<p>Right now I'm in the University of Washington, where I started Freshman quarter. Though, I found it to be very stressful and a waste of money for me if I'm not doing so well in my classes. I also found it to be very stressful to get the help I need when most of the help centers open late, and it would be tough for me to get a bus ride there and back home (since I commute). I already scheduled an appointment with my adviser at the University of Washington (which should be 2 weeks from now... hoping it was earlier, but oh well).</p>
<p>Though... I feel like College is just too stressful when you're stuck in a big classroom with professors going fast on lectures and hinting clues that they might want to fail you, and with lots of students going to ask for professor's help but are unsure and not getting that one-on-one time. I always thought going to this University was a dream, which it still is, somewhat, but right now my education matters more to me than anything (besides my family, money, and other essentials I mean).</p>
<p>I was wondering, can I just stop going to the University next quarter (winter quarter) and start Shoreline Community College that next quarter? I got private loans already set already, but I'm not sure if I can handle commuting if I don't live super close to the University (about 45 minutes per bus ride), and not getting all the help I might need. I know that I will have to transfer back though to continue my education.</p>
<p>Anyway, would it be possible to go to Community College next quarter? Would it be a better thing to do? Or should I wait till next year? Would it be tough to transfer back in?</p>
<p>But what I’m mainly concerned about if I might be wasting time. I wanted to go into pharmacy school, but I really want to be able to learn and succeed, not rush for the midterms. One thing I’m worried about is that if most of these community college courses are not transferable, and therefore I would have to take the classes again and pay more money, thus leading to a greater private loan…</p>
<p>Going to community college would not be a waste of time and might be the best thing for you right now. If you work with an adviser at the community college, s/he can help you choose classes that will set you up nicely to transfer back to a four-year school and/or pre-pharmacy/pharmacy program. Also, depending on the state, there may be articulation agreements between the community colleges and the state’s four-years schools that would make transferring your credits very easy.</p>
<p>The classes you will need to get into a pharmacy program will be quite demanding and it does not sound like U of W is a good fit for you right now. Depending on the quality of the community college, you may get more attention at a community college. You can get all your intro level biology and chemistry classes done at the community college and then transfer. As long as you have good grades, transferring to a four-year school is not a particularly big deal. However, pharmacy programs are very competitive to get into, so make sure you get top-notch grades to make you a viable candidate. </p>
<p>Oh yeah. Thanks. I was also worried about that they might also look like I’m taking the “easier” path, like how people would take “regular classes” instead of honors and AP classes in high school.</p>
<p>For the first part of your statement, I would say: don’t worry about it. Yes, you will generally get a higher GPA in community college given the same amount of effort but unless you’re applying to the very best research schools (where solely getting a 4.0 in community college just ain’t enough), it’s not really an issue. </p>
<p>I personally used <a href=“http://www.transfer.org/”>www.transfer.org; pretty heavily. (Transferred from an Illinois community college to UIUC) But you’re in the right mindset: you have to be very careful with class selection and preferably work directly with an adviser from your target school(s) to make sure the classes do in fact transfer. </p>