<p>They serve their purposes of serving community needs and people with circumstances ranging from academic, personal, and financial. I see nothing wrong with them.</p>
<p>I went to two different community colleges in two different states. One was your regular typical college and most everyone lived nearby. The other was in Wyoming. It was interesting because students thru the entire state came there and they have dorms and everything, it was more like a university in that way. My degree now will come out of a state university and no one will know that I went to community colleges. I think no matter where you go to school you will find a wide variety of students. The CC in Wyoming though was a lot of right of high school students and they all knew each other already. I don’t know how my classes will differ compared to the CC that I went to, but I will find out soon. One thing is correct, it saved me money.</p>
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Not exactly true. Sure, most future employers only care about where you got the 4-year degree. But there are 2 ways an employer who cared could find out…</p>
<p>First, some employers will require students interviewing with them thru on-campus recruiting to bring a copy of their unofficial transcripts with them. You get these free from the registrars office at most schools. Typically the employers are going to be looking at what classes you’ve taken and the grades you’ve earned in those they particularly care about, but its going to be obvious from the transcript that you were not a student there for all 4 years. In fact it will probably list where you got your xfer credit from.</p>
<p>Second, your degree, major, and dates of attendance are considered public records under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) act and can be disclosed without your permission. Some schools still require your permission to disclose info, but they don’t have to. Many if not most colleges belong to a company which was set up to provide this information to employers verifying information from applicants; see [National</a> Student Clearinghouse: Degree Verification FAQ](<a href=“http://www.studentclearinghouse.org/dvev/dv_faqs.htm]National”>http://www.studentclearinghouse.org/dvev/dv_faqs.htm) Now once you’ve been in the workforce after college your resume typically justs list your degree, college, and date it was awarded. And that’s good enough for most employers. However when the record comes back from the degree verification check, if someone attended Berkeley for 2 years and has a BA degree then it doesn’t take Einstein to figure out that they transferred from somewhere else.</p>
<p>How do I know which community colleges are good? And is it really possible to transfer after 2 years to a bachelor degree programme at another university and do it in just 2 years because my credits get transferred?
I would consider Community College, since most of you said that there actually are good ones, because my grade average is a B-/B and I am worried that I should try to get an excellent GPA in a community college and then transfer, other than go to a 4 year college that is not as good as the ones that I wanted to go (no ivys haha), which I would have needed at least a 3.5 GPA… My problem is that I finish high school this year and I have’nt dedicated my all, I simply didn’t put in effort and the problem with high school is that I can’t choose my teachers/classes, so it really s**ks that I have to even make an effort to be in their class (this one teacher is just grrrrrr haha)</p>
<p>I think they’re the opposite of bad. They offer a cheap alternative to four-year schools (well for the first two years of course). In most if not all states if you do well at your community college you are guaranteed admission to any state school in your state. They’re a good place for people to get their feet wet if they’re not sure if college is right for them. They’re also good for members/veterans of the military who do have the GI Bill but don’t want to spend it all on the first two or three years of education. They also offer plenty of classes for other things (e.g. a typing class at my county’s CC which my mother is taking, or motorcycle safety classes so you can get your motorcycle license).</p>
<p>I will be attending CC in a week taking two courses for Summer Quarter. The prices are cheaper, at $79 per credit hour. I think CC, overall, are good, especially since many of the courses transfer into four-year universities.</p>
<p>ThePrincessBride, from these courses which offer transfer into a four-year university does this include a biology major?</p>
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<p>One of the problems with community colleges is that they attract slackers, and you don’t want to be surrounded by that type of people, you want to be in an environment where education is highly valued. Another problem with community colleges is that they don’t open as many doors as 4 year colleges. Unfortunately, lots of people will toss your resume in the garbage bin the moment they learn that you went to a community college. They will assume that you are not very intelligent and not bother taking risks with you.</p>
<p>Community colleges are a good option if you are unable to finance a 4 year college education or if you did not do well in high school, but if you have the academic ability and the means to attend a 4 year college you would be making one of the worst decisions of your life if you choose to attend a community college instead.</p>
<p>I went to a University for one semester, did well, and then went to a community college (for cost reasons) for the next semester, and am going this summer. </p>
<p>My experience at my University… Some classes were good, some (one in particular) was awful. Regardless, I was taking classes for an average of $400/credit, which I could have taken at a community college for $80/credit, and really not getting anything spectacular for it (and this is at a highly regarded University). There wasn’t a whole lot of individual attention, and while I did learn in all of my classes, a lot of that was really on my own, not on the part of a professor or GSI. In general, the classes seem to be standardized, so you’re unlikely to have a terrible professor, but when you do, you can just go sit in a different professor’s class instead. This pretty much just for 100 and 200 level classes though.</p>
<p>I’ve taken/am taking 10 classes at my community college, all but 1 a “200” level by the community college’s standard, primarily classes which are taken by people who are hoping to transfer to a university. Out of my 10 teachers, 1 was the best teacher I had ever had (in High School or College, seriously, he was the best), 6 were good, or at least decent, 1 was rather poor, the other 2 were awful. This breakdown is likely similar to what you’d find at my university. </p>
<p>The students, I’ve taken/am taking: 2 Physics, 3 Math, 3 Philosophy, and 2 Econ classes. Especially in the Physics (Calc-based Physics) the students have been at or near the caliber of students that you’d find at my University, and it’s a similar case with the Math classes. The Philosophy classes (and especially Philosophy 101) has not been. The students will depend very heavily on the classes you take. Intro everything and you’ll be in classes with primarily people who don’t care. Take Calc-based Physics, Orgo, and upper Math classes and you’ll find strong students. </p>
<p>When picking out teachers at a community college, look for teachers who are claimed to be hard, but good teachers. I’ll show you a perfect example of what you’re looking for… [Gregg</a> Heidebrink - Washtenaw Community College - RateMyProfessors.com](<a href=“Gregg Heidebrink at Washtenaw Community College | Rate My Professors”>Gregg Heidebrink at Washtenaw Community College | Rate My Professors) Notice that almost every review says he’s hard, but the majority also say that he’s good at explaining, that’s what you’re looking for when you go to a community college. </p>
<p>In general a teacher considered hard at a community college is going to be easier than one considered hard at a university, so don’t be afraid of the word “hard.” And especially when you see “easy,” you should absolutely avoid that guy.</p>
<p>As for community college in general, the resources are far lacking when compared to the University (though my University has a several billion dollar endowment, and the community college is probably less than 20 million), but they are adequate for studying when you need to. </p>
<p>Also, stay up on the material, even at a community college everything isn’t always going to be easy. And don’t go in with the attitude that you’re better than everyone else and that it’s all going to be a waste of time. If you go in with the right attitude you can get a lot out of it. </p>
<p>Hope that helps some.</p>
<p>^ that’s so true! If you have a great attitude about community college it’s really not going to be that big of a deal. I started out at a community college so I wouldn’t be so much in debt from a university. I had a great time there. It turns out some of my high school friends decided to go there too. It wasn’t because we were failures or struggling academically. We were there because we knew we were saving a LOT of money by going there. But it’s not about all the other people there- it’s about you! So stop worrying about what everyone else says and what they think. Just do what’s right for you.</p>
<p>Going to a community college with the intention of transferring to a decent 4 year college after 2 years is fine. Going to a community college as an alternative to a 4 year college is a bad idea.</p>
<p>^ I agree. CCs are great if you want to transfer to a much nicer 4 yr school.</p>
<p>I also CCs are a good place for giving HSers a second shot…to prove themselves academically and to go to a better school. Or perhaps, just a place to save money if you and your family are going through some sort of economic hardship.</p>
<p>For the first year it’s good b/c you can get rid of the general requirements w/o having to pay that much. I’ve also heard that many good professors teach at CCs (and you can more focused attention).</p>
<p>The downside of CCs is the lack of facilities, campus and social life.</p>
<p>The best thing about community college is that the professors are very understanding of you. For example, they’ll let you use older editions of the textbook if it saves you money. I took a class around 6 PM during rush hour in Boston and the professor told the class not to panic if they came in very late because he knew a lot of people worked during the day before coming to work and traffic is bad.</p>
<p>Well, there are some 2-year degrees that are worth it. My mom still works based off her associates degree that she got in nursing. Great pay, great job market. Community colleges also offer a good handful of technical certificates as well.</p>
<p>But for a lot of careers transferring to a 4-year school is essential.</p>
<p>the education probably isn’t as great. but i know of a lot of people who go to them for their main courses since they are cheaper</p>
<p>I went to CC for two years, and I was very lucky. My CC offered the first two years of an engineering degree, for students who planned on transferring to a university. </p>
<p>However, I was also unlucky.</p>
<p>I am in my first semester at university, and the engineering pre-reqs i took there are definitely not on-par with what was expected. Statics and Mechanics were loads easier there than they are here, and my classical physics class was a joke. </p>
<p>However, the calculus courses at the CC were very poorly taught, yet very easy to pass. I never went to class for calc 1 and 2, and managed B’s. </p>
<p>At the university, though, the calculus courses are very well taught, but hard to pass. My prof is very good at teaching the subject, and I really understand the material, yet he makes the tests ridiculously hard. The sort of lack-luster environment of the CC was very much to my dis-advantage.</p>
<p>Also, I didn’t really save much money anyways, because the advising at the CC was crap, and because of them, I have to do an extra year.</p>
<p>A CC is what you make of it. There are students that could get by with doing little work and there are those who not only read the assigned work but they study it. The reason I mention that is because the tests can often be easier or study guides have been supplied. The student who wants to learn will actually read and study. They are the students who are getting the most out of a CC experience.</p>
<p>By the way these study guides are supplied at state schools too. Students don’t tell their parents that of course because that would be infuriating considering the tuition dollars that are being spent.</p>
<p>I think CCs are a great option.
I’m currently in my first semester at a local CC after I graduated this past spring. I wanted to enroll for my first year at a CC because I graduated when I was 16, I just turned 17 at the beginning of the semester, and thought I would be a little young to hop right into a four year uni. Also, I was homeschooled since kindergarten, so the CC has been a great “stepping stone” to a university or whatever. I know of tons of homeschoolers who have done the same, and transferred after one year to excellent colleges on great scholarships. I will be transeferring for next school year, so we’ll see how that process goes.</p>
<p>As for the actual education, all my classes I have found to be pretty easy and will definitely pull off an A in all of them, but they’re not all “fluff” by any means. And the demographics aren’t as bad as I was afraid they’d be. Of course there is definitely a presence of people who obviously don’t care how they’re doing, but there is quite a few of people who seem intelligent and normal and people you would like to hang out with. all my professors know me by name, I’m an officer in one of the campus organizations, and will most likely join their honor society, so I am definitely enjoying my time there.</p>
<p>I think it all depends on the CC. I live in the d.c. area and there is a cc called Montgomery college in Md. It is the only cc that Harvard is willing to accept transfers from. I read in a local newspaper that two students ended up transferring to Harvard from this cc. I know of Harvard Alumni’s who teach there. I know of profs. there who used to attend other iv league schools. I have a friend who attended a private and well known school in the south. He hated it and felt he wasn’t getting his money’s worth. He attended MC and later transfered to Boston U. He said he learned more at the cc than his previous university. I also know of a friend who attended MC and transfered to Northwestern. Most end up transferring to the UMD, which is a great school too. </p>
<p>I fully believe it is depending on the area you live in. This is a rich area and it invests alot in its education. I also think it is about attitude. One thing that MC preaches is that you can not treat this as if it were the 13th grade. if you do you will most likely fail.</p>
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<p>That is absolutely untrue. I go to a lesser known community college in Southern California. When I asked one of my professors for a Harvard recommendation, he told me about a former student of his who was accepted as a Harvard transfer a couple years back. It would be unfair to discredit a student for being at a typical community college. (I say this not just because I’m a CC to Harvard hopeful. ;))</p>
<p>Though I’ve only read a few of these posts, and it is fairly useless to comment on such a cadaverous thread, I agree with whoever said that what you get out of CC depends on what you put in. Attitude, as you say, is extremely important. I don’t think a well-to-do area is as necessary as you say. Recently several of my fellow students have been accepted to a number of prestigious colleges, including Stanford, Yale, Cornell, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Brown, and UPenn. (Three of them got into Columbia - two in the same year.) Our college is located in a county with about 15% of the population unemployed, and yet many of my fellow student find success. </p>
<p>That being said, this does not reflect the general student population. It can be extremely discouraging to come to class with a genuine desire to learn while most of the surrounding students complain about every aspect of class. The conversations about hating school in secondary school seem to have become a ritual here.</p>