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<li>Did you feel like you missed out on the college experience? How is the social life at community college compared to that of a university?</li>
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<p>First of all, let me start by saying I began my college experience as a music major at SJSU. The music major did NOT work out well at all, and the freshman experience for me was a nightmare. It seemed like living among high school kids, not college kids. I didn’t know this, but most of the immature kids fail out eventually, and the real college kids make it through. After three VERY rough semesters at SJSU, I dropped out and went to a community college.</p>
<p>The community college environment is very different. Most students work and do school at the same time, and they pay all college costs themselves. There is a high degree of self-reliance among the students – many have cars, which leads to parking problems. There are still some under-motivated doofuses at CCs but they go away usually by the third week (freeing up parking space). In all, as a community college transfer, I don’t think I missed out on anything special. Much of my social life revolved around work – just chatting with my co-workers – which was pretty much good enough for me. In contrast, the parties at SJSU seemed to revolve around drinking and acting stupid.</p>
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<li>How hard was it to maintain a competitive GPA for transferring?</li>
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<p>Hard, but doable. I’m a Mechanical Engineering major, and it’s not easy to get good grades. You have to be ready to bust your butt. If you pick a non-technical field, you might have an easier time, grade-wise. When picking a major, pleeeaase pick a major that is job-producing. Otherwise, college is a scam. (I’m strapping my flame-retardant suit on, now!)</p>
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<li>Did you get into the school of your choice?</li>
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<p>Yep. UC Davis.</p>
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<li>Do you feel you made the right choice?</li>
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<p>The UC’s are expensive, and they are getting more expensive. I do not know where our money goes, or where CA taxpayers’ money goes in the UC system. Also, the class sizes are ENORMOUS!! If I had considered these items when choosing a school, I might have considered going back to SJSU over UC Davis. Still, only time will tell if I made the right choice or not.</p>
<ol>
<li>If you’re at the school you wanted to get into, how was the transition?</li>
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<p>The hardest part in transitioning from a CC to a UC is the dramatic change in class size. If you have any qualms about huge class sizes, the CSU system might be better for you. Contrary to popular belief on this board, you can still get into grad school with a Cal State degree. Keep in mind, once you sign the statement of intent to register at a school, you’re theirs. As a junior transfer, if you don’t like the school you transfer to, your quickest way out is graduation.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>