<p>If, after a get all my financial aid information back and it isn't a ton of moolah, I may decide that it could possibly be the smart decision to spend a year at a CC and either defer my enrollment at the schools I got into or transfer somewhere else. I would be perfectly fine with doing this except for one thing I'm worried about. Is it easy to make friends at a CC? I don't want to hang out with old HS people, so is it difficult to make new friends when you're not dorming or spending all that much time on campus? I don't want to be lonely next year =(. lol.</p>
<p>You will see some ppl from HS, but i promise you it will not be like going to HS again. I found it pretty easy to meet ppl in CC a few years ago. There will be a very wide variety of ppl.</p>
<p>When I was at a CC, I had a few friends in each class, but I never really became good friends with any of them. For the most part, the friends I made at CC were mostly "school only friends" in that either I didn't have their cell number or I only hung out with them once or twice.</p>
<p>It really depends on what type of person you are. I know of a few people that have met people thru classes and became pretty good friends (they studied together and even went to some parties together) but I haven't really became friends with anyone. I tend to be shy and I hate starting conversations, so it can be harder for me, but I wasn't really trying to find friends. You also need to think about what type of people are at your CC (I had no clue, but apparently the one I'm currently attending is mostly middle age people, which makes it hard for me to find something in common). I'm sure that if you try hard enough then you can make some friends!</p>
<p>I took a couple CC classes over the summer and all the kids in them were total freaks, so I would probably have no friends at a CC.</p>
<p>One difference between 2-year and 4-year schools is that a lot more of the students at 2-year schools are doing something else in addition to school. They may have full-time jobs, for example. Their lives do not center on school.</p>
<p>Another difference is that 2-year schools have an older population in general. There are 18-year-olds (and 14-year-olds), but there are also 40-year-olds.</p>
<p>These things mean that a significant number of your classmates are either not going to be interested in making campus friends (they already have friends from other ares of their lives) or they're not going to be interested in the sort of thing many of the students at 4-year schools like to do.</p>
<p>So yes, you can make friends, but the context is different.</p>
<p>That said, I know a girl finishing up her first year at a 4-year school, and I really think she'd have been better off starting at a community college for a whole lot of reasons, and I worked as a TA at an expensive (but not all that highly selective) school many of whose students I thought would be better off at a cheaper 2-year school. (I know other students that I think really are better off at a 4-year school.)</p>
<p>So if a CC is a good choice for you for other reasons, I hope you won't let the different student population dissuade you.</p>
<p>One of the advantages of attending a CC is class size. Many intro classes at 4-year institutes (public that is--I'm not versed on private) are huge. In a class of 100-500 students, learning can be difficult. The smaller class size at CCs also allow for more class discussion.</p>
<p>@ bunny27</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that many students at community colleges come from all ages and occupations, not your typical 18-25 age cohort. The students live and commute from home. They don't live in residential dorms. Some are working full-time or are already seasoned professionals looking to improve their skills. Some are raising their own families. You will meet a lot of different people. Don't expect a typical residential college environment. Think about this carefully before you jump on the community college bandwagon. You can always petition the school of your choice to demand more money and prove why you need it.</p>
<p>I've been at CC for a year and a half. For me, it's fairly easy to make friends but I never really hang out with any of them outside of school. Most people have full-time jobs outside of school so when you go home for the day and they go home for the day, they usually go to work. I've made friends of all ages and races though.</p>
<p>You may want to check into the transfer scholarships available. The majority of state, private and institutional scholarships are reserved for freshmen. The savings may not be as great as you think.</p>
<p>thanks to everyone for the advice. on further consideration, i think that i'll just go away next year. i don't think i could handle living at home another year lol...finances aren't THAT big of a deal either. my parents made it out like they couldn't pay for next year, but now they claim it won't really be a problem, they were just nervous about me leaving.... very annoying...</p>