<p>Hi everyone, thanks for reading.
Up until yesterday I was pretty excited to start my first year as an Aggie at Davis. But due to some financial difficulties my family has been experiencing, I have been considering dropping out to attend a local community college.
These are some pros and cons I've come up with:</p>
<p>Attending Davis
Pros: Cool campus, nice people, "dorm experience", new friends, etc
Cons: $, not my first choice </p>
<p>Attending a CCC
Pros: TAG program, can transfer into a higher ranked UC (ideally UCB, which has my major of choice!), probably easier to do well academically, $
Cons: it's a CCC, no "dorm experience" </p>
<p>The more I go back and forth between these lists, the more confused I seem to get. Fall quarter at Davis is approaching, and I've already talked to my roommate. Davis wasn't my first choice by any means, but upon visiting the campus at orientation, I felt sort of at home there. If I went to a CCC I could potentially transfer to the likes of UCB, UCLA, or UCSD, which would be cool, but I would be shirking a once in a lifetime experience (living in a dorm). </p>
<p>Again, thanks for reading. Any and all advice is appreciated! :)</p>
<p>How big a difference in cost is there? Would you be able to get a revised financial aid package at UC Davis reflecting changes in your family finances?</p>
<p>What is your intended major, and do the community colleges offer good coverage of the lower division prerequisites (see [Welcome</a> to ASSIST](<a href=“http://www.assist.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.assist.org) )?</p>
<p>The thing about colleges, especially large ones, is that there are about a billion ways to get involved and meet people, so the dorms are by far not your only option. And really, you could dorm as a junior or senior.</p>
<p>Doing community college first isn’t for everyone, and there are some things you’d have to give up, but here are a few advantages you may have not considered.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Money. You did list it, but have you actually done a direct comparison? You’d save A LOT of money.</p></li>
<li><p>Teacher interaction. Core classes at big schools can have hundreds of people. Literally. At my school the largest classroom holds 700. At a CC, you’d be looking at like 40 or so for your biggest class, which means far more face time with the professors.</p></li>
<li><p>Actual teachers. In research schools, a large number of professors there are there to research, not to teach, so it’s likely you’ll end up in at least a few classes with professors who aren’t particularly trained or motivated to teach, or who aren’t even professors! Lots of low level classes are actually taught by TAs.</p></li>
<li><p>Transition. You’ll be going from high school where pretty much everything is dictated towards you, to college where the onus is on you to do just about everything. It can be really overwhelming. Starting at a CC is way less stressful, and while you do have the same responsibility, it’s not quite as insane.</p></li>
<li><p>Flexibility. Most people who go through college change their mind at least once. Starting at a CC will give you the chance to explore other options a lot easier, without massive financial consequences if you go another route. (Regardless, you should get your required English and math out of the way as soon as possible)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>In the end, your diploma would say the same school regardless of where you started, and that’s what employers are going to be looking at.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus
Thanks for the reply!
By attending a CCC I could be saving about 10k/year, and if I could revise my financial aid package I think the amount I would save would be negligible. </p>
<p>I am currently undecided but I was planning on majoring in Landscape Architecture at Davis (supposing I attended), though I am more interested in the Sustainable Environmental Design major at UCB. I’ve been told that my local CCC (Sierra College) is pretty reputable as far as CCCs go, so I would assume that it offers good coverage?</p>
<p>@essited
Thanks, this was very helpful.
It’s hard turning my back on a school that I’ve already committed to, but attending a CCC would be the smarter option.</p>
<p>Note that some of the environmental design or landscape architecture courses are not available at Sierra College, so you would have to take them after transfer if you went that route.</p>
<p>You also want to check if Sierra College’s classes have space, since some community colleges have had to cut back on offerings due to budget cuts (unlike four year schools, they do not limit enrollment by an admissions process, so you have to figure out where you stand in terms of competition for spaces in the classes).</p>
<p>I hope that you realize OP, that the big three campuses do not participate in TAG (SD is ending its participation), so you will be competing with all other transfers.</p>