how hard is it for kids who start off at community college?

<p>sorry for making another "how hard is it..." thread but i felt that this discussion was different enough from my other one to warrant it's own thread</p>

<p>my basic question: how will a kid who goes to community college and then transfers into a top university (like Uni. of Virginia) fare for admission into grad school/law school? </p>

<p>if you have time you can read the whole scenario to get a better feel for my question:</p>

<p>let's say a kid did fairly well in high school: top 10%, good SATs, nice ECs, etc. let's say the same kid applies to Virginia Tech and UVA. He gets rejected from UVA but accepted to Tech. Now the kid knows that if he goes to community college for 2 years and does relatively well he's GUARANTEED a spot at UVA. Which option looks better when applying for grad school if he goes to Virginia Tech for all 4 years or a kid who goes to comm. college for 2 and then transfers into UVA? which kid would have the advantage for admission into law school? which would have the advantage for a PhD program in history? what about science?</p>

<p>I am getting my masters right now before I head to a Ph.d and honestly I dont think anywhere cared that I went to community college...I mean its GE classes which arent really an indicator of grad school performance at all.</p>

<p>I might be wrong but I would say as long as you hold a 3.5+ at community college and maintain or increase your GPA at your major University you will be fine.That being said I found it harder being a CC transfer student to meet professors, get research in and grab letters of rec since my time at my university was only 2 years. So I would say going to CC wont hurt in itself as long as you make the msot of the shortened time at your University. Good luck</p>

<p>I went to a CC for a year, transferred to UCLA, and now will be getting my MA from a top-10 program in my field. I don't believe it was much of a hindrance.</p>

<p>this is all very good to know because if i end getting rejected as a freshmen applicant when i apply to top schools next year atleast i know i can still go to community college and then transfer into a top university... very relieving</p>

<p>UCLAri: you only went to CC for one year? That means you must have taken quite a lot of APs or really packed your schedule tightly?</p>

<p>Huh. I'm really debating the merits of CC now. =P But then I'd be an int'l student so it's really rather less of an advantage...</p>

<p>i have a friend who struggled through junior college, struggled through 2 years after transferring to another school, then took a couple of years off to work. she is now at a top 5 grad program.</p>

<p>hereisnowhere,</p>

<p>I had 6 APs under my belt, as well as 18 ( I think...I forget) units I had taken prior to enrolling full-time. I then proceeded to take 18 units a semester for a year, as well as a winter course.</p>

<p>I can't imagine any grad school even remotely caring if you started out in CC. Just keep your grades up. In fact, I think CC is a great option, as you can save some serious dough, especially if you're going on to grad school. I went to 2 yrs of CC and got a great education.</p>

<p>I found CC a blessing. Small classes, interested teachers, etc. I also did much better than high school and got into Berkeley.</p>

<p>I am now a PhD student at a top school.</p>

<p>I am an international student, a community college in my country offers an undergraduate degree that i can complete in two years because i have completed the first two years of the program at another CC.How will this affect my admissions into a good graduate school. Does the fact that my degree is from a CC matter even though the program is accredited.</p>

<p>Started at a community college and am now a Ph.D student. Just keep the grades high - like a previous poster said - regardless of institution and things will be fine.
I've recommended the CC/JC route to a lot of people because you will get a real instructor. I think that, overall, the caliber of teaching that I saw at my community college was better than what I've seen at universities.
One can get a false sense of security from a cc, though. For example, in some of the intro. classes you'll have maybe 3 out of 25 people who come to every class, do the homework, and study hard for tests. So it is very easy to be at the top. This is not the case in Diff. Eqs. and Organic 2, however.
Most of the best cc students I've seen are the 30 yrs. old plus crowd.</p>

<p>any input on my question?</p>

<p>techlady,</p>

<p>If you want to get into a good graduate school, completing your first two years of undergraduate work at a CC isn't a problem. However, your BA/BS had better be from a university of good standing.</p>

<p>If i were involved in graduate school admissions at a respectable university, I would never recommend someone for admission who received their degree at a community college. There is a lack of academic rigor, it shows you have little drive to excel, etc. I would think, "is this person not intelligent enough to compete against students at a good university? Is she afraid to push herself?". Even if you had a 4.0, great GRE scroes and whatnot, it's just way too risky for any graduate school to admit you. It looks like you're just taking the comfortable, easy way out of college academics.</p>

<p>I mean it is not a matter of intelligence cuz one the Bsc in MIS is offered at the community college, the university only offers Computer Science. I want to do MIS.The program is accredited by the same body that accredited the Computer Science degree so the matter of rigor shouldnt come into question.If I were to go to the university I would have to spend four years doing a degree that i have no interest in. </p>

<p>Should I waste my time doing the degree i have no interest in so i can get into graduate school?</p>

<p>techlady,</p>

<p>It has nothing to do with intelligence per so, but devotion. A BA from a well-known university is valuable because it's a proven place to get smart and hard working future grad students.</p>

<p>Actually, rigor does come into play. A professor cannot conduct a course at MIT the same way he would at a community college. The student quality is vastly different. Community college studets taking an MIT course would all fail, while MIT students taking a community college course would all get A+'s (I'm not saying there isn't a single smart person in CC; I'm just being very general here to make a point). Therefore, course rigor needs to be adjusted to create a fair distribution of grades. Courses at a community college tend to not go into as much detail, nor are the students tested at as deep as a level as those at good universities. The result is a better prepared and more knowledgable student coming out of a good university than at a CC.<br>
Both programs may be accredited, but the education quality difference will be substantial. The university student will always get the graduate school spots before the CC graduate.</p>

<p>When did I say that rigor doesn't come into play? Hence the whole, "a well-known place to get smart and hard-working future students."</p>

<p>Shazilla asked: "Which kid would have the advantage for admission into law school? which would have the advantage for a PhD program in history? what about science?"</p>

<p>Law schools typically weigh GPA and LSAT most heavily, regardless of school attended. If you get a high GPA in your last two years at the university it shows you have the academic ability to succeed in that kind of institution.</p>

<p>Graduate schools' assessment of candidates varies by department and even individual professor, but important qualities include: fit within the program (research interests that match faculty specialties and institution resources), research and writing ability including publications, undergrad GPA, letters of recommendation, experience and dedication to your field, GRE, etc. The problem with community college is not that it will blacklist you, but that it limits opportunities during those first two years to get involved in research and to work with the mentor who will write your recommendations.</p>

<p>The good news is that that's okay, since the first two years at any institution are traditionally dedicated to general education classes, which are usually just as good at the community college as they would be at the larger university. Very few students begin research as freshmen and sophomores. Just remember that you need to start making contact with your advisor/major professors as soon as you transfer, though, so that you can develop a good working relationship with them by the time you graduate. (many students who spend all four years at the university don't bother to do this)</p>

<p>UCLAri,
Techlady wrote this: "The program is accredited by the same body that accredited the Computer Science degree so the matter of rigor shouldnt come into question".
You're right, my comment makes no sense if it's in response to yours. Therefore, it would be wise to look back one post before responding.</p>