<p>For those of you that have kids who took the community college route as frosh, rather than going immediately to a 4-yr, how did your kid deal with the down time? For example, at a 4-yr (where the student is living there), the kid is immersed in student life on campus and does not come home every day. At a CC, the kid goes to a class or 2, then comes home. Wake up next day and repeat.</p>
<p>My concern is the CC kid filling his down time with computer games, watching TV, etc, when he gets home every day. I know this can easily happen in the dorm, but the kid at a 4-yr is on his own and must provide his own structure, since mommy and daddy aren't there to do it for him.</p>
<p>our local cc seems to have lots of clubs and activities, sports teams to follow, etc.
You might want to visit the one you are thinking of sometime, and look at the flyers and signs to see what’s going on.</p>
<p>I worked a part-time job and also was very involved with a cc EC, that turned into a second part-time job. I didn’t have a lot of down time. Well, except for the weekends spent partying (after work).</p>
<p>My daughter is now at UW-Madison after two years in CC. The first year she lived at home and worked a 15 hour per week nanny job after school on weekdays. Evenings were spent studying and with boyfriend, etc. The second year she moved out to a place of her own. She kept the same job. She kept her grades up, got her applications done, kept the same boyfriend and got into her #1 school. From our experience, if a CC student takes a full course load and is putting in the work to get good grades, there isn’t a lot of down time.</p>
<p>I would definitely expect him to get a job. It wouldn’t be an option.</p>
<p>Having so much free time is not a good idea - it can breed laziness. My kids went right to a 4 year, but I noticed that DS1 had too much free time (and was spending too much money going out all the time). So…we insisted that he get a part-time job (just 8-10 hours a week). That keeps him busy and when he does have some free time, he’s spending his OWN money (and being more careful with it. LOL )</p>
<p>BTW…how many classes/credits is he taking? If he’s not taking 15-17 credits, then he’s not taking enough classes. Even though 12 credits is considered “full time,” it’s not really enough. To graduate “on time,” a student usually always has to take 15-17 credits each semester.</p>
<p>The student should be taking a “full load” that challenges him/her. S/he can also work and/or volunteer, which will help when s/he is ready to apply to 4-year U. Can also ask about internships that many CCs have. This will help student figure out future career direction.</p>
<p>Our D spent a lot of time trying to figure out career & major while in CC. She tried joining an intramurals golf team but it was cancelled due to lack of participation. Her school was very much a commuter school. She kept busy with a full load of classes and also by keeping in touch with her HS friends–who were still seniors in HS (didn’t make many at CC). She had planned to volunteer at nearby community theater but ran out of time. Also did not have time to have a part-time job. She did find it very isolating that her CC had no campus life to speak of.</p>
<p>Since she transferred to a 4-year private U, she has gotten a job, is taking an even heavier academic load & keeping up with her friends</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. My S is only a HS sophomore, but I like to think ahead. The CC near us is very vibrant and a large part of the community, so there would be plenty going on, fortunately. Lots of kids go there, so he would probably know many from his own HS.</p>
<p>OK, another question, if I may: GPA aside for the moment, how do you determine if your child should go to CC first, rather than right to a 4-yr school?</p>
<p>I know these are naive questions, but sophomore S is my oldest, so I have no experience to draw on. Thanks.</p>
<p>My daughter made the choice herself. She really wanted to attend UW-Madison but did not get admitted from HS. So, she went to the local CC which has a guaranteed transfer option. This proved to be a great choice for her. She was mature and focused.</p>
<p>CC is usually thought of as a place for the immature and unfocused and that does describe many CC students. However, it does allow those willing to work hard to form strong connections with professors and get excellent grades. My daughter’s CC grades were the highest she had ever received in her life.</p>
<p>The $20,000 or so she avoided by going to CC will be spent, instead, on graduate studies. It was certainly the right choice for her.</p>
<p>In our case, CC was one of the few palatable options available to our D. She left her private HS because they were unhappy she had so many absences due to chronic health condition that has no “cure.” She took GED & started CC that fall rather than starting a new HS as a senior.</p>
<p>Your child may want to explore dual-enrollment, which is an option for some students. They can take courses at college of CC & get both HS & college credit.</p>
<p>Most kids apply to flagship & other Us & the CC is often the default. Some schools allow kids to be dually enrolled in CC & state Us, taking the courses wherever it’s most convenient & earning the same credits with GPA that applies to both. For my D, she had the SAME instructors teaching the SAME courses that she would have had at flagship U but it was much closer & there is free parking (vs. tough to get any parking at flagship U & huge classes with little student/teacher interaction).</p>
<p>D also could not get into any of the schools she wanted to attend after her junior year of HS, so taking CC courses for 3 semesters saved us about $75,000 off the school she eventually transferred to and matriculated at. She also got the best grades of her life in her 1st semester of CC. It was an excellent choice but SHE made it. It’s best for the student to make the choice because then the student is invested in making the most of the choice.</p>
<p>The big thing D missed at CC was the interaction with peers. She planned to transfer to 4-year U & didn’t meet many other students with similar plans. A friend’s S dually enrolled & took the minimum one course at flagship U & all his other courses at CC for the reasons set forth above, plus credits are MUCH cheaper at CC (about $1000/semester at CC vs. many thousands/semester at U).</p>
<p>Lots of people in my area choose our community college because of cost, but there is plenty of quality as well. Along with an excellent honors program, the college also has a special honors institute for business majors, that attracts some of the top students from our local high schools. Many of the students are preparing for transfer either in state or to schools elsewhere.</p>
<p>In addition to free parking and smaller class sizes as described by HImom, students at our community college get to ride the county bus system for free which means that many have no commuting cost at all.</p>
<p>Happykid will go to our local community college because of the cost difference. The program in her major there has an excellent reputation, and commuting will be free (we’re on a bus line). If money were no obstacle, she’d be looking at other schools too. But in our case, money is the obstacle. When she transfers (most likely to an in-state public) those two years will be much less painful than four years would have been.</p>
<p>some community colleges have dorms- the community college I am currently attending has dorms, has national caliber speakers ( I met Myrlie Evers at my CC last winter before the inauguration) and programs and has many opportunities to participate in clubs and other activities.</p>
<p>They also have buildings where courses from two state universities hold classes for students who already have a degree and are changing fields or for those who want specific majors.</p>
<p>While both of my kids started at a 4 year school-( they also both took a year off to work/travel) I want to remind folks that * teaching* college level is very competitive & many of the profs I have had, have either taught at " big name" schools ( Like Stanford/USC/MIT) or easily could do so.</p>
<p>We all welcome your questions. We all were “in the dark” when we first began the whole college process for our kids. Everything has changed so much from when we went to college.</p>
<p>Many kids choose a CC for a variety of reasons, but usually it’s because of cost. Going to a 4 year university can be more expensive. </p>
<p>Another reason kids go to a CC is because they didn’t take college prep courses in high school, therefore they aren’t prepared to be accepted to a 4 year school.</p>
<p>Is your son a good student? Does he take “college prep” classes in high school. Do you know what courses your state universities require for admittance? Is your son taking those courses?</p>
<p>Sometimes parents want their kids to go to a CC, because the parent fears that the kid might “goof off” and waste money if he goes to a more expensive school. Some parents think it’s a waste of time and money to go to a 4 year school if the student doesn’t know what he wants to major in. If the child is a lazy student, then that is probably a good strategy. But, if the child is a good, disciplined student, then let them go the 4 year college and find his/her major. :)</p>
<p>Going to a CC can be a good choice for some. However, not all CCs are equal. Some have very good programs and the classes are “just as good” or nearly as good as what they would have at the 4 year school. However, that is not true for all CCs. Some are subpar, and the students struggle when they transfer to the 4 year because they aren’t adequately prepared.</p>
<p>Also…some kids really don’t like being at a CC because they want the “big college life”…the rah rah, etc. Many CCs have had to cut back of extracurriculars due to budget cuts, so sometimes a CC doesn’t offer much outside of the classroom.</p>
<p>If you dig around, you can find out if the CC in question has the same instructors teaching the same courses at the flagship U or not. Lots depends on the kid & for us, the major issue was it being the student’s choice.</p>
<p>As a HS sophomore, your child still has a lot more HS to go and some mature a great deal in the next few years.</p>
<p>The choice between starting at a CC and then transferring to a 4-year college vs. spending all 4 years at a 4-year college is an interesting one, and many factors come into consideration.</p>
<p>Both of my offspring went to 4-year colleges from the beginning and would have been displeased with the CC alternative. But among my colleagues at work, there are several whose kids have attended the local CC and who have been very pleased with it. Different strokes for different folks.</p>
<p>Pro-CC:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It’s cheaper. Usually, a lot cheaper. This can be a major attraction for families who want to minimize debt.</p></li>
<li><p>The classes are usually smaller (one of my colleagues attributes his son’s success in college to this factor – this particular student would have been lost in the large lecture classes of a state university).</p></li>
<li><p>It may be a more comfortable situation for a student who doesn’t feel quite ready to leave home or one who has strong ties to the home community. </p></li>
<li><p>It may be the best or only route to college available to the student who did not do well in high school.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Anti-CC:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Most community colleges are not residential, and the campus life of a residential college is a big attraction for many freshmen. Going away to college also offers an opportunity to develop independence that students commuting to college from home do not have. </p></li>
<li><p>Community colleges generally do not offer upper-level courses, which may limit the academic programs of those students who are prepared to take upper-level courses before their junior year.</p></li>
<li><p>It varies greatly from college to college, but some community colleges are not as academically rigorous as the 4-year colleges in the same state system, and some do not have a lot of students who transfer to 4-year programs successfully. </p></li>
<li><p>It’s remarkably easy to drift out of a community college. The full-time student with a part-time job can easily slip into being a part-time student with a full-time job and then into not attending college at all. People drift in and out of community colleges so easily that this may not even feel like “dropping out.” It can happen almost without the student even thinking about it. On the other hand, a full-time student at a 4-year college who chooses to drop out cannot help but be aware that he/she is making a major, life-altering decision.</p></li>
</ol>