<p>Is there anyone here who'd care to comment on classes at a California community college vs. high school classes and classes at a four year school? Successful transferees or hopeful transferees?</p>
<p>Fang Jr. is a homeschooler. He takes classes at a California community college, and plans to apply as a freshman to various schools next year. So he's a high school junior now, planning to apply for college the regular way next year.</p>
<p>I'm worried that colleges will think that his community colleges classes were too easy, easier than high school. I have taken classes at this community college myself, and I didn't find the classes easy (and I have a degree from an Ivy). What has been your experience with CCC classes?</p>
<p>I'm a current student at UC Berkeley and I've taken classes at De Anza College. Just a caveat, I got into UC Berkeley as a freshman, so my experiences with De Anza is limited to summer session courses.</p>
<p>In my experience, community college courses are not as easy as they are made out to be. There are just different expectations from courses at CCC and those at 4-year universities. The CCC I went to expected me to regurgitate all the information I learned during an exam whereas my 4-year university expects me to apply them. I'm not a fan of regurgitating information, so I found CCC courses to be a nuisance, because it is time consuming to memorize all the material. I find applying concepts to new problems on exams much less annoying. Hence, the difficulty depends on the person.</p>
<p>Compared to the high school I attended, De Anza is definitely easier. The competition is not as stiff and the professors are more lenient than high school teachers. Of course, that's not to say that there is no competition at CCC, I've seen my share of gung-ho students gunning for the A+'s when A's would suffice. However, I think the difference is that the goals of community college students are different than those of high school students. At my high school, everyone was aiming for top 20 colleges, whereas most CCC students aim to transfer into a UC (which has a higher acceptance rate across all campuses).</p>
<p>As for your son, it doesn't matter. Taking community college courses shows that he can handle college level classes as well as hold his own in a class where the majority of the class is more experienced than he is. It should be looked upon favorably.</p>
<p>Did your CCC classes require papers? Most of Fang Jr.'s classes involve writing. This quarter, one class required a twelve page research paper, some shorter papers, and in-class essays for midterms and finals. Another class required a six page research paper, some shorter papers, and in-class essays for midterms and finals.</p>
<p>The foreign language classes at his CCC are also <em>way</em> harder than high school.</p>
<p>Classes in other departments seem more like what you describe-- regurgitate what you learned in class. My son doesn't like those classes, so he tries to avoid them. He will be happy to get to a four year college where he doesn't have to take any of those classes.</p>
<p>At Fang Jr.'s CCC, Foothill, quite a few students transfer to Berkeley and UCLA every year.</p>
<p>I've taken high school, 4 year university, and California Community College classes.</p>
<p>I'd say that the main difference between high school and community college level classes is that they really hold your hand through high school. Community college level courses expect a somewhat deeper understanding, but without as much busy work. If you're self motivated, you'll do well in community college. If you're not, you'll do better in high school, and conversely if you hate busy work you might do poorly in high school. So community college classes are easier for a 'go getter', but also provide a better understanding.</p>
<p>As for university and community college, I don't see much difference at the lower division level. You'll have more people who just don't care in the CC GEs--although there are a lot of people who don't care at the university level--but as you move into the more advanced/specialized classes at the CC the unmotivated tend to drop out.</p>
<p>If you're talking about transferring to a UC school, though, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Depending on your kid, my <em>impression</em> is that it's easier for a motivated CCC student to transfer in than a high school student to gain Freshman admission. The UCs will certainly respect CCC work because, whether or not it's harder than HS work, it's appropriate preparation for UC work.</p>
<p>And, yes, language courses are much quicker than in high school. It's certainly not because it's harder to learn a language at that age. I think that there are just <em>much</em> lower expectations in a mandatory high school language course than an elective college course.</p>
<p>Now, I would be interested to know what path to admission your son receives. Does age matter at all when considering CCC transfer admission? Presumably you'd have to be around 18 to transfer in as a junior, if you started at 16. I'm just curious because the wife and I are a fan of home schooling and want to lay out similar options when we have kids.</p>
<p>Fang Jr. will have, roughly, a bit more than the equivalent of two years of community college, plus three or four APs that he studied at home, by the end of his four year "high school" career. (I put "high school" in quotes because of course we are homeschoolers and he has never gone to high school.)</p>
<p>He will apply to four year colleges next year <em>as a freshman</em>. Some of his homeschooling friends have decided to take community college classes as a high school aged kid, then transfer to a four year school as a junior. Fang Jr. will probably have about enough credits to do that, but he thinks that four years at a small LAC would be a better path for him. So for Fang Jr., community college is his high school. </p>
<p>PM me if you want more info about homeschooling.</p>
<p>Yes, I took two humanities courses at a CCC. I think it's normal for courses to require 2 or 3 papers, essays on midterms, a final term paper, and an essay final (may be substituted with the final term paper if the professor is generous). You will have to do some writing in almost every class at a 4-year university. Even in organic chemistry, there are term projects that require analyzing research articles. Similarly, biology courses require several formal lab reports throughout the semester.</p>
<p>I've never taken a language course at a CCC before, but yes, I can imagine them being fast-paced and difficult to manage.</p>
<p>In regards to the involvement of writing in CCC coursework, I am taking 7 classes this semester, and on average write 1500-2000 words a week, not including English class essays. It is not uncommon to write 1000 words in one night if deadlines are pressing, though this is more the case in humanities courses. </p>
<p>For the English courses at my CCC, there are generally 3 papers (serving as midterms), all around 5-8 pages each. And the final papers or research papers can be anywhere from 8-15 pages in required length, depending on the ease of the instructor.</p>
<p>EDIT: The humanities courses I have taken almost all require weekly or bimonthly papers, which are around 1-3 pages in length. Though, for the polisci courses I have taken, I have at times been assigned 2 papers a week.</p>
<p>I'm liking what you're saying, Ek and beef. When Fang Jr. applies for colleges next year, he's in a good position to say that he's been doing demanding community college coursework for the previous three and a half years (which indeed he has).</p>
<p>The fact that your son is taking CCC classes while doing the same work high schoolers do speaks volumes about his desire to succeed academically and the office of admissions HAS to notice that and see the maturity. If your son is earning good grades it's an even bigger plus.</p>
<p>i am a business major
so basically i've taken almost every kind of course offered =.=
just look at haas breadth req u'll know why</p>
<p>basically english and literature can be hard.
english i did a 24 page research paper
lit u read average 150 pages a week
then the mid term and final takes about 15-20 hours of preparation for a 2.5 hour writing marathon.</p>
<p>hmm seriously when people say their CCC is easy i really wonder where they go to.
i won't even talk about anything calculus and above for math.
biology u spend 2.5 hours in lab and 2.5 hours in lecture
computer u basically read every term in the book although its the most basic class. </p>
<p>well there are 2 kinds of easy in a CCC
1. the class is easy
2. the teacher is lazy</p>
<p>CCC classes are a lot harder than high school. then again it depends which CCC u go to or which HS you go to. i took AP calc in HS and retook it in CCC coz i honestly forgot everything.
honestly its 2 different levels of math. the detail, the speed and the difficulty. the way they manipulate the questions and what not.
no contest seriously.</p>
<p>When I was in High School, I never completed the busy work the instructors gave, but managed to get A's and B's on the tests, I never got below a C on a test. I will never forget the one class I got a D in, Environmental Science; I received a 5 on the practice AP test, and a 4 on the proctored AP test. But still, the teacher refused to raise my grade despite the fact I knew the material better than most the class.</p>
<p>But, as far as the prevalence of regurgitating information, I would point out that a CCC only offers lower division classes, and those classes many time have no correlation to one's major, but are instead IGETC requirements. And generally the student base for CC classes are overly apathetic when it comes to GPA as they are either transferring to a lower tier UC, CSU, or not at all; and thus the professor has to cater to these students to allow for a sort of fluidity in the classroom. While taking more advanced polisci courses for my major prereqs, I have noticed much more application of the material learned and little to no regurgitation.</p>
<p>It could help you review for your class. I watched the first lecture and found it fascinating and well-presented. The great thing is that if he comes to something you can't follow, you can just stop the video and work the math out, then restart the video.</p>
<p>What has been your experience? That is, those of you who attend or used to attend CC? So far, it has been my experience that cc classes are no more challenging that HS courses. I find that tragic, because it doesn't feel as if I'm getting a college experience. Are General Ed classes at 4 years as easy the ones at CC?</p>
<p>I find my ccc classes easier than h.s. but at the same time I hated high school and felt that they gave us so many meaningless assignments. In cc, I get fewer assignments but they are more meaningful and indepth. I learn so much from my classes every day, in h.s. i felt I could go weeks without learning anything and when I did learn something it does not compare to college understanding. The bottom line is I enjoy my cc classes. I think my professors are great they care about their students and take their jobs seriously. The best part is that I get a shot at transferring to the university of my choice!</p>