t like Towson when I visited. I’m gonna look at the SUNYs though, thanks!</p>
<p>A lot of people like Frostburg or Salisbury better than Towson.</p>
<p>But going to a community college for 2 years and then transferring to one of those places – or, if you do exceptionally well, to UMBC or even UMCP, is another valid choice.</p>
<p>*I think the OP would be better off applying to some more 4-yr schools, especially those with good financial aid, and then looking to transfer.
*</p>
<p>I completely agree.</p>
<p>The OP should apply to some decent 4 year schools that would either give great FA and/or merit.</p>
<p>the problem with CCs, is many aren’t strong in sciences and math.</p>
<p>I think the OP should apply to the University of Miami.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s too late to apply and get a merit scholarship.</p>
<p>[New</a> Freshmen / First Year Students | University of Miami](<a href=“http://www.miami.edu/index.php/ug/scholarships/freshmen/]New”>http://www.miami.edu/index.php/ug/scholarships/freshmen/)</p>
<p>He could go there for at least 2 years, and then either stay or transfer.</p>
<p>I just want to add that one does not need to remain at CC until you earn an Associates. If you decide to go the CC route and you begin running into the concerns some here expressed ( boredom, need for peers who are more intellectual), then please do not feel you need to wait the required 2 years before applying to transfer.</p>
<p>This is your education. Take charge of it. There are no written rules or absolutes for future employment – your experiences will be what you make of it.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>The problem with going to a Cc for even one semester for a student like the OP with high stats, is that he’d miss out on any merit money from schools that would give him some.</p>
<p>He should also look into Purdue, IU, and Iowa St…</p>
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<p>You might also want to consider schools with lopsided male/female ratios that have higher acceptance rates for males: Vassar and Skidmore come to mind, although Vassar is probably a reach. I think it has good need-based financial aid however.</p>
<p>Applying to any college with a Jan 1st deadline is just impossible. Unless I can get them to open the school just for me, I can’t send the transcript and recs by then :)</p>
<p>As far as a four year college, there is a lot to the experience of a 4 year that is important beyond the employment opportunities. That’s why I encourage the OP to check out these alternatives first. However, I am sure there are some 4 year instiutions that aren’t worth a nickel in tuition. And you have to make sure you go to a good CC if you ultimately decide to go that route.</p>
<p>But I completely don’t get the hiring thing. I guess this just goes to show how different people have completely different experiences and biases in hiring. Some people like military experience, others don’t. Some people favor certain schools, some favor others. A lot of it has to do personal experience, and when they might have been burned by a hire.</p>
<p>I have hired a lot of engineers. I know lots of other people who have hired engineers. And I’ve never heard anyone express this concern over community college transfers. In both of my technical degrees the upper division work was so much harder than the lower division pre-requisites that I would just assume that anyone who did well in the upper division had proper lower division preparation. And at least 50% of lower division work is general education, which pretty much doesn’t really concern me. </p>
<p>Add to this the fact that on their resume almost nobody lists every school they attended, they only list their terminal degrees. If you feel a couple years at the CC are holding you back from employment leave it off. Sure, you have to put it on your application, but I really think not many employers are going to go back and scour your application to weed out anyone who started at a community college.</p>
<p>umcp11: First of all, understand, I don’t “pick” someone based on the school they went to. I sort resumes to the best of my imperfect ability to assess how well they would work out in the job. It’s the very first step of a long process and it’s competitive. For many new graduates, there isn’t much on the resume that is relevant except your project experience, the courses you took, your GPA and the schools you attended. I can tell you that in my experience, those factors are a reasonably good predictor of how well you’d fit into my group. </p>
<p>I can tell you, that I would treat a resume with a high GPA from UMCP very seriously. In EE they have a very good program. I have never SEEN a resume with a high GPA from a top school from someone who transferred from a CC. I’m not saying that it can’t happen, I’m saying that it usually doesn’t happen. </p>
<p>My suspicion is that for the most part, if you start out at a college with lower standards of excellence, it is very difficult to make the transition to a college with much higher standards. I think it requires a lot of self-discipline. I’m not saying that it’s not possible, I just think it’s rare. The fact that several posters have made that transition is a testament to their own abilities and drive, I don’t think it’s all that common. </p>
<p>Does that answer your question?</p>
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<p>You don’t need to have the entire file complete by Jan 1st at most schools. You just need to have the main app in. The transcripts and recs could follow along in the days and weeks after.</p>
<p>^ I agree with coureur that I have heard that as long as the app is in by the deadline, colleges will give a grace period for arrival of the materials from the high school.</p>