There is absolutely nothing wrong with going to community college and then transferring to a 4 year school to finish. That’s what I did 35 years ago then went to West Point. The associates degree is better than a HS diploma but it should not be your end goal. Actually, the fact that your parents aren’t “that rich” might be a good thing. The way financial aid works, if your family income is low your cost to go to college is also low particularly for private universities
@shyquietgirl456: err no. Here’s a breakdown of how degrees work: associates are given at community college, bachelors are given after you complete your undergraduate education at university, and graduate, masters, and doctorates are given during your grad school career.
Talk to your guidance counselor about options. If you are very smart, but don’t have very much money, there are 4 year colleges that will cover your costs for you. Many colleges provide need based aid…so don’t rule them out because of money. If you are not sure what you want to do, then starting at a Community College might be the way to go.
Going to community college is a good thing. I am 44 and just started attending in the Fall 2014 semester full time. The tuition is reasonable. I get the full Pell Grant which basically pays my tuition. I hoping to start in a new career direction once I graduate. The school is only 10 minutes from my house too which is a big plus. I might even pursue a bachelor’s degree.
Going to a community college is fine. You’re still furthering your education like everyone else. I’m at a university currently and it’s not enjoyable for me so I might transfer to a community college. Do what you feel is best. I do know that you will save money by going lol
No! There is nothing wrong with going to community college! Using me as an example, going to CC was the best decision I have ever made. After high school I could have gone to San Diego State University through my schools compact for success program, but I decided not to since I hate san diego and want to get out. In HS I was this shy, timid girl who didn’t have much going for me, but now because of CC so many doors have opened up for me. I’m playing intercollegiate sports (much harder to do at university), in student government, among so many other things. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with going to community college. For many people it’s benefited them a lot.
But keep in mind if money is the only issue that there is financial aid, merit aid and FAFSA and all that stuff to pay for it.
I went to community college.
I’m one of 5 siblings, and my parents paid for college for anyone who wanted it. But that meant 2 years at the local community college.
I graduated in 2 years, got my AS in Math, went on to a local university and graduated on time with my Bachelors and Secondary Math Education certification.
I don’t think CC is right for everyone. I think that academically unmotivated kids will slip through the cracks, and think of it as grade 13. They’ll continue with their same old patterns. For those kids, a fresh start with new people in a more traditional college seems to make more sense.
But for me, back in the 70’s, CC was absolutely the right choice.
Just a quick after thought. If you really are a “shy quiet girl”, it might make it easier to make friends in a dorm setting. The only CC I really know about is our local one, and it has a student body of 23,000. If you enter without a solid group of friends, it might be hard to meet people there. Just something to consider.
Though the OP might not be frequenting this thread anymore, here’s my input.
Going to community college is not a bad thing. But there’s a couple of things that you need to make absolute sure of before you decide if it’s for you. First and foremost, make sure that the program you want is actually there. If it’s not, you can still make it work, but it’ll be completely up to you to make sure you take the right classes in the right sequence. Second, be looking ahead at where you might end up for a university as you can see where you’ll end up when you’re done at community college. Be in contact throughout with the transfer adviser at those universities to make sure you do everything right and when.
I hated the fact that I went to community college at first. But over time, it actually was the best option for me. In fact, I completely avoided paying $20,000 to live in run-down dorms and to feel like “just a number” in my classes. Community college classes (with the exception for premed students) are typically much smaller and similar to high school-sized classes where you’ll be able to ask questions in-class and get more one-on-one time with the instructor. It’s actually pretty awesome. And all my friends who made me feel like crap for going to community college after high school, well… Now, they’re envious of me that I saved all that money from freshman and sophomore year, saying they totally wish they did that themselves.
Also, make sure you transfer in the FALL ONLY! If you are a spring transfer, you’re treated like bottom-rung priority in the whole mess. It’s not a good feeling, and for me, I missed the opportunity to apply for scholarships until next year since I didn’t have professors from this university only to write me recommendations. So that’s bad…
And also, community college is a great idea if you’re looking to save some money… That is, if you pick the right major though. I majored in math and actually was able to seamlessly transfer into a big-name university with very little transfer-credit bobbling. But! When I was at community college, I was actually in the band. Many of my friends from there were music majors (Who I incidentally knew from high school). And, right now, they’re all beginning the process of transferring away. The music program from our community college is nationally accredited, meaning that they actually teach what they’re supposed to teach, and that it’s rigorously comparable to the freshman and sophomore years you’d get at a university. But my friends, as they go to all their auditions this spring, are telling me that at each audition, they’re wowing the audition panels but the audition panels are giving them the runaround of, “We can’t be sure your community college actually taught you the right stuff. We understand your program is nationally accredited, but we don’t know if you’re up to our standards” (and these are public universities in-state). “So thus, we might actually need to have you spend an extra semester getting caught up here before you can actually begin continuing your music degree.”
That’s why I mentioned that you want to be in (constant) contact with the universities that you are applying to, to MAKE SURE that you’re going to get there with very little incidence not in your favor. Otherwise, there’s not much wrong with going to community college. However, there is ONE more thing I should mention…
Here on College Confidential, check out the Financial Aid and Scholarships forum where you can find this thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html#latest
Check out those links such as the automatic full-tuition/ride thread. I wish I’d found that thread the fall semester of my senior year of high school. By the time I found it the summer immediately following my high school graduation, it was too late for me to really do anything about it. So, don’t sell yourself short just yet, see if you can get college paid for already through that.
Good luck
Community college is where dreams go to die; avoid it at all costs. Definitely take advantage of it over the summer when you’re back at home but otherwise stay away as best you can.
Community college is not a strategy, it’s a last resort. It’s definitely better than nothing if you’ve got no other options but if you have options then community college shouldn’t be one of them.
Go straight for your bachelor’s as soon as possible and totally don’t mess with an associates degree along the way. My older brother messed with that and it was a huge waste and he never should have done it and I’ll never have anything to do with any community college ever. Well, except for the summer after graduation and probably the summer after that.