I’m in high school(10th grade), and I have been giving my future a lot of thought. My parents encourage me to do what I feel is right, but the problem is that we’re not that rich for real colleges. There is this community college that is credible and have good ratings. It’s not too far from my house but is very popular. Though when I hear other kids talking about going to top notch colleges, it makes me feel bad about myself. I feel that community colleges don’t get accepted by employers. My grades are fine I usually get A’s and B’s though currently having a C in gym(Which I am trying to bring up). It’s what I heard from some people, but is that true? Any thoughts?
You can always go to community college for a year or two and then transfer to a four year institution. However, you need to make sure the credits transfer.
Community College is “real college.” Community colleges offer many people the opportunities of higher education that is often of lower cost, and close to where people live/work. My brother (many years ago) and two of my nephew (a few years ago) did not do well enough in high school to go straight into our state flagship, so went to community college for a year of so, did some grade repair basically while also working to save money, and then went on to either the state flagship or private college and ended up with engineering degrees. Employers are more interested in whether or not you hold a degree/credential rather than where you got that degree or credential. Being satisfied with your college experience while being able to afford it then ending up with a degree in a field that you like is the most important thing.
I feel that a lot of people in my high school went to community college. There is nothing wrong with it at all. Community is real college. Your classes are just as challenging and the students there want to further their education. I also have friends that went away for college but ended up coming back to community. I think it is because they did not know what they wanted to study or they missed home. The nice thing about community college is that they have programs that allow you to earn your associates degree and then transfer to an affordable school to complete your bachelors degree. There are a world of opportunities at community college, but college is what you make it. If you go in with a down attitude then your college experience will suck. Overall, community college is a real college and you shouldn’t feel down about possibly attending community. If anything it will expand your horizons for the future. Best of luck to you!
If you want a career in a technical field like cosmetology or welding, then a two-year degree from a community college is an excellent credential.
If you want to go into a field like engineering, than a two-year degree is preparation for more school, not an end in itself.
If you want to go into retail and work yourself up the management chain, again a two-year degree will only carry you so far, and then your friends are right: your advancement will stop. You’ll need a four-year credential if you really want to go places. But you can START working on that degree at a community college.
Some of my closest friends started at a community college before transferring to a four year. And you know what? They’re on the same level as the people who started at the four year. It makes no difference in the long run how you got your degree, so long as you get your degree.
You do need to be careful about making sure units transfer though. A lot of the people I know that transferred in have to take at least one quarter more than they’re “expected to” (i.e. 6 quarters is expected from a transfer, they need at least 7). Many times, this is because of an issue with units transferring. It’s definitely possible to finish your bachelor’s in two years after transferring, but you need to do some planning and research.
No, there is nothing wrong with going to community college. In fact, it’s actually better for you financially to get your GEs out of the way at a CC so that when you transfer to a four year, you’ll only have to focus on taking courses for your major. Also, employers do not pay attention to whether you started at a community college or a 4 year university, just where you graduated from and whether you have a degree (if you’re going into any of the STEM job fields–for these, they usually require a minimum of a bachelors, and community colleges only give out associates).
CC’s are fine. Just don’t go to Greendale.
CC’s are great. They often get a very bad reputation in places like College Confidential, but it’s largely unjustified. It’s a real education in any sense of the notion. Courses can be incredibly challenging. As others have already pointed out, in most fields a 2-year degree is not meant to be a terminal degree. Aside from technical/applied fields like welding, HVAC, CNA, (some) nursing jobs, etc., an associates degree is designed to be a transfer degree. It covers the same material that would typically be covered in the freshman and sophomore years at any university. Sometimes the GenEd core can be even more extensive at community colleges.
I think there are some perks to community colleges too. I’m a physics major, and I’m currently in the last semester of the university physics sequence. I have some friends that transferred to UIUC last semester, and were in my physics classes last year. This semester we’re in equivalent physics classes. Them at UIUC, and me at my CC. Their class has over 300 people in a gigantic lecture hall. My class has 4 people. That kind of personalized attention could never happen in a class like this at a big university. Some will argue that the professor at the big university is ‘better,’ but this is a broad generalization about CC vs. university professors that certainly is not always true. My physics professor has a bachelor’s from Northwestern and a PhD from UChicago. He’s worked at Fermilab, Brookhaven, Lawrence Berkeley, and numerous other research facilities in the fields of cosmology and particle physics, and he was a professor at the University of Colorado before coming back here. He came back because he grew up in this area, and missed his friends and family here. He’s got the same kind of credentials as the typical ‘good’ physics professor at the better universities for physics.
That’s just my own personal example of the comparisons, but there are plenty of them to be made. Community college professors are not ‘second class’ professors by default. Are there some that really are second rate? Absolutely…but there are plenty of them at big universities too.
Not true. Tell me which CC, I could google its employment data for you.
CC is a great way to save money no doubt. That C in gym class won’t matter at all. Colleges don’t calculate gym class into GPA and won’t even care about it. A lot of people from community college get hired. If no one gets hired if they go to a community college, what would be the point of going then lol?
It’s pretty good for your money, unless you have a ton of AP credits and have most of the lower division done before you enter college. 
Sorry, if this sounds like a stupid question but when you go to community college for 2 years and get an associates do you just transfer to another school and go after an associate for that particular curriculum? Sorry I’m a little confused. 
@Wasatchwriter What about something along the lines of business administration?
That’s exactly the sort of thing I mean. An associates degree in business will take you farther than a HS diploma, but you will hit a ceiling after a few years. Where I live, that’s good enough for a lot of people, especially those women who wish to be stay-at-home mom’s. But if you want a long career in business, you really need a bachelor’s at least.
That said, one path I see a lot of people take is getting a 2-year degree in business, working for 4-5 years, and then going back for the bachelor’s degree.
Our D attended a CC after JR year in HS with a GED. She completed one semester and applied to transfer to a very competitive 4 year private college. They asked her to submit spring transcript and then accepted her as a transfer after she completed 3 semesters. We were glad she saved us some semesters of tuition and all except the online course she took transferred.
She did NOT pursue an AA degree because she intended and did get her 4 year BA instead. She was very pleased with the quality of teaching, small class size, parking and great food at her CC. She felt her CC prepared her well for her private U.
If you have great grades and test scores, you MAY be able to qualify for good merit awards at some Us, so it may be worthwhile considering this as well as CC as two options. Do not assume that CC is the best option if you don’t at least explore both, since they prefer to give most of their merit aid to freshmen over transfers.
@shyquietgirl456 A student would go to a community college for 2 years and obtain an associates degree. This associates degree is roughly the equivalent of the freshman and sophomore years of university. It covers the lower level introductory courses within the major, and includes the comprehensive general education core. After completing the associates degree, one then transfers to a university as a third year student, or junior. Then they complete the upper level (junior and senior level) coursework and all other requirements to complete a bachelor’s degree in their chosen field.
After an Associate’s degree you transfer to a 4-yeaer school for the last two years of a Bachelor’s degree. You get the same degree as students who start at the 4-yeaer college. If it is Engineering, it might take you a bit longer to finish the Bachelor’s degree but if you choose a community college which has an articulation agreement with the 4-year school, they will tell you which courses transfer for the degrees you are interested in. That way you make sure to choose the right courses.
I went to a pretty good University for a semester right out of high school. Did fine, but decided the classes I was getting was not worth the cost of the university when I could have taken the classes much cheaper at Community College. I left after my first semester, went to community college to take everything that would transfer, then went back to University to complete my degree. I graduated from University a year ago, and have no regrets at all about my decision.
I can’t speak about the CC->Employment route but if you have any specific questions about the CC->University route let me know.
Another associate degree? No! You would transfer to 4-year school to get a bachelor degree