PROMPT reply appreciated: CC in MA

<p>I need to decide upon a CC within the next few days.</p>

<p>I have exhaustively researching schools and I have come up with these there</p>

<p>Bunker Hill CC
Mass Bay CC
Middlesex CC</p>

<p>I intend to just get my A.S/A.A so I can transfer into a prestigious 4 year university. I am looking for a school with a strong science and business background.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Do sizes of schools matter? Would larger CCs be better because they take in more money, hence more power in education, offered majors, supplies, facilities etc?</p></li>
<li><p>Why are there no rankings for CCs? I cant tell if i am making the right decisions.</p></li>
<li><p>Does anyone have any experience with these schools? If so, please let me know!</p></li>
<li><p>If i am looking to transfer, does it really matter what community college I go to? Would this make a large difference, analogous to the transfer being made from an undergrad to a grad school?</p></li>
</ol>

<ol>
<li><p>You need to read the websites carefully to find out whether the CC offers the programs you want or not. A smaller place may have a special program that isn’t offered anywhere else in that state. </p></li>
<li><p>CCs aren’t ranked. They don’t compete for students the same way that other institutions do.</p></li>
<li><p>I don’t know these CCs, sorry.</p></li>
<li><p>Since you want to transfer to a 4-year college or university, you need to find out about articulation agreements between the CCs that you are looking at and 4-year institutions. If there is one in your major, then if you complete that particular program with a particular GPA you will be admitted directly into the third year at the cooperating college or university. You also need to read everything on the websites about the transfer offices. There should be information about the number of students who transferred to various different colleges and universities. There also should be links to information about transfer scholarships.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thank you for your quick reply happymomof1. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>I see that many of these schools offer a large “liberal arts and science” degrees. What do these include? Are they the usual sort of degrees 4 year universities offer in terms of humanities and general life and physical sciences?</p></li>
<li><p>I keep seeing these “allied health” programs and pre-nurse/health programs filled with hospital tech jobs and emergency medicine. 4-year univerisities do not usually teach these kind of courses and i was wondering how earning a degree in something as EMT, paramedic, or MRI technician [for example] would look for 4-year colleges as they dont quite seem to pertain to any 4-year university criteria.</p></li>
<li><p>If CCs arent ranked, they really are places I should go to on the grounds of what they can offer me academically huh? I guess some deep research would be necessary. I greatly thank you for #4 btw as it really gave me some good keywords for looking up and narrowing down my school search. Thank you!</p></li>
</ol>

<p>

Mostly courses that align to the general education requirements of UMass/state universities in Massachusetts. Depending on your desired concentration at the 4YC, you can take more science courses or more English courses.</p>

<p>

Pre-nursing or a 2 year nursing program, I would assume, would prepare you for a BSN nursing program at a 4 year college. EMT/paramedic/MRI technician are more vocational in nature and probably don’t pertain as much to 4 year universities and may not be the best options if you want to transfer to a 4 year university. They are very specialized career-oriented options.</p>

<p>

Yes! Go to the one nearest to you given all other things are equal (or within some threshold of inequality). This is important; a long commute means more stress and less time for studying or relaxing. Just look at the course offerings and compare them to the four year universities that you want to transfer to. As said earlier, look at articulation agreements/scholarships. Community college is a great way to save money and earn an education equivalent to the first two years at most universities for a fraction of the price. </p>

<p>4 year colleges don’t care about the prestige of community colleges since community colleges aren’t about prestige. Focus on getting a very strong GPA (try a 4.0; it might not be easy but is worth it) at the closest community college that meets your needs and you should be able to transfer to UMass/State Colleges/maybe even Ivies, perhaps with lots of scholarship $$$.</p>

<p>I do not know all that much about CC’s in MA, but but best of luck to you in your search. Bump.</p>