<p>To those that opted for a community college, but wished you would of went to a bigger school, and couldn't for some reason (costs, kids, circumstances,etc)... how do you manage to get the college feel, and what are you doing as a college experience towards those two years of your life?
Do you just go to classes and get it done with it? Do you just look forward for the last two years when you transfer? Or, are you involved with your community college anyways?</p>
<p>CC is for poeple with bad grades in high school, that’s it, if you are poor then you will get a lot of fananical aid, so if you want a college experience and a job go to a real college.</p>
<p>thats rude… </p>
<p>i think community college is a good idea. Im only a senior in high school and i am not going to a community college but i think for those who need more time to figure things out it helps. If you want more of the college feel im not exactly sure how it works. but best of luck to you.</p>
<p>Please don’t take any of Soccer’s [poorly spelled and grammatically challenged] advice to heart. CC is what you make of it. Involvement is usually limited by the fact that people are either commuting, constantly graduating/transferring, or have circumstances (e.g. familial commitments) that prevent them from being involved.</p>
<p>Look at this as an opportunity to seize leadership positions. Take charge of clubs/activities and you’ll find other people doing the same.</p>
<p>I’m currently in my fourth semester at a CC. My CC is pretty big, and actually rated as one of the best in the country, so I don’t really know how other CCs compare. In any event, hellojan is right - CC is what you want it to be. There are a ton of activities (clubs, sports, trips) that you can get involved in. You just decide your own level of involvement.</p>
<p>Personally, I have a part-time job, so between classes and work, I really don’t even have time to be involved in the social life of CC. Which kind of sucks - I haven’t made all that many friends, and those I have met work like I do, so we really don’t ever get to hang out. Going to CC definitely is a lot different than going to a four year school - but it has benefits. </p>
<p>Oh, and I know a lot of really smart kids that go to CC. It’s not about your high school grades at all. Some of us just don’t have the option to go to a four year school for four years.</p>
<p>I agree…Honestly, I used to think that if I want a challenge, that CC’s are not for me. But, you know what? It IS what you make out of it because CC helps you transfer anyways. I honestly see people who cannot afford a lot at all and they have to attend a CC, and unfortunately, they can’t have the traditional “college” life. And, some of those people, they really go out and try to make the best out of a CC, participate in their events and small traditions and I find their efforts, very beautiful! Meanwhile, the people that truly gross me out are those that believe nothing can be done, therefore, they do not even give a shot at school, they put a rock in every segment of their lives and complain their lives away.</p>
<p>Besides Soccer’s answer, I agree with all of the above.</p>
<p>I am going to attend a community college this May, since I’m also enrolled at Arizona State U. online…I’m working on two degrees at once and I cannot afford both schools, and I can only get financial aid in one. Mind that I am also paying out-of-state tuition for both.</p>
<p>Soccer102592 that’s such an awful preconceived idea. Sure there are lots of people with bad grades, but there are also a lot of poor students. For me, I got in 8 out 10 schools I applied in HS and all of those had 30 to 45% rate of acceptance and the schools I didn’t get in were 2 certain Ivys (the reach). CCs are populated with students that just had to work or are taking sort of a year off, but not wasting it. Financial aid is not that easy to get either (not to pay tuitions of 50,000+). Many of my friends are in Ivys and highly selective schools like Smith and McGill and they are working less than I am. I don’t love my CC, but it is definitely not a bad place to be.</p>
<p>There is absolutely nothing wrong with attending a community college, contrary to what many believes.</p>
<p>By going to CC, I’ll save from $100,000 to $50,000. I think I can give up two years on campus to save that much money. I have a ton of friends who are going to CC for the same reason (we actually all work at the same place) - we’re saving a ton of money and making money at the same time.</p>
<p>I am in my second semester at a CC, and I know that I am no dummy. I was in honors, AP, and IB classes all through high school. I also passed all of my AP and IB tests. I had a 4.6 (weighted, mind you) GPA and was fairly involved. The reason I’m not at a hot shot school is because of money - the economy tanked and money was (and still is) tight. I didn’t get any financial aid whatsoever because my family is in that weird area where we are slightly above the maximum of financial aid, but still don’t have enough money to spend on my education at the moment. </p>
<p>To be quite honest…yes, I DO feel really down sometimes about not being able to go away for college and having that typical “college life”, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I can b**** and whine all I want, but it’s not going to change ANYTHING. So, I’m sucking it up and making the best out of what I have. I’m taking the classes I need and getting involved in some clubs I’m interested in. I go out of my way to research future schools that I plan to apply for transfer. I can talk one-on-one with my professor, not some T.A. (not that T.A.s are bad persay… but my professors can actually get to know me, rather than think of me as one other person in class). Sure I only get to know about one or two new people a semester, but I have some friends in the same boat as me, so I’m never alone. I feel kind of bad for saying this, but I am one of those people that goes to school, goes through the day, does the work, and goes home. Fortunately, I’m planning to change that very soon.</p>
<p>College “fuel”…hmmm, I never lost the “fuel” to do well and get the grades I needed for the future, but I definitely lost some personal “fuel”, as in I didn’t feel good about myself because I was going to a community college. When parents and teachers would ask me where I was going (back when I was a H.S. senior), I felt terrible with myself for having to respond “_________ Community College” especially when they would ask the person right next to me as well and they would respond with some univerity or another. It took a bit of time (okay…a couple of months…), but I’m getting better with it. And one thing that definitely keeps me going is when I overheard one of my high school teachers saying to another one of my teachers that she wholeheartedly knew I could do it (successfully transfer to a university) and the other teacher agreeing. The memory makes me really happy everytime I think of it. Also, I’m saving myself and my dad a TON of money by going to a CC for two years and then transfering.</p>
<p>Plus, I’ve had so many phone calls from my best friends who have gone on to the big universities, and my goodness there is some DRAMA that goes down there. I’ve had many a phone call that started off in tears…Thankfully things seem to be in relative order with them now, but I’m not going to lie, it felt kind of nice not to really worry about anything major and drama-filled! :]</p>
<p>^ took the words out of my mouth.</p>
<p>Great answers everyone!</p>
<p>Soccer…the mark of an intellegent person is his ability to display humility. You do not offer a kind word or an insightful thought. What was the purpose of your post?</p>
<p>soccer–The mark of a trully intelligent person lies in their humility.</p>
<p>It sounds to me that you may have feared that you would not be accepted anywhere and that you might have had little choice in where you would attend. It is terribly rude and unkind to demean anyone who is seeking education. You will learn that after you spend some time on the drexel campus.</p>
<p>Soccer – You couldn’t be more naive or close-minded about community college. I was accepted to Georgetown out of high school with a 3.97 GPA. Went for one semester and had to come back home to California due to that one thing that happened to the economy, what was it called? Oh yeah, the recession. I went to a community college for 3 semesters and am now transferring into the University of California system, having been accepted to UC Irvine and waiting to hear from SB, SD, Berkeley, and UCLA. </p>
<p>This is a guy who truly doesn’t understand the real world. Life isn’t so simple, kid.</p>