<p>Back in High School, I remember a lot of my graduating class settled with schools like UCR, CSF,CSLB, and ASU, over going to Community college. Many of them were good students, with aspirations of going to UCLA, stanford, USC and CAL, but instead of going to J.C to have a second chance at it, they just settled for their backups. </p>
<p>Why do you think high school students do this?
Do you feel Community college has some sort of stigma to it?
Discuss...</p>
<p>It has become a rite (and right) of passage to go away to school and get that traditional college campus experience. You don’t get that when you live at home and commute and for the vast majority of comm college kids, that is what you do. also because most community colleges are commuter schools, you don’t have the campus life and cohesion that a traditional college offers. This college experience including going away to school has become the holy grail.</p>
<p>This is not the situation for most of the world, Most college students go to local schools and live at home until they are able to afford their own place. And if they get a place near the college, it often is not a dorm. There isn’t that American Wonderland Campus. It’s also a myth that most American students get that sleep away college experience. But that is the word in many high schools and that is what kids want.</p>
<p>Comm college is the less expensive, easier to attain option, and we don’t tend to value what we can more easily get.</p>
<p>As for question one, because when their friends are “going off to college” they don’t want to be stuck at home. I think a lot of students also pick their backup schools because they have plans of going to grad school, and know that they have another chance at getting into their dream schools. honestly if i was straight out of highschool and i could choose between going to ucr right away, and going to say ucsd after 2-3 maybe 4 years id prob just go to ucr. It has been said in a lot of other threads that people who go to community college miss out on the “college experience” and it also leaves less time to do what you want. for example if you want to study abroad as a transfer, its a lot harder to fit it in. You also have to think about the fact that while it may be your dream school, you will only be at it for 2 years. thats my opinion on the matter.</p>
<p>If you were able to go to your dream school the first chance you had, you would. Community college is for most people a second chance, and people view that as some sort of a stigma. Even though there may be a variety of reasons to why one would attend a community college.</p>
<p>Being stuck at home while everyone goes away and losing out on the college experience = :(</p>
<p>But I think the biggest reason is the enormous stigma. I was very aware of it when I was in high school and it took me around a year to get (mostly) over it. But feeling bad cost me–I signed up late and couldn’t get good classes in the beginning or join the honors program, didn’t look into TAP, etc. Now, I’m more used to the cc scene. I have met amazing teachers and many intelligent peers, and I know cc isn’t as bad as people think it is. </p>
<p>Of course, because the stigma exists, I do find it hard admitting to people that I attend a community college. </p>
<p>A lot of parents are very aware of the stigma, but they are misinformed, as are their children. I’ve seen a lot of people going to Riverside, Merced, and Santa Cruz because they didn’t get in anywhere else. I’m not saying these are bad schools–it’s just that these people have settled because they/their parents think cc is worse.</p>
<p>*Keyword: settled. I’m talking about people who wanted Berkeley, LA, etc. I’m not talking about people who wanted to go to R/M/SC.</p>
<p>I think high school students should be better informed by their schools. I knew about community college, but I don’t remember hearing anything about special programs, much less TAP or TAG. It’s more expensive to attend a cc now, but it’s still cheaper than settling for a UC you don’t really want.</p>
<p>I would put blame on most high school counselors too. I remember telling mine that I planned to go to community college so that I could eventually transfer, but she responded with, “Why? With your grades, you could probably get into CSUMB, CSULB, etc.”</p>
<p>I suspect high school counselors have some incentive to send students to four-year schools, much as CCCs have an incentive to get students to graduate or earn a certificate of some kind. </p>
<p>My CCC counselor insisted I let them give me a “general education certificate.” All it does is signify that I completed IGETC. Apparently it’s like those vocational certificates CCCs issue, but for transfer students not earning an AA. CCCs want to boost the number of students leaving with certificates or degrees–it’s something like 25% right now.</p>
<p>So, I’d bet high schools are ranked based on how many graduates attend four-year colleges… Maybe a NCLB thing?</p>
<p>Any who,this has been a quite debatable argument among college students.I say this because,unless I found this website,I will probably be the most depress person in community college and anybody that goes there.I hate it CC for a year and a half.While some of the people that I had somewhat of a frienship in HS went to Berkeley,Stanford,and Yale, I thought to myself that why am I wasting my time at a CC.But as I found my passion for school,CC wasn’t bad as it is.I learned a lot in the many science and psychology courses courses I took.In my CC,a private Christian university is located near and I know a few who transfer within a year so they could leave CC ASAP.As I would later found out,that university is extremely expensive.I thought to myself,"why on Earth will I transfer next door to pay $30,000 a year?"A few CSU’s are located within my area and a majority of the HS that are college students also go there.While CSU’s are not bad,my motivation to go to a UC emerged when I met really bright people.They didn’t care that they are at CC as long as they succeed,which boy they did.And so,it does bug me that people ask which college I go to but they’re disappointment turns into awe as I tell them I am a science major,especially cuz I’m Mexican.I guess what keeps me going here at a CC is that I’m not a lazy slob that post in their status in Facebook “YEE,MAKING THAT MONEEEY$$$” when they’re really just working at some minimum wage job or be someone who haven’t done anything since HS graduation.I feel like going to my old HS and tell them they can go to Cal,LA,or any UC of their choice at a CC instead of going to ITT Tech or some Midwest university like some of my friedns did.California has by far the best public education across the States and possibly the world,so it should be no brainer that wth hard work and time,a UC is right in their hands.</p>
<p>My high school counselors had such a distraught/disappointed look on their face when I told them I wasn’t going to SF State. It’s not a bad school but my sister was already there and I didn’t want to go there partly bc of that. The thing that got me looking forward to going to cc was the TAG agreements. HS counselors don’t talk about that stuff. People don’t know what they don’t know, so until they find out the opportunities available at cc (once you dig some of them out) it could be a great start to your academic career.</p>
<p>My analogy of how high schoolers/ people who go to four years view Community college is that ugly old woman that lives across the street that no body bothers to get to know. you know, the crazy one who keeps a bunch of cats. And then, one day you decide to help her clean out her garage or something and get to know her, and in turn find out that shes got a hot granddaugther!!
Grandson for us girls*</p>
<p>well im a highschool senior so here is my perspective:</p>
<p>you don’t get the “college experience” at a community college. you go to class, and then go home. it is probably 10x more difficult to establish close friendships, and it would be a lot harder to find out about parties and have a good social life. keep in mind that a lot of HS kids see college as an escape from their parents, and they want to let loose and just have a good time, at CC this really isnt possible. also, like someone else said, there is a bad stigma attached to it. a lot of kids think that only stupid people go to community college, and the education you receive is not as good as a 4 year university (which is probably a legitimate concern).
most high school students don’t really think of it in financial terms, that they would be saving thousands of dollars by going to a CC. they want to have a good time at a 4 year university and experience college, and they do not want to feel like they are missing out, even if it is significantly more expensive.
also, having a lot of community college courses on your transcript does not look very good when you are applying to graduate schools.</p>
<p>Cabrillo has been good to me. I got into UCSC back in 2002 from high school, then I promptly became a drug addict and had my acceptance rescinded shortly after graduation. In the years that followed, I had a lot of growing up to do, some real world **** to deal with, and I did. I changed my major, found what my passion really was, and have gone in that direction. Not only has CCC been cheaper, but it gave me a chance to apply what I’ve learned since high school, and get much better grades to go to a school I actually want to go to, instead of the only one that accepted me. I didn’t even apply to UCSC this time, because growing up in this town has led me to need a change. I’m hoping for Berkeley or UCLA, and its actually possible now, whereas before, 10 years ago, it was impossible. I’m convinced that unless you have a 4.0 in HS, this route is the best one.</p>