Should I get my AA degree then transfer or should I transfer after 1 year?

<p>Right now I'm at a community college in FL and I just finished my first semester with a 4.0.I have sevreal AP credits from HS so those helped me get ahead and I already finished all my english requirements. I'm doing good academically and plan to maintain my current GPA.</p>

<p>I'm applying to the University of Central Florida for the fall and plan to leave CC after 1 year but I was wondering if I'm better off just staying at CC for 2 years, getting my AA and then transferring to a better school like University of Florida. I'm majoring in Civil engineering and ultimately plan to go to Georgia tech or MIT for graduate school.</p>

<p>What should I do? If i graduate from CC with a 3.8-4.0 GPA does that actually get me anywhere? or am I better off transferring to a 4 year university after 1 year.</p>

<p>I really want to go to MIT for graduate school and I'm tremendously motivated but I'm not sure if going to CC for 2 years looks bad compared to actually being at a 4 yr university.</p>

<p>I would greatly appreciate some advice. Thank you</p>

<p>Some of your questions are probably answered in the long thread titled “Transfer Admissions 101” that is at the top of the Transfer Forum. To find that forum, go to the main page where all of the forums are listed, and scroll down.</p>

<p>If you know where you plan to transfer, set up an appointment with the transfer advisor at your CC, so that you can discuss your options. If your CC has formal articulation agreements for your major with any universities, usually it is better to complete the full AA or AS.</p>

<p>Lots of people end up in top graduate schools who start out at community colleges. Don’t worry about that. If you find that you need to stay at your CC for two full years, it can still work out just fine.</p>

<p>For the possible second year at CC, could you fill your schedule with major preparation courses and breadth courses that you would otherwise have to take (more expensively) at a four year school? Or would it mostly be courses that end up being extra electives that you would otherwise not bother taking?</p>

<p>You can compare what you have taken or could take with the course plans here:
<a href=“http://catalog.sdes.ucf.edu/academic_programs/pdf/Civil_Engineering_BSCE.pdf[/url]”>http://catalog.sdes.ucf.edu/academic_programs/pdf/Civil_Engineering_BSCE.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
[Civil</a> and Coastal Engineering](<a href=“http://www.ce.ufl.edu/ugcoursesrev2012-2013.html]Civil”>http://www.ce.ufl.edu/ugcoursesrev2012-2013.html)</p>

<p>Note that many four year schools prefer to take transfers at the junior level (i.e. having completed the freshman and sophomore level courses already) as opposed to the sophomore level (i.e. having completed only the freshman level courses already).</p>

<p>Ugh. I know I am probably going to be attacked here, but the more courses you can do at a four year vs a two year the better. </p>

<p>I work at a state four college in NY. The transfer ( from CC’s) students often have a very difficult time their first semester or year. The four year schools are more rigorous. And then you want to go to MIT or Georgia Tech? </p>

<p>It is not just about money. It is about being prepared. A CC, in my experience, will not prepare you for the schools you aspire to.</p>