Is Community College Really Easy?

That is funny because that was what I thought when I read his post. It reminds me of a conversation I had with a classmate right before I graduated high school.

 

Community college is terrible. Don't go, unless you have no other options. It is damn near impossible to transfer from a CC to a top school. And why would they take you over a transfer from another 4 year college? I went to a top 15 school and my graduating class was pretty small and everyone kinda knew of each other. No one I knew came from a community college. No one.

 

If you got into LSU and A+M, I don't understand what your problem is. So you didn't get into Rice or Emory or Harvard. Does that make you any less of a person? Will graduating from A+M make your life suck versus graduating from UVA? I don't really get it -- if you didn't get in now, you'll have a tough time transferring no matter where you go, but from community college you probably have absolutely no shot in hell. After community college, you could transfer to the schools you already got into . . .

College is what YOU make of it. Your school doesn't make you who you are. You can have a better education at A+M than you would get at MIT, if you put forth the effort at A+M. It's not about where you go as much as what you do there. And going to a major university, you'll be in a great spot for top-tier grad schools, top-tier business schools, and great internships. IMO, grad school is where it can be more valuable going to a top-tier university in your field, because you'll have more resources for research grants, access to more accomplished professors, and so on. Focus on doing well in undergrad, and you'll get into a good grad school.

Be happy that you've got the opportunity to go to a very good school (A+M and LSU are both excellent universities), and you've got some scholarships. You're obviously bright, and you should focus on getting as much out of the college experience as you can. I worked at a High School for four years after college, and while I understand students' desire to get into a top 25 university, I never could fully understand why some people make it out to be life or death. Sure, it would be nice to brag to your friends that you got into a top 25 school, but most of that allure wears off after 1 semester of college, regardless of where you go. Then, you're just a student at the college you go to, and it's not so important to you whether your school is #42 or #35 on the US News rankings. Once you graduate High School and go to college, getting caught up in "making it into the top 25 university" will seem like a very distant memory.

edit: I just wanted to add this -- I think Texas is a very lucky state to have so many excellent schools. Texas A&M and UT are two of the best state schools in the country, and there are lots of other good schools in Texas (Rice, Trinity, StMU, SMU, Texas Tech, UH, UofD, etc.). You have an excellent opportunity to pay state tuition (very reasonable . . . even if you do loans the whole way through, you won't owe THAT much) and go to a great college -- don't pass that up.

 

I don't know what your situation is like but your parents aren't doing you much of a favor by wanting you to attend a CC. If money is an issue, you could take that scholarship to LSU and take out loans, it would put you in debt but you wouldn't be different than 95% of the kids coming out of college. Or like some other posters suggested, get your core classes out of the way and then transfer, but remember that there is no guarantee in that you'll get into the school you want.

 

As others have alluded to, going to a CC is NOT going to get you into a top 25 college.

My best guess is that if you didn't get into Harvard or Stanford out of high school, it just isn't going to happen for you.

LSU, UT, and A&M all have very active alumni organizations, and networking through them can and will land you a job. At most companies in Texas, there is a pretty good chance that whoever is interviewing you went to one of these schools, and anything that is common ground between you and the interviewer can only help you.

At UT and A&M, all those buildings on campus that are named after prople are named that way because somebody who went to the school became very wealthy and gave a ton of money to the university. The lives of these people were far from wrescked by going there instead of a "top" college.

At the end of the day, the only people who care about whether or not somebody went to a top college are the people who went to a top college.

 

Unless you live really close then you will have to drive which sucks. If they want you to go there does that mean $$$ is an issue? If it is then say bye bye to "top 25" schools.

If I was you I would tell them to suck it, go to TAMU on loans then send home your first semesters grades and ask for finance.

 

On second thought I think this whole thread is a joke. Anyone who was so concerned with a top school would not want CC on their resume.

 

well forget a top 25 school. med school is expensive as hell if not on scholarship or loan.

 

Interesting topic. I am a community college instructor. I believe in a lot of ways the quality of the education is better at community colleges. Classes are almost always small - usually 24 people max, occasionally a double section that can go up to 48. In a large university, you're in lecture halls with hundreds of people for your core courses and the professor will never know who you are. While this may seem advantageous at first, it makes it easy to get behind, or just try to slide through it anonymously. I don't require attendance, but most every day there is a quiz or an assignment due, so there is a reason to come. Besides, those who don't come get behind.

We have some people who are still in 13th grade and going to school because their parents make them. Those who are not doing their work aren't going to make it. They will drop the classes, or not pass. But bigger schools also have people learning the hard way. We also have a lot of hard-working good students, both the older ones and a lot of younger ones who would also do well at a four-year school (and probably will when they transfer).

At the college in San Antonio where I'm teaching right now, there are a lot of faculty with great teaching skills (from what I overhear of others' lectures coming from their classrooms), and nice science lab facilities. I have taught at some with bad lab facilities, though, so for anyone seriously into science I would recommend that you see where your labs are going to take place. You don't have the partying college culture, of course, but there are clubs and a student center, places to hang out and work out, and performing arts groups.

I'd say my course material is slightly easier than at four-year schools, but it's still hard, and the point is that you learn everything you need to. In science classes at big universities, they usually throw way more material at the students than anyone has time to study, everyone makes about 50% on the tests, and they grade on a curve. It creates lots of competition among the premeds, etc., but I'm not sure if the average student there really comes away with more knowledge for it. I try to focus on the basics. It probably does have to be easier to a certain extent because people will come in there with varying skill levels and backgrounds, but they are still intense courses where you learn a lot. Not babysitting, and not just a way to pay money and obtain credit.

If you want to transfer to: a top 25 school, forget it (Rice doesn't normally even accept community college credit), but on the other hand those schools are overrated anyway (and I went to one). They do impress people when you're looking for a job, but it's hardly the only way to get a job. To an otherwise decent school, make sure you get A's at the CC. Which should be doable if you're a competitive type of student. Just wanted to bring in some real life information about community college, as opposed to all the stereotypes.

-Dr. Isabel, Community College Instructor

 

Some sanity and inside knowledge injected into the thread.

Here's some more. Don't count on your high-paying job to get you out of debt immediately after school. I know a married couple, just out of school, both with Masters in Engineering, and both making 75K+.

Guess what? They are just getting by because of the house, the car, the baby, and the HUGE FREAKING DEBT LOAD from college.

If you do the two CC years and then transfer to LSU or whatever, you'll come out significantly ahead financially, and meet a broader range of people.

Personally, I went to DeVry, got done in 3 years, and had very little debt. I loved the small classes and access to the profs. Make sure you set a goal of being the big fish (or top student) in your small pond if you go to a CC. That will build good study habits for when you move to the next level.

 

It's not the school you go to it's about your drive and your desire to apply yourself after college with the degree you have.. I know two Harvard undergrad failures and one Emory undergrad failure all three have one thing in common, they don't like hard work, school was something to pass the time and they wanted that "top college" prestige while they were there IMO.. It's sad to see the people now, an easy high paying job didn't fall into their laps like they thought it would after graduating from a top school and now they are far from working their dream job.. A successful career is measured differently by everyone, but all of these people I speak of hate their job and don't get "paid"..

My point is don't think that you'll be setup for great life just because you attend a "top college"..

 

Is there a link to this information somewhere? What grad school is she going for? The thing is, I'm at UH Downtown and consider going to grad school at the central campus. I might have misread, but I thought they said if you have at least a 3.00 for last 60 hours that you'll have an automatic admission. Man, now I'm worried.

 

This is the worst excuse ever. Why should you sacrifice your undergrad education experience so your brother can get help for grad school? He's going to be a freaking doctor, he can afford to take out the loans for med school himself.

Personally, I think anyone who gets into a good university but chooses to go to community college is taking a huge gamble. For every one person who's had it work out, I know dozens that end up transferring to lesser schools than they got into beforehand, and spending 5 to 6 years graduating because of issues with major prereqs, classes not transferring, and dealing with the challenges of university life. The seamless transfer is a lie, it just almost never happens.

Bottom line, if you have the opportunity to go to a 4 year university, you should. Don't gamble your future by trying to game the system.

 

agreed, that's pretty sheisty of the parents if true. guess they made it pretty clear which son they like more.

 

I think if your mature enough to handle living on your own you should go to a 4 year. Ive seen alot of guys jus chase girls all day and end up moving back home or going to a juco.

 

student loans are cheaply financed for a reason -
so you can get an education, get a good job, and pay back the loans ASAP.

while at school, get paid summer internships, live in a cheap apartment complex, live within your means, work part-time, move home after graduation to save money (I did it. i financed my student loans for 20 years, and guess what, i've would up paying off 40% of my loans in one year of living at home.)

if you think once you graduate, you can go buy a huge house, two cars, and all kinds of nice furniture, plasma tvs, laptops, cameras, then maybe rethink priorities. loans are not a pain, they're part of the INVESTMENT that comes with school. believe it or not, top companies recruit from "target" schools only, and that typically means no CCs. You'll make a 10-15% salary bump over less regarded schools for the same job (if the job even considers any CC applicants), or possibly, you'll get better connections to alumni/recruiting companies. it's the way it is - top companies seriously do consider where you went to school.

 

I did CC as I didn't have any money and then went to UofH...I got loans and grants and paid off my student loans with my first bonus check...I don't think parents should be burdened with paying for college...Kids should foot the bill with parents assisting...Kids have to have a vested interest or they'll just piss it away, IMHO...

With that said, that's why I plan to do the same with my kids, unless they have a full ride...In general, it doesn't matter where you go the first couple of years...