It seems all my friends have the same plan...

<p>@FollowtheReaper I feel the exact same way. If only my instate school wasn’t so good in engineering then I could justify going faaaaaaaarrrr away but we’ll see. :|</p>

<p>Haha so many quoteable things…</p>

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EXACTLY!!! Our school tries to make it sounds like it is some SUPER CRAZY hard school to get into. Everytime I show someone the requirements to get auto accepted they are like “WT Freak?! I thought it was A LOT harder”</p>

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Agreed. Lol CC does not approve of CCs</p>

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But that is what scholarships are for. </p>

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That’s the thing. We are poor, but we are FORCED to take all AP classes and do so much! </p>

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I honestly agree with this 100%!!! I see people work their butts off in HS only to go to a CC! I’m like ***reak!! Why even try in the first place?! You could have slept and had fun and still ended up where you are.</p>

<p>@FantasyVesperia, I’m not saying that I PERSONALLY hate CCs. It is just the outlook that my community has. Nonetheless there are a few kids every year who go to community colleges, and they always seem a bit out of place (like the kids who didn’t try). The term ‘community college’ has a negative connotation around here; it is associated with the kids who didn’t try, participated in the wrong things, etc. Now, I don’t really agree with all of these things, but at the same time I have no interest in going to a community college myself (my family can afford my education and I am very motivated). </p>

<p>My point here is that, unless you cannot avoid it (family is poor, unable to get a scholarship, etc), you should try to strive for something greater than a community college.</p>

<p>I wasn’t disagreeing with lol, I just really liked what you said, that’s all :)</p>

<p>At my high school, only ~30% of the graduating class go to college, and that statistic includes the local community colleges. Only around 40 kids, max, go to a 4-year university and most of those are the local state schools that are not too difficult to get into. However, since I live in a low income county it makes a lot of sense to me that going to a CC would be a good option to save money. I feel like a black sheep sometimes in contrast to my whole school.</p>

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<p>This describes my school as well… It’s fun trying to be in the top 5% woooo.</p>

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I think we’re still stuck on the idea that everyone can benefit from a college education. That’s simply not true. A lot of people have career interests, well-paying career interests that do not involve a university education. Examples include car repair, welding, construction, etc. Others cannot go away from home because of family reasons, and still others simply don’t have the emotional maturity and discipline for a residential university.</p>

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My school is very much in the middle. A few kids went to top colleges, a lot of kids went to UNC. Other kids went to state schools, and a whole bunch of kids are off to CC. 60% of our graduating class is off to a 4 year college, and 35% are off to Community College. Leaving 5% going to the military or just not going to school at all.</p>

<p>The top third of my class went to a UC or top 25 school last year. The next third to a lower tier school. 25% went to CC. I think like 5% didn’t go to college at all. But out of those most were taking a planned gap year. I’m glad I get such a great education, but it definitely gets * very * stressful with all the competition. </p>

<p>And I second that not everyone needs to go to college.</p>

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You know that they still have to go to technical school.</p>

<p>^Well yeah, but technical school isn’t the same thing as a four year university. That’s * exactly * the point. Too many kids look at four year universities as the best/only path, when technical/trade schools, or even apprenticeships in these fields, can serve some students better.</p>

<p>What I meant was “not everyone can benefit from a traditional college/university.”</p>

<p>I know a straight A student whose career goal was commercial art. She also had a lot of younger siblings to help take care of. She probably could have gone to UNC or a top out-of-state university. But because of her home life and her career aspirations, she was better served by going to community college. Now she only has another semester of work, already has an internship lined up, and has no debt. </p>

<p>I know plenty of other intelligent kids who could have gone to a university, but were much better off because of their circumstances or goals at community college. I know someone who’s a DJ. He graduated in the top 10 of his class at a local elite private school, but what good would 4 years of college have done him? 2 years of music industry studies, now he’s working full time. There are plenty of other stories like this.</p>