CSU or JC? [State University or Junior College]

State Forums
1

<p>I'm a senior that is planning to enroll in SJSU but is also looking at the financial benefit of attending a junior college. I am deciding whether I should attend SJSU or De Anza instead.
I get full financial aid for both school because my family income is 0 and De Anza seems to save more. I'm planning to transfer to a UC either after 4 years at SJSU or 2 years after De Anza.</p>

<p>My problem : Planning to change my mind from attending SJSU to De Anza. (my local JC)</p>

<p>What I know, comparing :</p>

<p>-SJSU cost around 8k a year for me because tuition is around 7k and plus books. I will be taking the bus since they give us a VTA semester pass. Financial aid gives me around 11k a year.
I save around 3k per year for UC.
-De Anza cost around 1k per a year for me because I would be in a low income program that will pay for all my courses. Financial aid gives me 2k per quarter. [including summer]
which is 8k.
I save around 7k per year for UC.</p>

<p>-De Anza is easier to get high GPA and they have TAG[Transfer Guarantee] program which makes De Anza easier to transfer to UC comparing to SJSU.
-De Anza is harder to get classes and might take longer than 2 years to finish...
-De Anza probably have more failures and might be affected by surroundings...</p>

<p>Please help me with what you know about choosing from JC transferring to UC or CSU transferring to UC for a master degree, which option do you prefer, and anything you know/recommend!
Some people say that attending JC will not prepare me for UC because JC is way too easier than CSU. I'm not sure about that but I would love to know more! And PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong with anything!
Thank you!!!</p>

2

<p>I do not know anything about either school, but I would strongly suggest that you talk with the financial aid reps at both schools. I was under the impression that no one gets more financial aid than what will cover the tuition/fees. Scholarships might apply to books, but I do not believe you will actually get extra money (leftover financial aid) to apply to future years. I could be wrong, so that is why I suggest that you talk with someone. Make sure that they understand the question and that you understand the answer.</p>

3

<p>I think you should go to SJSU for your bachelors degree. As you wrap that up, start to think about if/where to pursue a Masters. </p>

<p>I’d be surprised if the courses at DeAnza are markedly easier than SJSU. I mean, Accounting is Accounting, you need to cover the same material no matter where you are. An accretided CC has to meet certain criteria. </p>

<p>All transfer plans inject risk into your education. Even with TAG, as you note, you might not get your classes done in 2 years, which puts you behind by a full year (few UCs take mid year transfers). You might also not meet the GPA requirement. Or, they may change the rules due to some blip in funding.</p>

<p>If you start @ SJSU, you remove a lot of external factors and have a specific plan you can follow.</p>

4

<p>If you are considering the transfer route, check [Welcome</a> to ASSIST](<a href=“http://www.assist.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.assist.org) to see if the CCs you are looking at have good coverage of the prerequisites for your major at your target UCs/CSUs.</p>