@jazzymomof7 wrote:
“Thank you! That is helpful. What kind of social experience did your oldest have going to CC, then transferring? Was she able to get involved in clubs, find a roommate/friends, etc.? That’s my only concern about going the CC route. My husband I met at college and have so many lifelong friends we met there.”
Our oldest had a very good experience at community college. She took longer than 2 years to get her Associate’s. She started out with an eye towards microbiology, but got run over by Chemistry 101, and then struggled mightily with every math class. In fact, she re-took one math class. She figured she would get it, eventually, but it would not be easy for her. She was at the tutoring center, for math, often.
She got involved in SGA (Student Gov’t Association), and as an elected officer, she had to sit in on a lot of board meetings for the college, and had direct interaction with Administrators and Professors. She learned a lot. SGA also attended several out of state conferences, so she was able to travel to some cool cities. She caught the PoliSci bug.
She worked quite a bit, as a hostess in a restaurant, then a server, while going to school full time. We made her pay for a LOT, and she has developed good budgeting skills & “knows the value of a dollar”.
She was often in touch with Admissions at our state flagship re: the transferability of her courses and making sure she was on track to gain admission as a transfer student and then graduate on time.
She already knew older kids who had transferred down to the university, plus other kids who were going to start the same time she was. She wasn’t sure whether to house with the Transfer Student LLC or something else. In the end, she went for a different LLC, and found a freshman for a roommate. They got along well, and roomed together, off campus this time, her second year.
She didn’t join any clubs at the university, but was plenty busy with her department, and with her internship at a State Representative’s Office. It seems most of her friends were people she met at the internship, and people in her major/department/classes. With Social Media, it’s so easy to connect.
She kept an eye on the students in her major who graduated ahead of her and got a good feel for “what’s next” and what she wanted to do when it was her turn. She’s in WashDC now, and soooo happy.
Definitely, going the community college route is different than going straight to four year. For our kid, it turned out to be a really good fit. I have been impressed with her compassion for non-traditional students. She was exposed to relatively young students who had children of their own already, saw students working full-time jobs & living on their own while trying to slog through school, and of course, board meetings included the discussion of retention rates by gender & race and possible solutions. It was a different kind of education.
At graduation, we were talking to some of her professors, two of which she did off-campus classes with (one abroad, one out west). I said something like, “She sure did pack a lot in, in two years!” and one of the professors looked at me quizzically. I said, “Oh, she’s a transfer student! Came in as a junior.” The professor said something like “I would have never guessed she hadn’t been here all four years”.
Someone else had said to us, who had gone the cc route themselves & wanted to be encouraging, “You know, her degree is going to say University of Illinois, not 2 years at community college and then 2 years at U of I.” It made us laugh, but yes, that’s right, isn’t it?
In comparing schools and the quality of the education, it seems so much hinges on the student themselves. Bloom where you are planted. Notice opportunities & grab them. There are many paths!
Lastly, at our local community college, there is a substantial reduction in tuition for students who are in Honors and who maintain a certain GPA, making the cc route even more affordable.
