I am deciding between going to UMASS Amherst and staying and going to community college. My situation is as follows:
-I have many AP credits so will only have to spend a year until being able to transfer instead of the typical 2 years
-I am pretty sure that if I go to community college I can transfer into a better academic school like UCLA or Berkeley
(I messed up in high school academically)
-I live in Los Angeles and Massachusetts is all the way across the country. I want to move out but Massachusetts seems a little much.
-UMass is a university i can see myself at. Its a good mix of social and academics, and the town of Amherst is a perfect college town.
-I want the college experience and I am afraid that transferring as a junior will jeopardize my experience. i.e. going into college as a junior and everyone knows each other already, missing my chance to get involved as a freshman, missing my chance to rush a fraternity
-I am really proud to have been accepted to college and want to rep UMass all the way, wear the jackets, go to games, and things of that nature.
-Financially: community college would cost maybe 2k plus money for rent for an apartment (probably 8k total) and id get a used car if i stay
UMass would cost me 34k
Money isn’t really an for my family, we aren’t rich and we aren’t poor, but id still like to save money if possible.
Summary:
I really want to go to college as a freshman and have the whole college experience, but the proximity of community college, the cost, and the possibility of transferring into a better college might outweigh the pros of going to university right away.
What would all of those AP credits get you at UMASS?? Could you graduate from there in only three years and save your family a year’s worth of tuition/fees/etc.
Did you not get in anywhere in the CA system except for a CC?
Some of the CA CCs have residence halls. If you aren’t committed to only attending the closest one, the CCs that have residence halls could be a good option for you.
Some things to consider about CC:
- You're admitted to UMass now. Take advantage of that. Once you decline to enroll at UMass in favor of your local CC (whether you communicate this to them directly, or simply fail to enroll in classes for the semester for which you were admitted), that admission offer goes away forever. When you're finished with CC, you'll have to start completely over and re-apply as a transfer student, the same way any other prospective CC student off the street would. Your previous admission MAY help, but most likely not. It is much more difficult to be admitted to a school as a transfer students, and more prestigious schools may not take xfer students at all (or, they may take only a very, VERY small handful).
- Those AP credits might be accepted by the CC, but may not xfer again.
- VERY few universities will offer housing to transfer students. Unless, as happymomof1 said, you live on campus at community college, you'll most likely have to commute to classes for your entire college career. This is harder than it sounds - especially since you'll have to wake up substantially earlier than you would on campus.
- You'll miss freshman orientation. Most schools do have a transfer orientation, but it's very limited and only goes over the basics of academic survival specific to your new school.
- College life will never be the same. Making friends as a transfer student will be incredibly difficult, relative to making friends as a freshman. Remember that you'll be entering in the middle of things instead of starting with everyone else.