<p>CC’s tend to serve several populations, all of whom are enrolled in the same classes. You have retired people (and sometimes working people in evening classes) who take classes for general interest. You have students who due to financial or other constraints intend on getting a 4-year degree but start in a CC. You have some students who finally got serious about education after HS when they realized they weren’t working hard enough in HS to get into a 4-year college, and our country can be proud that there’s a way for these people to get back on track (in contrast to a country like France, where a one-time placement exam in HS determines whether you can go to college, and which one).</p>
<p>And finally you have the students that people often have in mind when they 'dis CCs, those who maybe don’t belong there. These days its somewhat frowned upon to finish HS with no intention of college. Many parents expect their kids to go to college, even if Johnny has no interest in doing so. The CC plays the role of bridge between HS and the “real world” for these students, allowing them to at least give a show of attending college before quitting.</p>
<p>And there are lots of these students! Stats show that about 2/3 HS graduates enroll in college, and that 42% of all students in college are at 2-year schools. The outcome stats that follow kids over 6-8 years clearly show this “CC bridge-out effect”. In a US Gov’t study of traditional CC students (kids who went to CC right after HS) 63% reported they intended to eventually get a 4-year degree and another 18% said they were aiming for an AA degree. The outcome 8 years later? Out of those students, only 21% got a 4-year degree and another 18% got an AA. In other words, **81% of those entering a CC said they were going to get a degree but only 31% actually did<img src=“Source:%20The%20Education%20Statistics%20Quarterly:%20Vol.%205” alt="/b"></p>
<p>Peer effects play a big role in how people do in life; in HS, in college, at work. There is a fair amount of social pressure to conform to what the community standards are if you want to get along and make friends. So if only 1 out of 5 of the more traditional kids at a CC are going to end up with a 4-year degree, 80%+ of your peers are probably not going to be setting good examples of how to study, attitude towards academics, or be good to get together with to figure out homework and study. Ask too many questions in class, complain the instructor is going at too slow a pace or is just checking off the homework was turned in and not bothering to actually correct them, and someone is likely to set you straight as to school norms (perhaps with their fists).</p>
<p>Keep in mind, too, that CC students tend to come from the local area and live at home. So social opportunities are going to be different, as well as the sense of getting away from home and taking part in the college experience. And it can be harder to make friends at a new school after you xfer from a CC. When the frosh show up, everyone is in the same boat – nervous & knowing few if any people on campus. One of the easiest time to make new acquaintances (some of which will turn into friends) is the early period of frosh year. By junior year the continuing students have had a lot of their friends 2 years, sharing a history with them. It’s not impossible to make new friends as a junior xfer, and the more outgoing you are the easier it is, but a lot of xfers can tell you what it feels like to go into a classroom of 25 people and it seems like 24 of the other people in there already know each other.</p>
<p>Time is also compressed for CC xfer students. It might take a semester to really feel at home at a college – learning about the clubs, what leisure time activities are around, finding good hangouts, getting to know the rep of different classes and profs so you can make better choices when signing up for classes, just generally finding your way around. As a frosh you have 7 semesters after that to go; as a junior xfer you have 3. If you think about applying to grad school which is commonly done senior year, kids that have been at the school since frosh year have had 3 years to get to know faculty members for recs. Those interested in research have had 3 years to build up responsibilities in the lab so they have something significant to list.</p>
<p>I’m not saying not to do it; for many students a CC turns out to be the best choice for a number of reasons. And there are CC’s that do much better than average; often ones located near a major U since kids enroll their with intent to xfer such as Santa Monica CC near UCLA, or in suburbs with high average incomes such as DeAnza CC in Silicon Valley.</p>
Yes I think that it looks like SDSU is the best way to go.</p>