2 years community college transfer such a good option?

[UncleWai]

the people I know who are in community colleges all got into good schools,
uiuc, ucb, ucla, without even having a 4.0gpa in the two community collge years.
The grading in the community colleges is tediously loose. They could always use past essays and then change the name to turn in.
It seems it's so much easier than applying straight from highschool.
Any thoughs?

 

[faenix]

That's an extra two years though with no guarantee. Can you do that?

 

[FleshLight]

It's cheaper and easier but you'll be missing out on supposedly the best year of your life (where you get laid).

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: FleshLight
It's cheaper and easier but you'll be missing out on supposedly the best year of your life (where you get laid).

lol, a guy named "Fleshlight" giving advice about getting laid.

 

[StormRider]

One of my best students when I was a TA did that. He went to community college first and then transferred to Maryland. Prior to that, I used to think students who go to community college weren't very bright but now I think it's a good choice for those with limited funds or late academic bloomers.

 

[Schrodinger]

Originally posted by: StormRider
One of my best students when I was a TA did that. He went to community college first and then transferred to Maryland. Prior to that, I used to think students who go to community college weren't very bright but now I think it's a good choice for those with limited funds or late academic bloomers.

"Late academic bloomers" is putting it politely.

I dropped out of high school and later tried to apply as a mature student to a big name university. They all turned me down.

So I went to a somewhat respected community college (where they have really lax admission requirements) and just recently graduated with a 3.95.

I've already been accepted to one university and waiting to hear from the other. I had several other friends at college do the same thing (and they only had around 3.5-3.6)

If you goofed up in high school, community college is a great place to make up for it and display your potential...

Oh and as UncleWai said, community college grading is a JOKE. I skipped half my lectures and still came out fine heh.

 

[SWScorch]

I cannot recommend a community college to anyone. I attended one for two years and I am now in a four-year school. Because the CC didn't offer the courses I needed at times I could take them and because not all of the credits transferred, I now have to either stay an extra semester here or take summer classes. My CC screwed me over, as well as everyone else I know who went to a CC. It may seem like a good idea, but it just makes for more hassle and in the end, you don't save any money. Plus, you only have two years at the CC and the four-year school, so you make some friends and then have to say goodbye and never see them again after only two years. It sucks.

 

[PhaZe]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: FleshLight
It's cheaper and easier but you'll be missing out on supposedly the best year of your life (where you get laid).

lol, a guy named "Fleshlight" giving advice about getting laid.

HAHAH

ouch

 

[IndieSnob]

It's a great option for some, especially for economic reasons or for those going later in their life (just as StormRider previously stated)

I barely graduated high-school (2.1 gpa), and figured I didn't need anything past a high school diploma. Fast forward to the age of 27, and I decided to go to a community college.
I'm halfway through my 3rd quarter there, and carrying a 4.0. Sure, I suppose it's easier then a 4 year Uni, but you still have to work your ass off. Beleive me, I've seen people who come into
my school thinking they can slack, and they end up with awful grades. I've had alot of friends with 3.2 gpa's and up transfer into places like U Of Washington, WSU, Seattle U, and other top universities in WA State.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: SWScorch
I cannot recommend a community college to anyone. I attended one for two years and I am now in a four-year school. Because the CC didn't offer the courses I needed at times I could take them and because not all of the credits transferred, I now have to either stay an extra semester here or take summer classes. My CC screwed me over, as well as everyone else I know who went to a CC. It may seem like a good idea, but it just makes for more hassle and in the end, you don't save any money. Plus, you only have two years at the CC and the four-year school, so you make some friends and then have to say goodbye and never see them again after only two years. It sucks.

Its not the CC responsibility to make sure the credits transfer. It is your responsibility to research and take the classes that you know will transfer over to the schools you are looking at.

 

[IndieSnob]

Originally posted by: SWScorch
I cannot recommend a community college to anyone. I attended one for two years and I am now in a four-year school. Because the CC didn't offer the courses I needed at times I could take them and because not all of the credits transferred, I now have to either stay an extra semester here or take summer classes. My CC screwed me over, as well as everyone else I know who went to a CC. It may seem like a good idea, but it just makes for more hassle and in the end, you don't save any money. Plus, you only have two years at the CC and the four-year school, so you make some friends and then have to say goodbye and never see them again after only two years. It sucks.

Well to be fair, did your CC and Uni have a DTA (Direct Transfer Agreement)? I've found that DTA's most of the time protect against headaches like the one you mention. Without DTA's, when the Uni changes requirements, the CC's aren't informed, and you end up taking classes you don't need, instead of the ones you need.

 

[PhaZe]

Originally posted by: SWScorch
I cannot recommend a community college to anyone. I attended one for two years and I am now in a four-year school. Because the CC didn't offer the courses I needed at times I could take them and because not all of the credits transferred, I now have to either stay an extra semester here or take summer classes. My CC screwed me over, as well as everyone else I know who went to a CC. It may seem like a good idea, but it just makes for more hassle and in the end, you don't save any money. Plus, you only have two years at the CC and the four-year school, so you make some friends and then have to say goodbye and never see them again after only two years. It sucks.

that is why you do your homework before you decide to go to the community college. Here, my community college AND the university have a transfer guide PER major. I'm doing computer engineer and they have a list at what I can take at my community college that will transfer. Yea you might not get every single class transfer, but people who don't have the money or live far from the university and can't afford to move, CC is a good option, you just have to take what you know will transfer. Talk to counselors on both campuses. that is the only way to know for sure.

For example, as an engineer I have to take Chemistry for Engineers at the university, which is not offered by any community college. but if I take chemistry 1 and 2 at CC, they will accept those two classes in place for that 1 class at the university. Same with Engineering math, if I take Differential equations and Linear algebra at CC, they will take both of those classes for the one engineering math course (comes after cal 3).

As far as quality of the classes go, it all boils down to the professor. I've had friends who have enrolled in several universities in the state of texas. You can't really compare one certain class at one university to the same class at another university.

My close friend went to UT for his first year, CS major. For his first year math he had to take cal 1 and he had a professor who just threw the theorums on the board, no examples. On top of that he was foriegn so he had a thick accent. We ended up in the same cal 1 class at CC where we had a teacher who had actually tought HS math before receiving her masters to be able to teach at college level. she was very good and we both did very well in that class because she had a talent for explaining tough material.

 

[SWScorch]

Originally posted by: BigJ

Its not the CC responsibility to make sure the credits transfer. It is your responsibility to research and take the classes that you know will transfer over to the schools you are looking at.

Very true, but who goes to a CC knowing full well what college they want to transfer to? I had a pretty good idea, but that changed. As IndieSnob says, DTAs are nice, but you never know that you'll still want to go to a college that has a DTA with the CC. The college that I'm at right now, I never even heard of it until my second year at my CC. It was never an option, and the colleges I was considering turned out to not be the best options for me.

 

[cy7878]

good option for sure.


Just remember most people who go to Harvard and Yale end up working the same jobs as the guys that went to State U.

I know University of California has agreements with local CCs to accept junior transfers with 3.0 and above without needing SAT scores to replace all the students that dropped out/flunked out/partied out of their campuses during the first 2 years.

 

[IndieSnob]

Originally posted by: PhaZe

Originally posted by: SWScorch
I cannot recommend a community college to anyone. I attended one for two years and I am now in a four-year school. Because the CC didn't offer the courses I needed at times I could take them and because not all of the credits transferred, I now have to either stay an extra semester here or take summer classes. My CC screwed me over, as well as everyone else I know who went to a CC. It may seem like a good idea, but it just makes for more hassle and in the end, you don't save any money. Plus, you only have two years at the CC and the four-year school, so you make some friends and then have to say goodbye and never see them again after only two years. It sucks.

that is why you do your homework before you decide to go to the community college. Here, my community college AND the university have a transfer guide PER major. I'm doing computer engineer and they have a list at what I can take at my community college that will transfer. Yea you might not get every single class transfer, but people who don't have the money or live far from the university and can't afford to move, CC is a good option, you just have to take what you know will transfer. Talk to counselors on both campuses. that is the only way to know for sure.

For example, as an engineer I have to take Chemistry for Engineers at the university, which is not offered by any community college. but if I take chemistry 1 and 2 at CC, they will accept those two classes in place for that 1 class at the university. Same with Engineering math, if I take Differential equations and Linear algebra at CC, they will take both of those classes for the one engineering math course (comes after cal 3).

As far as quality of the classes go, it all boils down to the professor. I've had friends who have enrolled in several universities in the state of texas. You can't really compare one certain class at one university to the same class at another university.

My close friend went to UT for his first year, CS major. For his first year math he had to take cal 1 and he had a professor who just threw the theorums on the board, no examples. On top of that he was foriegn so he had a thick accent. We ended up in the same cal 1 class at CC where we had a teacher who had actually tought HS math before receiving her masters to be able to teach at college level. she was very good and we both did very well in that class because she had a talent for explaining tough material.

Phaze, you make a great point also. For those transitioning into college, which enviroment would you rather have: A class with 350 students with real connection with your teachers, or a CC with classes of 30 students where teachers are available for help. It's really helped me.

 

[Yossarian]

if the credits are transferrable and you can get the classes you want, it is definitely the least expensive path to a degree at a good school

 

[nageov3t]

I think it's a good option if you don't mind wasting two years of your life.

 

[Otaking]

It really depends on how you feel on what you want to do with your life.

I went straight to college (UT-Austin) after high school, and after 8 years, I'm finally going to graduate. But not after really understanding what my strengths and weaknesses were.

Part of the reason I dropped out for 5 years after 2 years of college was because I didn't know wtf i wanted to do. Up to date, I've changed my major 5 times between 4 different departments.

Looking back, I wish I had:

A) Attended Duke/UPenn/CMU, three schools I got into but was too stupid to go cuz all my friends went to UT-Austin.
B) Spent some time at CC assessing my character.
C) Went straight to work and get rich before dot com ended.

In all fairness, you shouldn't kick yourself like I do. For any choice, always Think, Act, and Answer. Don't spend too much time regretting things you did, and just make the best of what you have.

 

[UncleWai]

I started this thread because I see a real inbalance between community college grading and university grading. I know a person who is in economic major transfered from a CC with a 4.0gpa. Since then, the person's GPA is below 3.0.

It just kinda piss me off that I am working my ass in UW and be stucked in this university when the people in community college can get As handed to them and send them to Uc berkeley.

 

[cy7878]

Originally posted by: UncleWai
I started this thread because I see a real inbalance between community college grading and university grading. I know a person who is in economic major transfered from a CC with a 4.0gpa. Since then, the person's GPA is below 3.0.

It just kinda piss me off that I am working my ass in UW and be stucked in this university when the people in community college can get As handed to them and send them to Uc berkeley.

It's a choice you made. You could have been in CC and partied. You could also TRANSFER like many people I know have done when I was in school. You are stuck because you chose to be stuck.

 

[IndieSnob]

Originally posted by: UncleWai
I started this thread because I see a real inbalance between community college grading and university grading. I know a person who is in economic major transfered from a CC with a 4.0gpa. Since then, the person's GPA is below 3.0.

It just kinda piss me off that I am working my ass in UW and be stucked in this university when the people in community college can get As handed to them and send them to Uc berkeley.

Well, and that could be a combination of things. Are they slacking off more at UW? Are they working more?

I have a few friends who transfered to UW from Seattle Central CC who are doing just as well there, as they were at CC. It's about spending time studying, instead of being caugh up in the social world of a 4 year.

Like I said, on average you will get easier grades at a CC, but if you don't take it seriously, they'll fail you as fast as you can spin.

 

[LtPage1]

yes its a good option. no, its not as fun or instantly gratifying, but in the long run its potentially better than going straight out of high school (2nd chance to get into your dream school).

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: FleshLight
It's cheaper and easier but you'll be missing out on supposedly the best year of your life (where you get laid).

Yeah, you pay an extra 3 or 4 grand to live in dorm rooms just to TRY and get laid... it really is cheaper to buy a hooker at that point. They're more likely to be tested frequently enough to know if they have an STD, too.

OR... you could pay about 3-4 grand a year for the first half of your education, decide if college really is for you and get your head on the right track, then pick up the two important years without dealing with all the non-sense getting screwed over that comes with being a freshman (locked out of all the decent classes, skipping over the flunk courses...)

Dorm life was fun as hell... but the truth is I wouldn't have needed finaid if hadn't lived in the dorms. Even though I had a job, the purposeful irresponsibility that came with living in the dorms used up all the money I managed to make.

 

[imported_KirbsAw]

It saves tons of money and you get the same diploma in the end. So yes, its a very good option.

EDIT: although there are a lot of really bad community colleges out there, make sure you go to a good one and your education will be comparable to any other school.

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: KirbsAw
It saves tons of money and you get the same diploma in the end. So yes, its a very good option.

EDIT: although there are a lot of really bad community colleges out there, make sure you go to a good one and your education will be comparable to any other school.

:thumbsup:

Make sure the community college has a transfer module designed for the school you want to go to, and that the school you want to go to considers that module in good standing with their cirriculum... or else you might end up going to a CC for 2 years and a university for 3.