<p>I don’t understand. Why go strait to a four year university right after high school, when you can go to a community college? Doing this would save you plenty of money, anywhere from $40-100k, and gives you a much better chance to get into a highly prestigious college. First two years in college are filled with GED classes, so it’s not like you are getting a lesser education than someone who goes strait to a four year university. Besides the whole, “I’m going away for college, freshmen experience blah blah blah”, is it really worth the extra $40-100k? Doesn’t it make more sense to go to a cc? Especially with how the economy is going? So why do so many students go strait to a four year university after high school when cc is an option? I simply don’t understand this behavior.</p>
<p>You can’t just transfer anywhere from a community college, it just doesn’t work that way.
Not always, but many times courses at community colleges can be sub-standard and one may not have many intellectual-peers. Besides, I think it is healthy for students to get out of their parents house as soon as possible without having to worry about getting a full-time job just yet.</p>
<p>Oh, and many prestigious colleges are cheaper than a community college.</p>
<p>The education is definitely superior at a 4-year university. Community colleges just don’t have the resources to create opportunities.</p>
<p>Also, a VERY important factor is the student body. The people around us influence how we act and what we try to do. Going to a more elite college, you will be around more driven/intelligent people. At community college, there is less likely to be such an englightened student body.</p>
<p>Not only that, certain colleges want you to take a certain set of classes a certain year to be on the track for the major you want. Also, some college systems (ex: UC in cali) lets you spread out your GEs throughout your four-years. Going to a 4-Year in a science major is almost a must!</p>
<p>"I don’t understand. Why go strait to a four year university right after high school, when you can go to a community college? Doing this would save you plenty of money, anywhere from $40-100k, and gives you a much better chance to get into a highly prestigious college. First two years in college are filled with GED classes, so it’s not like you are getting a lesser education than someone who goes strait to a four year university. Besides the whole, “I’m going away for college, freshmen experience blah blah blah”, is it really worth the extra $40-100k? Doesn’t it make more sense to go to a cc? Especially with how the economy is going? So why do so many students go strait to a four year university after high school when cc is an option? I simply don’t understand this behavior.'</p>
<p>Many people do choose this option for the financial reasons. About a third eventually move on to 4-year programs. The other 2/3 don’t progress . They go straight back to the working world.</p>
<p>“and gives you a much better chance to get into a highly prestigious college.” If financial barriers exist, then one is forced to take this route of course. But if not, one’s best chances for competitive college admissions is as a HS senior. Plus, transfer slots to the “highly prestigious colleges” are very limited (e.g >30 for Yale each year)</p>
<p>I don’t understand what you mean by “1st 2 years filled with GED classes” Certainly many Comm Coll classes are remedial work for HS grads who can’t take Bachelors’ level assignments. These won’t be transferable if they ever move onto a 4 yr program either. This is one of the hazards of Comm Coll: you sign up for an English class and your classmates have barely graduated from HS. </p>
<p>“so it’s not like you are getting a lesser education than someone who goes strait (sic) to a four year university” Again, dependent on what you can schedule, you’re correct. However, you’re very mistaken if you think that the larger 4 yr colleges don’t have more to offer in terms of course selection, higher quality instructors and facilities resources.</p>
<p>“I simply don’t understand this behavior” Do you understand it better now? Or do you still just want to argue? Comm Colleges serve many many people. Including recent HS grads hoping to ease into college or save money. But it is a sacrifice because better opportunities exist out there as well.</p>
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<p>I’m pretty sure he or she means general education courses.</p>
<p>A lot of students don’t understand the prospect of spending money. It’s their parents’ money why should they care? When you are out on your own, paying bills and your own college expenses, you’ll realize how much more cost efficient going to a community college really is.</p>
<p>I don’t agree with inequality in the quality of education from a four year institution to a two year. I’ve attended both a CC and a university and the basics were fundamentally the same. There are equally as many intellectually challenged students in CC as there are in university. It just depends on the company you choose to keep.</p>
<p>If you want to get more intellectual stimulation from your school, take honors classes. It’s still cheaper then going to a four year university as a freshmen.</p>
<p>Not to mention transferring is much easier.</p>
<p>think the OP must be from CA or another state that has guaranteed admissions to 4 year colleges in their state system. This can indeed be a good way to save money with a guarantee of getting into a good 4 year college.</p>
<p>I find that many CA students are confused, however, not understanding that the advantage is only at state colleges in their state and a few private colleges that participate.</p>
<p>Not really for grad schools. No medical school will want to see that you took bio/chem at a community college.</p>
<p>"No medical school will want to see that you took bio/chem at a community college. " </p>
<p>Where on earth do you get nonsense like that? Lots of people who start out pre-Med at community colleges successfully transfer to 4 year institutions and then go on to med school. Not to mention all of the second career people who take their pre-Med courses at community colleges. General Bio, General Chem, and Organic Chem are pretty standard at the college level no matter where you take them.</p>
<p>I have lived and worked in three different states (Iowa, New York, Maryland). I have yet to see the kind of “bad” community college that people talk about here. Just exactly where are those schools anyway? Do they even exist at all?</p>
<p>From my own personal experience (two different community colleges in two different states, two private undergraduate colleges in two different states, one private university, one large public university, one nationally-ranked university, all in different states), I can tell you that there are truly inspired instructors at all levels, and in all kinds of institutions. There also are duds to be found everywhere. Even at the most famous-sounding places. I can also tell you that at my local community college, introductory classes are limited to 25 students because that is how many seats there are in the rooms. Many expensive private colleges can’t match that. Neither can most large universities.</p>
<p>Yes, if you live at home while taking your basic courses at the community college, you are missing out on some of the “college life”. Not everyone wants that. Frankly, not everyone can justify the expense. Dabearfan101, if you prefer to save your money and start at the community college, go ahead. You are going to be just fine. There are many routes to a happy, productive life. Lots of those routes start at a community college.</p>
<p>I disagree with the point that gen chem, gen bio and ochem are equivalent everywhere. They were dramatically different between professors at my institution, I can only imagine the variation between different programs and different course structures. I don’t have any experience with community colleges so I can’t say for sure that a community college wouldn’t have a decent setup for these courses, but then again, I have never seen an organic chemistry lab at a community college.</p>
<p>I COMPLETELY agree with dabearfan and vehicle. this is what I think, it all depends on the person. I also ask myself this same question so many teenagers, from high school love the fact of going straight to a 4 year school to live in a 4 year school just to get away and live the “college experience” who cares about that, the important thing I say is to save money, get an easier path with the 2 years at a CC, and then attempt applying for a transfer. Like in my case I always told myself that I could probably be the BEST student, get a 4.0, be one of the most brightest students in high school BUT IN NOW WAY, would i go straight and have to take the hassle of taking that SAT, ACT, so manyyy extracurriculars and even might get rejected absolutely ridiculous. I like to keep it calm, and still get a good education. Like different people have different aspects on what living the “college experience” is. some even think that having sex, one night stands drinking and partying is. truth to be told it is not. Having a party is great, but thats not the only thing you do in college, your their to get a very good education and maybe even meet the love of your life if you havent found it. even as a transfer student in my opinion if I have a chance to still save money by leaving with my parents and not live on a dorm I will be very very happy. Like I say, everyone is different and its cool to want to elave your home go straight to a 4 year school but the fact of the matter is that you will waste a lot of money, you will get very distracted, and classes are much harder. but then again its just my opinion.</p>
<p>Many students are taking the opportunity to trim costs by going to a community college as opposed to a LAC or university. I think higher SAT and ACT scoring high school students take a risk choosing a community college over a four year school.</p>
<p>Before I’d want to send my child to a community college (other than for dual-enrollment), though, I’d want to know what its mean SAT and ACT scores are and where that community college sends its graduates. My guess is that most community colleges send the overwhelming bulk of their graduates who continue to four-year college to the lower rungs of the state university system, few to the state’s flagship, and almost none to USNWR’s top 100 schools that are out-of-state.</p>
<p>I’d also want to know whether the four-year schools that my child would ultimately plan to attend would consider high school era standardized test scores when making transfer admissions decisions.</p>
<p>I am certain there are inspired and inspiring teachers at community colleges. In fact, professors at community colleges ought to be expected to place a great deal of emphasis on teaching as opposed to research. I am also certain that courses are not necessarily easier at community colleges than at four year schools.</p>
<p>My D’s English Comp teacher at the state college (a former community college that now offers a few four-year degrees) where she’s dual-enrolled spent the entire semester asserting that George Bush should be killed. My D was wise enough to play along and wrote the kinds of papers that would appeal to someone asserting the President should be killed. She got an “A.”</p>
<p>But my point is that if you run into one or more bad teachers at a community college and you get tagged with a less than stellar grade in a class or two, your task of getting in at the flagship university or a top-ranked out-of-state school is probably diminished considerably.</p>
<p>I understand transfer admissions decisions focus on community college GPA and may or may not take into account that student’s SAT or ACT scores. Thus, a student who has, say, a 2100 SAT score may not stand out among the hundreds of transfer applicants. Whereas, a high school senior with a 2100 will stand out at most colleges and universities making first-time-in-college admissions.</p>
<p>Having said all that, in some fields, it may not matter much. In others, though, it may matter a great deal.</p>
<p>Why go to a 4-year instead of thru a CC?</p>
<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! <a href=“Source:%20%5Burl=http://nces.ed.gov/programs/quarterly/vol_5/5_2/q4_1.asp]The%20Education%20Statistics%20Quarterly:%20Vol.%205[/url]”>/b</a></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>
<p>I have to agree with Mikemac</p>
<p>Community college provides opportunities for a larger range of people. CC virtually doesn’t require anything to attend. Anyone of any age can attend. There are old people, young people, there are disabled people, people who dropped out of high school or college… My cousin goes to a community college and she hates it. There are intellectually challenged people and people without common sense who she could not stand. They come to class, they eat in class, they don’t study, they sleep… They are in their 3rd year of intro english… That is not to say that there aren’t smart people in CCs. There are smart people without money who go to CCs, there are extremely smart international students who have trouble with english / money to go to a university. That is why there is community college. The range of people there is just much bigger. Without requirements, it’s hard to provide a program that fits everybody from different backgrounds. </p>
<p>At universities, the niche is smaller. People have similar stats because they went through the admission process. You have a smaller range of people at universities than CCs. Also, there are certain programs require you to enter at freshman year (for example 4 year research project, honors program, …) Transfer students will miss out because you have to apply as a freshman. The coursework aren’t the same either. If you go to a CC and transfer after 2 years, it’s harder to adjust to the new school and the coursework becomes tougher too because of the upper level courses. There’s a big jump, even people have been at universities find it hard to adjust from lower level to upper level courses.</p>
<p>Another thing is there are many smart kids who took college level courses in high school and had credits. What’s the point for them to go to CCs if there’s no course that they can take? What if they have full scholarship or money is not an issue? In that case, it would make sense to go straight to a 4 year university.</p>