Is there any advantage of community college if money isn’t a problem? My GPA is only ok (3.4) and currently I’ve been accepted to ASU, Texas A&M, UC Merced, and a couple CSUs.
Is there any point in even considering CC because if I wanted to transfer to a better school I could still do so after 2 years at University and still get the college life correct?
Sure, there’s a point in attending a CC that goes beyond money. If one is at all concerned that she/he is not ready for college, CCs provide a less expensive way to find this out! I don’t care how well off a family is: it stings to have 30K per year or more flushed down the toilet because a student gets too caught up in partying, or cannot handle the increased responsibility (there is no parent to wake you up in the morning; there are not trips to the office for missing class; there is no detention for repeated absences).
As for using a CC to get into a better school, it is possible, but the schools you’ve listed are already fine places. I’m guessing that your home state is CA? If so, both the UC and CSU systems give preference to CA residents. It’s challenging (though not at all impossible) for an OOS student to attend one of the UCs in general, but it’s nearly impossible to do so as an OOS transfer student. Honestly, nearly all transfer students to UC and CSU schools come from CA’s extensive CC system. This is by design.
So, yes, I guess if you earned nearly perfect grades you could have a shot at UC Berkeley or UCLA (if you’re a CA resident), but if I’m a student who knows that I’m ready for college now and can handle the work and the responsibilities, I wouldn’t put my life on hold to chase supposedly “better” schools. I would choose a solid school that I love and go have a terrific four years.
@Hapworth I am from CA. I guess what I’m saying is that I really don’t want to go to CC if possible as many people have told me it’s basically the same thing as High School. From what I understand the advantages of CC is mainly cost and ability to transfer. However you could still transfer from a 4 year uni so is there any other advantage that CC offers?
Undying,
Once you are at a four-year university, it will be nearly impossible to transfer to any of the CA schools. Others will correct me if I’m wrong. BTW, there’s a YouTube video where a young woman who earned high grades during her first two years at Loyola in New Orleans was stunned when all of her transfer applications to both UC and CSU schools were denied. Again, this is because the CA university system is designed to give almost all its slots and preference to CA CC students.
Yes, you could transfer to any non-CA school from a four-year university, but I think you’ve answered your own question. I have trouble imagining what school you’d have a better shot at because you attended a CC, and is this worth it (spending two years at the CC instead of four years at a single four-year university)? In other words, I’m not sure why you’re even considering the CC route. What schools would you aim for by taking the CC route?
Beyond cost and ability to transfer (keep in mind that many CC students transfer to an in-state public option), I’m not sure what advantages there are beyond the one that I mentioned: a safe first step for those who need to prove themselves before moving on to the four-year environment). There are other limited advantages–taking a course or two over the summer to lessen the time and cost of the same classes at your university–but it seems to me you are asking about “bigger picture” advantages. I’m sure that other posters will add things.
If you want to go to one of the “higher” UCs, CC could be advantageous because of TAG. Completely the TAG curriculum at a CC ensures admission to the UC you apply to - participating schools are Davis, Irvine, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Merced, and Riverside. You are already in Merced, but going CC could ensure admission to Davis, for example, in the future, as long as you successfully complete TAG, where a transfer from Merced to Davis is not guaranteed in the same way.
UCs and CSUs do prioritize California CC students in transfer admissions, and the course articulations listed at http://www.assist.org are mainly for students at CCs. So if you really do not want to attend any of the four year schools that admitted you as frosh to graduation, but do want to target some other UCs and CSUs, starting at a CC may be preferred from that standpoint.
But if the four year schools you got into a frosh are suitable for you to attend to graduation, and cost is not a problem, then it can make sense to attend one of them.
@Hapworth My counselor said if you keep grades up many transfer from UC to UC or CSU to UC after 2 years
@ucbalumnus Hopefully I can at least get into Santa Cruz because coming from San Marino I can’t take the completely rural location of Merced
Many students choose CC as a path to a better UC than the one they were originally admitted to, but that’s usually because money is a factor. Do know that few people finish 2 years on time in the CCs. Also, many AP credits don’t seem to get counted in CCs. I don’t know why this is, because technically they should be, but the counselors never seem to file the right paperwork so students end up taking a class at CC that they would have tested out of at a UC or CalState. And the “college life” is usually most intense freshman and sophomore year; juniors and seniors have generally found their niche and often hang with a smaller group, or tire of the partying altogether by then. That being said, you might have a little more freedom with class selection at the CC level in the next couple of years. Enrollments are way down, so it’s pretty easy to get most classes. (This is a pattern that goes up and down with the economy; right now the economy is doing pretty well, so enrollment at CC is low.) In some cases, you’ll have a better educational experience at the CC because of smaller class sizes; in some cases, the mid-level UC will be better. I think the education is hard to gauge and is somewhat random, especially in your first year when you don’t know many people and are just guessing on which professors to take. Finally, transfer is not guaranteed. It is, frankly, something of a mystery to me why one of my weaker students transfers to UCB while another stronger student gets rejected from CalState Long Beach.
Which CSUs have accepted you, what’s your major and what are your other interests?
@NCalRent I’m looking to major in CS and have been accepted to Merced, Riverside, ASU, UofA, CSULB, and CSULA.
Waiting on Santa Clara, SJSU, SDSU, and other UCs
Due to the variation in how lower division CS courses are organized at different schools, starting at CC is less desirable for CS majors compared to many other majors due to less complete matching of CC CS courses with those at UCs and CSUs – see http://www.assist.org .
But check your admission offers at the four year schools to see if you are directly admitted to the CS major. If not, check whether entering the CS major after enrolling will require a high GPA or competitive admission process.
@ucbalumnus If I do decide to go to CC I would attend De Anza as my parents have a home in San Jose and the transfer rates for De Anza are pretty high compared to my local CCs
Again, check http://www.assist.org . For example, De Anza has good coverage for UCLA and SJSU CS courses, but poor coverage for UCB CS courses:
http://web2.assist.org/web-assist/report.do?agreement=aa&reportPath=REPORT_2&reportScript=Rep2.pl&event=19&dir=1&sia=DAC&ria=UCB&ia=DAC&oia=UCB&aay=16-17&ay=16-17&dora=EECS
http://web2.assist.org/web-assist/report.do?agreement=aa&reportPath=REPORT_2&reportScript=Rep2.pl&event=19&dir=1&sia=DAC&ria=UCLA&ia=DAC&oia=UCLA&aay=16-17&ay=16-17&dora=COMP+SCI
http://web2.assist.org/web-assist/report.do?agreement=aa&reportPath=REPORT_2&reportScript=Rep2.pl&event=19&dir=1&sia=DAC&ria=SJSU&ia=DAC&oia=SJSU&aay=16-17&ay=16-17&dora=COMPSCI
I should start by saying I went to a CC for 2 years because I wasn’t ready to manage all the freedom that would have come with being away from home at that age. Given that you’ve earned pretty solid grades so far, i am guessing you can handle, and would probably welcome the challenge.
LB State has a good program and would be my first choice of those that have accepted you so far. UCR is also a very good CS school and is worth serious consideration.
As noted by @usbalumnus CS is somewhat unique in that transfer requirements are different at each school. So, taking the right classes for UCI won’t get you into CPP or UCSC - kinda crazy but you have to pick your target school day one and follow their plan - which is harder than it sounds.
Another reason to head straight to a 4 year school now is that you will have more time to make the most of, clubs, internships, etc. It is hard to get an officer slot (which will look good on a resume) in a club as a transfer. Similarly, any job/internship you get at the CC will need to start over when you move instead of showing a progression. Then there’s the ‘freshman dorm experience’ and dorm life - where you will meet all kinds of people and frankly learn more about life than you ever could in a classroom.
The other aspect people don’t consider is that you will need to apply and be admitted to your target school. Most CA publics are equally competitive to transfers as they are for freshmen. CS is a notoriously hard curriculum in which to earn a high GPA - so much so that my kids friends taking this route take 3-4 classes most semesters, meaning it took them forever to transfer and they don’t feel particularly connected to the school they transferred to. So, you need to understand that LB and UCM (let alone some of the more selective ones) may not accept you when you apply again - and that it could take longer than planned. Also, the competitive CSUs are mandated to give preference to students they consider ‘local’. How they do this takes various forms but, it has become more difficult to transfer into LB, CSPLO or SDSU than it is into UCD. You can read a little about that here.
https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/freshman/documents/csulocaladmission-serviceareas.pdf
Each individually can be offset, particularity if you have budget constraints. In the grand scheme of things, graduating at 22 vs 24 won’t make any difference in your career. I’d add, since you got into UCR - SDSU still looks viable. If you got in there - that would move to my top slot. My guess is Santa Clara won’t offer enough merit aid to make it a reasonable choice.
I would encourage you to take a tour and spend some time on the campuses that have accepted you. Talk to some existing students and see how they like it … what they love and what they hate. Keep an open mind and see where it takes you. I am pretty confident you could really bloom someplace like CSULB or UCR.
@NCalRent I have 3 cousins who attend Santa Clara and they love it so I’m hoping I can get in. My family can afford the full pay of 60k and I heard their CS program is pretty good.
I am a huge Santa Clara fan too, my dad, uncle, aunt and a host of cousins and neighbors went there. They have an outstanding CS program. As long as you won’t go into debt to attend - it is great. A 3.4 GPA could make it a tough admit.
good luck!
Texas A&M? Seriously? You would be hard pressed to get into a better school than that. If money isn’t an issue, that would be a no-brainer to anyone in Texas.
OP is in California, so Texas A&M would be expensive. Also, there is the competitive admission process to get into the CS major after enrolling.