<p>cons of ccc:</p>
<ol>
<li>I felt like I was in the 13th grade.</li>
<li>Being a highly motivated student at a jc is especially difficult because it's harder to meet other students/people like yourself. I made better professor friends than student friends because it's hard to relate to people when the majority of them don't have REAL transfer goals.</li>
<li>No school spirit or major sporting events or upperclassmen to learn from.</li>
</ol>
<p>"2. Being a highly motivated student at a jc is especially difficult because it's harder to meet other students/people like yourself. I made better professor friends than student friends because it's hard to relate to people when the majority of them don't have REAL transfer goals."</p>
<p>This is a huge bother for me. The other day I took my last exam for my poli sci class even though I did not need to (my professor drops 1 out of 3 exams and I got an A on the first two thus I did not need to take the last exam). Anyways, my friend says to me during class, "Hey, why are you taking the final? We (he had received 2 A's as well) do not need to take it!" This bothers me for 3 reasons: (1) I do not like to sell myself short. I feel that knowledge is a gift that should not be taken for granted. If I have the chance to learn more then I will take it. (2) This is my major so I NEED to take the exam. (3) The professor was the COOLEST person I have ever met. I would not want to disrespect him by ignoring / skipping his lectures and deciding against taking the last exam. Oh, and the fact that gave my class a speech about how much he enjoyed teaching us out of his other poli sci classes and said that he loved us (haha idk) made me respect him even more. After that speech I saw him as a close friend.</p>
<p>what school are you at and who is the teacher</p>
<p>Santa Monica College</p>
<p>Political Science 1 - Professor Max Leung</p>
<p>I had also thought that it was tough to meet motivated and intellectual students at community college. Now, however, I am in the honors program and I have met many serious students. At the beginning of the semester, my honors classes had between 15-20 people; now they have 10-15. The people who dropped were less serious because, at least at my cc, honors classes are significantly more work. In my honors US History class, we have read seven books throughout the semester, and the reading approached 100 pages a night. </p>
<p>If you can, do honors programs, honors clubs, etc. That's how I met all of my cc friends.</p>
<p>I agree that it is hard to meet motivated and smart people. But, many immigrants and international students here at my cc are motivated hard workers. They are all trying to transfer to ucla. The chinese immigrants here are so smart in math and science classes. You can always hang out with the international students if you're looking for smart motivated people.</p>
<p>I hate the social aspect of it but I love the academic aspect of it (easy) and it is embarassing to say I go to a CC.</p>
<p>I might be a transient for the spring term at a Uni close by so hopefuly things will be alot better socially since they have clubs and people will be my age or close to it.</p>
<p>I have only met one motivated person and that is highschoolda. haha. Whenever I talk to others about my goals, they give me this eerie look. Yea, I like to admit that I actually have goals in mind. Just kidding. But seriously, in a way, I do not have sympathy for those who have still not learned to take their education seriously. I know, it sounds harsh, but that is what I feel.</p>
<p>"But seriously, in a way, I do not have sympathy for those who have still not learned to take their education seriously."</p>
<p>Except I must say that many at a university don't take education the way they should either (i.e. they are going to school with the end goal of making a lot of money.).</p>
<p>gabew42, that is true. My whole arguement was open for a debate. I was kind of hesitating about posting what I did because I do not truly feel the way that I said I did. Yes, I am aware that many have goals in mind, it is just not my idea of a "goal." I have different expectations and so do others. There are some, as gabe mentioned, that take their education for granted when all they have in mind is making a lot of "dough."</p>
<p>I wanted to say something (especially since this forums been boring since Dec 1). </p>
<p>But yeah, going to school just for future monetary benefit is a big problem at all schools.</p>
<p>What is knowledge good for if it doesn't benefit you??
From my prespective us humans do everything to achive 1 goal: achiveing the most pleasure and happiness as possible in their short period on this earth. Most gain a certain amount of pleasure from having material objects such as sport cars. Every intelligent person sees that most chances that if you go to school and get a degree you could eventually buy more stuff that you want.
Knowledge is not the purpose it is only the means.</p>
<p>i hate going to the library and having to wait in line for a computer, when every single person is just dicking around on myspace</p>
<p>what didn't i like about JC when i was there? hmmmm
During my first year there, i really was resentful. I was appalled at the calibre of most students, and i especialy didn't like telling everyone that i was attending SJCC because i felt it was a reflection of some character "flaw." I really looked down to everything there, and I thought everything was a joke, and i could not wait to get the hell out of there. </p>
<p>Now, looking back at my overall time there (i was there for 3 years), I have mostly good things to say about my experience. Yes, there were some classes that were really not challenging, and yes, there were many students who didn't give a f*** about their education. At the same time, i realized that it was really up to me to make the most of my experience there, and it was up to take initiative outside the classroom to be more prepared for 4 year universities. Actively seeking out people who are conducive to your intellectual and personal growth is crucial as well. Sometimes it seemed like there was no one at my school who could do that, but with a little patience, i found some. </p>
<p>hang in there everyone! it will be over before you know it! good luck</p>
<p>Ugh, I hope it will end soon, cal<em>girl</em>21. What were your stats if you do not mind me asking? I chose not to apply to CAL for monetary reasons but I would have loved go there.</p>
<p>in all honesty...i can't really complain too much about my CC. sure there are people here who dont give a F*** about their education....but honestly, i think you're going to find that just about everywhere...i think CC and college in general is what you make of it...if i had just sat back and not actively sought out good professors and good students i'm sure my experience would suck and i would hate CC...but with a little bit of effort i have been able to find really great professors (who also happen to be very challenging and demanding academically). and i have also been able to find students who are highly intelligent and motivated but are at CC for various reasons (mostly, financing)...again...it's what you make of it.</p>
<p>I am happy with my community college experience. Long flexible office hours are just fantastic. I know I will sorely miss it after transferring.</p>
<p>um, i'm with boowooj here. I find the workload not neccessarily as difficult as university level, but with a great more deal of depth then at high school. the teachers are difficult to get a hold of, as with any university, but actually are very deeply involved. do i find my peers intellectually unmotivated? um, no more then high school. i dont understand why there's this conception that everyone at the university performs up to par, or why there would be an easier connection with students who try to succeed at the university-there really isnt that correllation. i mean, there are people who are going to underperform in every class, no matter what the grade distribution( as a sidenote, nikkei, i am also incredulous at you for taking the final, as you could have spent that time studying for your other more challenging finals??? ). </p>
<p>dude, what is this ******** about you people not finding smart and motivated people? half of the people at my CC are from impoverished countries who migrated here seeking a better life, and due to the ridiculously high costs of a four-year university, its financially and economically a MUCH smarter decision to attend a CC. so what if they're in algebra 1 at 25? so what if over half are in ESL classes? im sure they really didnt have that much time studying arithmetics when they were trying to dodge bullets and survive.</p>
<p>i really think this thread needs to be closed. when i look at this, i seriously am almost disgusted. you guys dwell WAY too much on where you are vs. how you're supposed to GET there, which is what this forum is for. i used to dwell on being at a CC, but now i'm fine with it-furthermore, for the people who think its embarassing to tell other people that you go to a CC? have fun with your elitism somewhere else, please. nobody cares where you go, and the people that do dont really matter, anyway. and if you're still stuck in that phase, maybe you deserve to be at one to endure the ''humiliating experience''. eat some effing humble pie. please.</p>
<p>in short, this is the first and last time im ever going to post on any thread like this. i've given my opinion and i think that's enough. stop whining. if you want to transfer somewhere good, work hard. if you want to meet people that have like-minded goals, start a god damn club and market it and people will come. if you're just going to sit there and post about how difficult it is to ''find people as smart as you are'' then you're honestly wasting air. i think i've ranted enough, so i'll stop.</p>
<p>zemookmook,
Caring what others think of you is part of being a human. Very few people truly don't care, and most these people are losers. Telling someone that u go to a ccc will make them say "ooh ok". I don't know where you come from or where you live but here a lot of people care about achievements and status. Which is opposite of a ccc.</p>
<p>Another thing is how a person feels has to do with who he is surrounded by. Call me crazy but I'd rather be surrounded by people who can motivate me, tell me things that i don't know, make me think... and not the opposite...</p>
<p>l don't want to sound mean, but it's just the way you think is a little bit different from most people.</p>
<p>this is what nikki325i wrote:
"2. Being a highly motivated student at a jc is especially difficult because it's harder to meet other students/people like yourself. I made better professor friends than student friends because it's hard to relate to people when the majority of them don't have REAL transfer goals."</p>
<p>This is a huge bother for me. The other day I took my last exam for my poli sci class even though I did not need to (my professor drops 1 out of 3 exams and I got an A on the first two thus I did not need to take the last exam). Anyways, my friend says to me during class, "Hey, why are you taking the final? We (he had received 2 A's as well) do not need to take it!" This bothers me for 3 reasons: (1) I do not like to sell myself short. I feel that knowledge is a gift that should not be taken for granted. If I have the chance to learn more then I will take it. (2) This is my major so I NEED to take the exam. (3) The professor was the COOLEST person I have ever met. I would not want to disrespect him by ignoring / skipping his lectures and deciding against taking the last exam. Oh, and the fact that gave my class a speech about how much he enjoyed teaching us out of his other poli sci classes and said that he loved us (haha idk) made me respect him even more. After that speech I saw him as a close friend.</p>
<p>i can totally relate to this, nikki. in fact, a lot of people did not understand why i got disappointed over a B or even when i wasn't content with a C. And i can totally feel your frustration over having a hard time finding people who have the mindset as you do, as you seem to be a highly motivated student. If it's any consolation, having the type of mindset you have at the CCC right now will take you a long way when you transfer to a four year. =) </p>
<p>what i found from my experience at CCC is that sometimes people just need to be more exposed to students like you. during my 2nd semester, i actually met a girl who has never been around anyone who wanted to aim for an A or who was actively involved in the community. throughout the course of our friendship, i saw her attitude change toward school, and she tries harder. At the same time, i learned that many people have just been socialized differently, and somecome from a background where parents dont care about their schooling, never had intellectually curious friends, etc, but they all still have something to teach me. </p>
<p>as for my stats, this is what i transferred with:
GPA=4.0, 2 honor classes</p>
<p>Employment: 3 years, 20 hrs/week working as an assistant teacher for an english high school class (at-risk students)</p>
<p>Community Involvement: Social change coach (implementing a gang prevention program) for a year....and oh boy...something else, but right now i can't remember it for some reason LOL</p>
<p>School involvement: Founder and President of the Women Union, VP of my chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, student council rep, psychology club, students for social justice. </p>
<p>Awards: CSW award for Honorary women (SC County)</p>
<p>now i'm at berkeley trying to keep my momentum going :) i won the Alumni Scholarship from them, and that's a start =) i didn't have a whole lot of time to do outside stuff this semester because i took on 4 upper division classes (note: don't do that when you first transfer. unless you dont like sleep or relaxation) but next semester i will be reducing my courseload to 2 upper divisions because i plan to teach a student-run class here and to do research or do something in a clinical psychology setting, like peer counseling. </p>
<p>what are your plans?</p>