For a while now I’ve been imagining how it would be to experience the traditional college lifestyle. Dorms, roommates, parties, independence, the whole shabang. Recently however, I’ve been thinking, and with my financial situation, the student debt horror stories, and the fact that I might not even be admitted to the private schools I applied to that would give me the most aid, my best option might just be 2 years at my local community college. Question is, for all that I’m missing out on, is it worth it? People who’ve done this, do you regret your decision? Also, after two years at a CC, do my stats such as my GPA and SAT scores count when transferring out? Because I like to think mine are both pretty good and it would a shame if they just went to waste.
While I didn’t attend CC, I did spend 4 years as a commuter student at a private college that was primarily residential. I also worked off-campus all 4 years. Do I regret it? No. The money just wasn’t there to pay for school. I’m eternally grateful for the merit scholarship I received that allowed me to even attend college. Do I wish my experience had been different? Sure. I was envious of the kids who lived on-campus, went on spring break trips, didn’t work or had work-study jobs on campus, and had that “traditional” experience that really is had by only a minority of college students. But I got a great education, have a thriving career, and I can now afford to send my kids to schools where they can live on-campus all 4 years and study abroad. You need to look beyond the college years and see what the payoff will be to you long-term to earn a degree without significant debt.
Research shows that students who live on-campus have better grades, are more involved, and have an overall better experience, than kids who commute. Now, if that’s your only choice, it’s what you do, because college is a chance - but if you have a choice, living on a residential campus does make you more independent and grow faster. It helps in feeling connected to peers and challenging yourself beyond to what you’re used to in high school.
And yes, after 2 years at a CC, you’ll be compared to students at your CC and your HS record will be wiped clean. Your HS record won’t count at all.
What state do you live in - a state with a CC-flagship pathway or a state with a branchcampus-flagship pathway?
Since based on your other thread, you have good stats, excellent course rigor, and a competitive profile, a better solution may be to take a gap year (WITHOUT ANY college class - community education like CPR certificate, beginning Russian, Italian Cooking… is fine), work, do community service, perhaps retake some tests, and re-apply, rather than attend a CC.
Too vague. What does “worth it” mean? $1K in loans? $10K in loans? $100K in loans?
I did not do this, so I’m not speaking from pesonal experience.
Whether or not it’s “worth it” to you really depends on your priorities and goals. From a purely professional standpoint, a community college to four-year college transfer will get you the BA that you need to enter most middle-class fields with much less money spent than going to a four-year college all four years (barring very large amounts of financial aid). And from a purely financial standpoint, four years down the line you will appreciate having less debt to repay.
However…there are other considerations. I’m not disparaging community college because for the right student, I think it can be an excellent start and the best option. But in terms of “what are you missing” - forget the parties and roommates. You can get that at any college - most 18-25-year-olds like to party regardless of whether they go to college or not, and you can live with someone your age in an off-campus apartment. In my mind, it is more the environmental factors that a four-year college (in general, not elite necessarily) has that a two-year college doesn’t. I’m a huge supporter of community colleges, but the truth is that most CC students never transfer to four-year colleges - either because they never intended to (they only wanted an AA or to take a few classes) or because they can’t (family or financial factors keep them from succeeding in a two-year enough to transfer, or keep them from transferring regardless of performance). So you will be surrounded primarily by students who either don’t intend or can’t make the transfer to a four-year college. It’s a very different environment from being around a bunch of students closer to your age who all have the BA as the end goal.
The corollary for that is that the advising system and career assistance systems at four year colleges are set up for the support of students with a BA as the end goal, as opposed to CCs, who are supporting a very different kind of student. In general, too, the rigor of classwork at a four-year college is likely to be stronger.
BUT. Like I said, often it is the best choice. The new postdoc who shares my office got his PhD from one of the top programs in his subfield. I learned today that he transferred from a community into his state’s flagship before heading to grad school.
That totally depends on where you are applying to. The vast majority of schools will not care about your high school record, and will only care about your community college record (although I wouldn’t say that you will be compared to students at your CC - you will be compared to all of the other transfer applicants, not just the ones at your own CC). But many top/elite colleges will consider your high school record regardless of the fact that you are transferring. [Columbia[/url], [url=Transfer Applicants | Undergraduate Admission | Brown University]Brown[/url], [url=Page Not Found : Stanford University]Stanford[/url], [url=Transfer Application | Office of Undergraduate Admissions | Georgetown University]Georgetown[/url], [url=Transfer Applicants | Applying to Amherst | Amherst College]Amherst[/url], [url=Transfer Students | Undergraduate Admissions | Wake Forest University]Wake Forest](Transfer Applicants | Columbia Undergraduate Admissions), and [Washington and Lee](Washington and Lee) are all examples of colleges that require a final high school transcript, SAT/ACT scores, or both and consider them in the transfer admissions process.
^It should be noted, however, that Brown, stanford, G’Town, Amherst, or W&L don’t typically admit transfers from community colleges, but rather ‘lateral’ transfers, ie., students from other 4 -year colleges. Columbia is different because they have the School of General Studies, which is specifically for CC transfers, but there financial aid there is poor (not “meet 100% need” like Columbia College), so that for a bright student who has a shot at Columbia, applying for the College, not General studies, would actually be cheaper.
Some states have excellent Cc-> flagships programs, like California or Virginia. Others, like Texas, Pennsylvania or Ohio, don’t. So where OP lives is a key consideration.
Can your family afford for you to dorm at a 4-year school without taking out a lot of loans (no more than the $27k federal student loans for all 4 years)? If not, then I’d consider the cc route or a 4-year school you can commute to from home.
My family couldn’t afford to pay for me to go to school. I started at a local cc then transferred to a private school. Some of my classmates transferred to our state schools and others went on to colleges like NYU. I don’t regret doing it that way because I did get to dorm. The main difference now is the cost. Back then, a student could work and raise the money to attend college. Transfers get little aid (unless you qualify for Pell and state grants), so coming up with money to pay for the last two years can be very difficult.
Work out the costs for the schools you’d like to attend if you entered as a freshman and compare that to the cost if you attended a cc and transfereed in as a junior. If you post the totals here, along with how much your family can afford to pay, more experienced posters can advise you about your options.