<p>Would it save me money? Would it help or hurt my chances of getting into a more selective university? Would it help or hurt my chances of getting academic scholarships?
I'm a senior right now and I know that I definitely have the GPA and test scores to get into safety schools right now. The problem is, I don't want to settle for schools that I'm only OK with going to instead of going to a school that I am thrilled about. I've been kind of lazy throughout high school when it comes to doing work for some classes but if I went to my local Jr. College I know I could turn it up a notch and get fantastic grades. Just this first quarter of my senior year I got 5 As and 1 B and I have 3 APs.</p>
<p>unweighted GPA - 3.42 (7 APs and all other classes are honors)
ACT - 31
SAT - 1960
CR+M - 1380</p>
<p>If it is of any importance, I want to study mechanical engineering and in particular, automotive engineering.</p>
This is one of the topics well covered in the book “Predictably Irrational”. Humans are great at rational planning for the future. So when you talk about working harder you really mean it. Problem is that when that future arrives you’ll face the same distractions (and probably some new ones) that have kept you from doing well in HS. Games to play, friends to visit, a S.O. to hang out with, being tired, lacking energy, etc. </p>
<p>So the reasonable prediction is that your grades in college will be much like they are now. You might start with great intentions, even keep it up for a few weeks, but the odds are unfortunately strong that you won’t escape yourself. </p>
<p>And there’s an easy way to test this. Why wait until next fall to “turn it up a notch”? Why not do it right now? This would let you work out the bugs in the approach when falling a bit short doesn’t really matter instead of when you’re playing for keeps. But, like the smoker that will quit after his birthday, the out-of-shape guy that will start at the gym January 1st, just let me enjoy what I’m doing until that future day comes. It’s a lot easier to make future promises (fully intending to keep them, of course) that have zero costs today than it is to actually change.</p>
<p>I have turned it up a notch this year and I’m actually trying a lot harder. First quarter I have gotten 5 As and 1 B+ with 3 AP classes and 3 honors classes. You didn’t really answer my question, you kind of shot down my idea instead.</p>
<p>What is your home state? What can your family afford? The best merit scholarships are given to freshmen - there are few for transfers. However saving $ on a JC can be a smart decision, particularly if they have students that go on to very good schools. </p>
<p>I don’t know why you would want to do that.Your stats are good for many respectable colleges. I would avoid attending a community college and focus on working as hard as you can now, while aiming to attend a four year college.</p>
<p>Starting at community college is not necessarily a bad option (though it depends on the community college and the transfer pathway to the state universities – better in some states than others). You may want to investigate merit scholarships that can make the total cost of four years of college lower than two years of community college plus two years of state university (however, the opportunities would be better if you had a >= 3.50 HS GPA).</p>
<p>My husband started at our local community college that had a transfer agreement with University of Maryland. He majored in civil engineering. The only thing is that you wouldn’t be eligible for any freshman scholarships at the transfer college. But you can probably save more by going to a CC than you would get in scholarships anyway. My husband worked for the government and then private consultants for 10 years and then opened his own engineering consultant business. Community College didn’t hurt him at all. Good luck!</p>
<p>Would it save money? Community Colleges (CCs) generally have very low-cost in-state tuition. Cost of attendance includes Tuition and Fees (low cost) + Books (equal) + travel & incidental (equal) + room and board (may be lower, at least it is often subsidized by parents). Financial aid for community college often factors in only tuition and fees (and maybe books). Financial aid for 4-year colleges factor in all of these costs. Thus, if you are eligible for substantial financial aid, the CC may be more expensive, otherwise, it could save you lots of money. The professors can be surprisingly excellent, and the class sizes small.</p>
<p>Merit scholarships tend to be for Freshman, though there are many for transfer students. Transfer scholarships, however, frequently have a “need” component in addition to the merit component, or are for special populations (re-entry, vets, etc.). You will want to check this with your target 4-year schools.</p>
<p>It would probably help your chances of getting into a selective college, since the application would be based on your CC track record, not your high school track record. However, you will want to be sure to burnish the CC track record as much as possible by being very involved in the CC!</p>
Are you sure about that? I just checked COAs for community colleges in the midwest and east coast and they include books and other expenses (transpo, etc) in the COA which would be eligible for FA.</p>
<p>@Erin’s Dad I think it is something one should check out. Our personal experience was actual COA for CC away from home was similar to COA for UC away from home; but perhaps we were not sufficiently savvy. It is more of a Flag to check out perceived vs. actual value than it is an Absolute.</p>
<p>Living away from home costs should be similar between CC, CSU, and UC in similar cost areas, but the three systems have different levels of in-state tuition (for an academic year, $1,380 for CC (30 units at $46 per unit), $5,472 for CSU, $13,300 for UC (slight variation by campus)).</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus, the question was whether living away costs are part of a FA calculation from the institution. The CC I am familiar with assumes you are living at home, and does not include living away costs in their COA calculations for FA. Therefore, with financial aid, the CC may not be as great a savings as it appears, because of the cost of living away. For example, if UC gives $20K of grant aid, and the CC gives full tuition and fees, UC would be lower cost, IF YOU ARE LIVING AWAY. CC’s can be a great cost savings, and are great for other reasons in their own right. I was simply suggesting that the OP check the financials before assuming one approach to be better than another. In other words, COA calculations really depend on the assumptions used, and a community college may assume you are a member of the community and the cost of attending is simply the differential cost of the college, whereas a UC will assume you will be moving nearby to attend, and include those items (transportation and room and board) in their COA calculations.</p>
<p>If for financial reasons you have to go the CC + transfer route than it’s a necessity. You’ll end up with a solid degree from a 4-year university and assuming good grades, college achievements and references you should do as well in the job market as someone who had gone to that same 4-year university for the full 4 years.</p>
<p>However if the reason for choosing the CC + transfer route is not because of financial constraints or academic ones, then it’s not a good choice. Contrast the college experience of someone who starts out at a 4-year university to one who transfers to that same university in junior year (the typical transfer year for a CC student). Socially the experience of the 2 students would be very different. The transfer students can never make up for not having been at the university those first two years. Initially he’s an outsider, and he is more likely to interact with like transfers than with students who had been in the university as freshmen. Further relationships with professors and advisers is likely to be different, as for example in terms of having established credibility in research projects, extracurricular activities, missing preferred prerequisite courses, etc. So even if your goal of getting into a better university as an eventual transfer than as a freshman bears out you’ll miss out on much of the typical college experience. Further your academic life for the first two years (in terms of quality of courses, discussions with fellow students and faculty, research opportunities, summer intern positions, etc.) will likely be of a significantly lower grade than it would have been at a 4-year university, even one that it is less prestigious than one that you may eventually get into as a junior. So the main advantage of your strategy may be improved job prospects because of having gotten your eventual degree from a more prestigious university than you would have otherwise. At best this is a relatively “vague” and uncertain benefit.</p>
<p>@Erin’s Dad I just checked the COA for my experience. I see that because of some irregularities in how we went through the process, my experience may not be representative. They do give budgets for room & board (albeit about $2-3K less than the 4-year schools in the same area), books, and transportation. The point still stands, however, that it is not an apples-to-apples comparison, and should be checked thoroughly.</p>
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<p>Before going through the experience, I would have agreed, but truthfully, I am not convinced that this is true. Professors are often working professionals who are passionate and engaged in their subject. In 4-yr GenEd classes, professors often teach large sections of unmotivated students and everyone knows it is a mandatory requirement. Teaching these classes can sometimes be seen as somewhat of a “booby prize” or rite of passage for junior faculty at a 4-year institution. In CC’s the professors are engaging, the class size is small, and the top 1/4 to 1/3 of the class is really engaged as well, especially if it is a regular class which meets in the middle of the day. This is second hand, of course from my DS.</p>
<p>CC can provide a way to mature, increase confidence, and pave a path to serious studiousness. Contrast that with creating a first impression at a 4-yr college as a lost and immature freshman. Sometimes making those first impressions as a Junior can be powerfully impactful, especially if you are just starting to really be serious upon entering college. And many schools have programs to integrate transfers into research projects, etc. Finding community is important- in clubs, sports, and research groups. There are definite downsides, but they can be balanced by real upsides- one of which is having small class sizes and motivated professors for all 4 years of college.</p>
<p>Another thing to check, of course, is time-to-graduate. The transition to 4-year college often tacks an additional 1-2 semesters on to your time in school; so you may be looking at a 4-1/2 to 5 year impact versus a 4 to 4-1/2 year impact. This is because of the time it takes to acculturate to your new setting, and is not really quantifiable; but seems to be real. Each individual thinks it will not be that way for him, but on average, it is.</p>
<p>Also, it appeared that getting into a summer REU may have been facilitated by coming from a CC, since one goal of REUs is to expose undergraduates to research, and the (true) assumption is that there are fewer opportunities for research at a CC, so therefore the need for exposure by CC students is greater than for 4-yr research institutions. Nice silver lining! Another advantage was that AP courses were counted towards Gen Ed requirements. At 4-yr school, they would only be treated as elective courses, but would not fulfill GenEd requirements. In my DS’s case, this reduced the time to graduate by a year (1 yr. CC –> Junior Standing at 4-yr school), which makes 3 more years (rather than 2, for the cultural reasons @fogcity outlined) more palatable, and allows DS to reach into graduate-level classes.</p>