<p>I just got a text today from buddies of mine, one attending UC Berkeley and other one attending UCLA. They know I applied to schools for transfer this year, so I think they called to see if I did apply to UCLA and Berkeley.. They feel as if I undercut myself by attending a JC. Even in HS it was so difficult for them to grasp that I was attending a CC instead of UCI, UCR, or even SDSU. I applied to UCSD, CAL, and UCLA but was rejected from all three. I mean my scores weren't bad at all, 3.8 GPA, around 1800 on SAT. But till this day, every time I say I'm attending a JC people give me this stare like, "you, but I thought you were smart.. what happened".. It kills because some of the people who say that attended way more inferior school that I was accepted to.. Why don't some people understand that a JC is indeed a viable option for people who need it, and also some who want to achieve other endeavors.. I was really bad my freshmen year in JC, that i was even scared to say I came from a certain HS since they would start the whole, what happened convo. So anybody with the same experience? What is wrong with a JC??</p>
<p>It’s just prejudice, largely class prejudice, with the idea JC/CC only for working class. Try not to let it get you down. If you go on to finish at a 4-year school, no one will think twice about where you started anyway. I think more and more people will be doing it just from the cost advantages.</p>
<p>CCC’s are poorly funded, less prestigious, have less-famous teachers, and have a relatively high population of lazy people/people with extenuating circumstances that make academic success extremely difficult. These factors give CCC’s a bad reputation, a reputation that people automatically assume speaks to your abilities and potential.</p>
<p>The amount of people who turn down better options (UCI, sjsu, etc.) for CCC is relatively small, so people don’t automatically associate you with this group. Even if they do, people often have difficulty handling the concept of denying short-term gratification in exchange for long-term, though risky, benefit. </p>
<p>I come from a similar situation as you. 1950 SAT, over 2000 superscored, weighted 4.0 HS GPA. Didn’t get into the top 3, went for CCC. I’ve taken a lot of crap over the years, but if i end up at Berkeley then it’ll all be worth it. Also, I’ve done better than many of my friends who went straight through; some of them are a little jealous.</p>
<p>I’m laughing at the people that thought they were so smart going to CSUN straight out of HS. Looks like a lot of us will be the last ones laughing.</p>
<p>i got a 2260 and a 4.3 and went with the CCC route. Funny thing is i wrote my personal statement on this topic and included the phrase “negatve stigma” at least once. Hopefully i get into berkeley as a 1 year transfer and everyone who gives me crap can eff off.</p>
<p>4.3? Jesus, might as well have slacked off for 4 years if you knew you were gonna go to a CC.</p>
<p>i guess for some the idea of going to a cc is bad, but i don’t see anything wrong with it, i found it to be a pretty good 3 year granted i took a year longer than normal. I got adjusted to how things should work out and what i can do. Every year though some of my friends who went to the uc’s dropped out and went to a cc instead.</p>
<p>Admission standards to many CC’s are nonexistent so really anyone is able to attend them. This allows for many students who are either not prepared well enough or motivated enough to be in college. Of course, there are also many high-achieving and hardworking students (especially on this forum) who happen to be at CC for whatever reason. It’s difficult to differentiate these two types of students based solely on the school so because of this (and other reasons like grade inflation, low budgets, etc.) a negative social stigma develops.</p>
<p>Anyone I have met who has been to CC or who is familiar with it has always been positive about it though. There are those types who can act like snobs about it but those people should be ignored-- they just don’t know what we do.</p>
<p>@bear: holy cow a 4.3 and 2260… man you definately hauled a** in HS. I only know one other guy in my HA who attend a JC with similar stats and he was a rebel/hippie type that lived on his own after junior year and wasn’t on good term with his fam. Hey I wish all of you best of luck in your future… hopefully cal sees something in me this time around lol</p>
<p>@bear: holy cow a 4.3 and 2260… man you definately hauled a** in HS. I only know one other guy in my HA who attend a JC with similar stats and he was a rebel/hippie type that lived on his own after junior year and wasn’t on good term with his fam. </p>
<p>Btw anyone planning on touring Berkeley in the fall. I’ve never been there and I definately don’t want to attend a school just for the name.</p>
<p>^ I went up there over Vet’s Day weekend, just a month ago or so.</p>
<p>The city was pretty cool. There are some steep areas, and if you’re like me and not in super super good shape you’ll get a good workout just walking around.</p>
<p>There are tons of places to get great food. I was staying with a high school friend who goes there, and we went to an Indian place the first night but I can’t remember the name (it was good). Hm. We went to this place called IB’s where the burgers are great. The garlic fries I ordered were a mistake, but I don’t regret getting food there!</p>
<p>The city’s pretty dirty, which could be a turn-off, or possibly turn-on, depending on the kind of person you are. I remember walking to the BART station the morning I was flying home, and it was sort of creepy/surreal: For a few blocks I saw more homeless than I’d ever seen in one place, most of them tucked beneath storefront awnings in their ratty sleeping bags, and some of the shambling around the city crazed – babbling, speaking in tongues, waving their arms around, or just looking creepy as hell.</p>
<p>The campus is gigantic, compared to my CC at least, and that’s sort of saying something, since my CC’s pretty big (I think). You should have a good time, unless you’re not into greasy food, homeless people, or walking around.</p>
<p>Oh, and if you know anyone there, you should stay and party, and hit up Late Night. Pretty good drunk food, served from like 10pm - 2am, I think.</p>
<p>Many of us who were applying to college out of high school on the East coast in the 1970s and 1980s are still learning what the role of community colleges is in California in the 21st century. To us, community college was for the kids who did not get into four year colleges and as a result were attending a CC to learn a trade. It was not really seen as a stepping stone to getting a four year degree and California’s policy of giving CCC students priority in admissions to UC and CSU over transfer applicants from other four colleges is very counter-intuitive.</p>
<p>California is probably unique in making community colleges an integral part of its higher education system and not an educational backwater. </p>
<p>As an earlier poster remarked, CCCs have no admission standards and that could be one reason why they do not get more respect. While there are strong highly motivated students like most of the posters on this forum who work hard to put themselves in a position to go to a four year school, there are a lot of students in CCCs who do not seem to be accomplishing much of anything as less than 25% of high school graduates who enroll in a CCC eventually succeed in transferring to a UC or a CSU.</p>
<p>Community college is a blast man. Most of that stuff students hate about it, is the stuff I’m gonna miss a lot. You’re around real people. It’s harder to make good friends b/c everyone’s so busy with their own **** but the friends you do make can last a lifetime (hopefully mine do). </p>
<p>I would recommend anyone to do their first 2 years here, my kids even.</p>
<p>^Its the opposite for me, I dislike being in a CC after only one quarter.
Its much easier to get into the UC’s from CCC than high school. Like UCSD had a 3.0 tag earlier, where high schoolers who had over 4.0 weighted were rejected. The general ed classes are mostly a joke in difficulty(theres a community college near my former high school, like a 10 min walk, so people often took classes there, so the easiness of the ge gives them the impression of cc being easy), and the math department at my high school was harder than most of the teachers at community college, though the physics department is actually much harder than my hs. So some people might see it as an easy way out.</p>
<p>community colleges have open admissions and thus no prestige. there is nothing sinister about attending a community college, but nor is it an achievement. so i imagine the negative stigma is derived from the highly-respected UC schools that overshadow and shame the multitude of community colleges. </p>
<p>just read these forums. people chancing each other, begging for a way out. IMO the negativity is generated mostly by CC students themselves, university students honestly couldn’t care less about the welfare of us. </p>
<p>everyone that i know who applied for transfer this fall hates community college. classes are not very challenging, the student population is much older than you, teachers are total tyrants and there is no system to petition or list grievances. that’s what you get for paying 26 dollars a unit.</p>
<p>What do you dislike about it? That it’s easier? That I understand, although very often it’s not true anymore. Many teachers at my college have taught at universities and the real difference is that you’re not in a class of 1,000 people.</p>
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<p>Other states have apparently well worn transfer paths from community college to state university:</p>
<p>Michigan: [Community</a> College Students | University of Michigan Office of Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.umich.edu/drupal/community-college-students]Community”>http://www.admissions.umich.edu/drupal/community-college-students)
Texas: [Transfer</a> Resources | Be a Longhorn](<a href=“http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/transfer/admission/factors/transfer-resources]Transfer”>http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/transfer/admission/factors/transfer-resources)
Virginia: [Transfer</a> Students, Undergraduate Admission, U.Va.](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/transfer.html]Transfer”>http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/transfer.html)</p>
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<p>There may be the idea that a motivated, transfer-ready CCC student needs to transfer to a four year school to complete his/her bachelor’s degree, while a student already at a four year school is likely to be able to remain where s/he is and complete his/her bachelor’s degree there.</p>
<p>It’s only logical for a CCC transfer to get priority. I’m pretty tired of all these people from 4 year schools trying to transfer out. I mean why go there in the first place and whine at the people whose sole intention was to transfer to a 4 year in the 1st place.</p>
<p>I did the CC thing 'cause I was hella poor. I got into UCs out of HS, and just couldn’t afford to not work full time. Life happens, and I think that the bad rap CC students get is somewhat undeserved. Sure, there are plenty of slackers at CC, but there’s slackers everywhere, man. I’ve also met some pretty brilliant kids who I’m sure will go on to do great things. I think it’s great that the UC system allows them the chance to do it.</p>
<p>I do like the smaller classes in CCC’s, but the whole attendance policy is pretty annoying. I’m fine with the difficulty level; I like the easy GE classes but I’m choosing the difficult teachers for my major related courses so I’ll be prepared by the time I transfer,so I don’t have a problem with that.
My main problem is with the social life; its really dull at community college even after clubs and etc. you have to push more to make friends than you’d have to at an actual university; I’ve seen this myself when I’ve visited some of my friends at UC’s.</p>