Hey guys.
I am currently a teacher in my church’s Sunday school and came to know this really decent kid who wants to ultimately attend UW at Madison. But he’s English is not sufficient yet, so he decided to attend another college first then apply to Madison later as a transfer. The question is which college should he choose to attend that can really boost up his chances at Madison?
He’s looking at two choices–a CC that has a guaranteed transfer program to Madison and UW as Stout. He doesn’t like the CC sentiment (students being lazy and less enthusiastic teachers) but he is not confident to go to a 4-year college to earn a competitive GPA to transfer successfully to Madison. He’s basically wondering he would be better off going to community college because that way he could more likely get a desirable GPA to transfer.
What would you advise him? I’ve been out to the real world for so long and have forgotten the recent transfer game. Will attending CC a better option to transfer to Madison?
Thanks for reading and much more thanks if replying… 
Well my kid dual enrolled at a CC and is starting at Madison as a freshman this fall. His credits should all transfer.
So maybe it depends on CC but my kid did not perceive a huge number of students as lazy and teachers as less enthusiastic. In fact, he had a lot of great teachers and smaller class sizes. Many of the teachers at his urban CC are teaching at higher end universities as well. Some were published authors and researchers. He had access to honors classes. There were more non-traditional students and more English language learners. Non-traditional, older students are often much more focused and serious about their studies than their younger counterparts. Obviously, I can’t speak for every CC but my kid had a great experience at a CC.
I suspect he’d encounter more young people not ready for college at a typical less competitive 4 year program. Many people at a CC are there pretty intentionally. I’m sure the vast majority of teachers are great at both. You can check rate my professor for a handful of teachers to get a general idea. Faculty college jobs are just very competitive these days. Faculties are pretty strong most places.
I’m sure he could have a good experience with either path. If he’s an English language learner, he should check both schools for resources and programming for that. I’m sure he could do great academically at both schools. At either school teachers will NOT make concessions for ELL students when grading. Common “complaint” in teacher reviews.
So if reading/writing in English is an issue, he should really drill down with that. The CC may have more resources to get him up to speed there.
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I see.OK that’s exactly I will tell my student–CC’s got some pretty great teachers and serious learners. Much Thanks and I send you the best of luck to your kid.
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The Madison CC has evolved so that many go there before UW- Madison. It seems to have lost the tech school atmosphere of others in the state and has become a lower cost college alternative for some who qualify for UW. He needs to discuss things with his HS guidance counselor this spring- before the school year ends. Perhaps more intense language learning this summer will be useful for navigating his senior year of HS.
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