<p>If cost is a major concern and you are not the type of person who will get alot with need based aid, is community college THAT bad? </p>
<p>The community college in question is Santa Monica College, which is reputed to be the #1 feeder into UC schools for transfers.</p>
<p>no, it probably won't matter at all in the end</p>
<p>It's a perfectly fine option. Don't be put off by the possibility of "losing face", if you work hard you'll succeed in any situation.</p>
<p>like the poster above me said, it probably won't matter in the end... </p>
<p>if it's worth anything my sister went 2 years of CC then transferred into a fairly reputable state school and now has a 67K/year job with a fairly large accounting firm for only like 3 years after having graduated that salary is pretty good... so in terms of salary it won't affect you</p>
<p>It depends on what career you're going into. For instance, I want to work for the government in a very competitive career, so if I went to a community college, it would be much harder to get a job in an already tough competition. Ditto with being a professor, another goal of mine.</p>
<p>But if you just want to be a teacher or something like that, then no, it doesn't matter.</p>
<p>Community college is a wonderful option; many students in my home state (VA) go the CC route for the first two years then transfer to UVA and other fine state schools or private ones to finish up.</p>
<p>Community college grads who go on to finish a 4-year program elsewhere would be every bit as competitive as someone at a brand name school.</p>
<p>And to tweak a misimpression...no one is "just" a teacher or any other profession. Each student has a calling...a way to give back to society. Some avenues require degrees, others don't. Some obtain their degrees from "elite" schools, others don't. In the end, dear people, it matters not. But, let's try to have respect across all lines and career paths. ;)</p>
<p>community college is the way to go...yea u might miss out on the so called college experience...but it will be a LOT cheaper and some colleges look favobarly upon CC students. I am a community college student who will be attending UCLA in the fall..</p>
<p>There's no shame in going to a community college. A guy my dad works with went to a CC in Wisconsin, transfered to UW-Madison and went to MIT for grad school. He pulls down a hefty six figure income and loves his job. No one cares that he started off at a CC.</p>
<p>California has really strong CCs, and Santa Monica is definitely one of them.</p>
<p>Drew00 is right. No one will give a hoot that a bachelor or graduate degree holder who began at a community college. I know a big law firm attorney who transferred into U of Virginia as an undergraduate. His law alma mater, Washington and Lee School of Law, didn't give a hoot about his community college either.</p>
<p>The only problem is that for student who have unsure goals, or are at-risk for not finishing....community colleges can depress their aspirations.</p>
<p>However, if you are ambitious (as it seems you are) and attending a place with like-minded students (it sounds like Santa Monica offers that) then I see no reason to worry,</p>