Why you should consider a community college (gasp!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I began college at a top-tier university, but I was only able to complete three months of my first semester before I had to take medical leave due to a life-threatening illness. I was still undergoing treatment the following school year, so I took classes at a local community college while I was in treatment.

Community college was the best decision I made. I had outstanding professors, learmed how to study, was able to complete all my "basic" courses and pre-requisites, and earned a 4.0. Although I was medically cleared to return to my university after a year, I decided to finish my Associate's degree at the community college before transferring to complete my Bachelor's degree.

I am a huge proponent of students considering community college. It is not right for everyone, but it is right for many.

BTW, I did not have a single professor or instructor who was just "phoning it in."

PP, did you have any trouble jumping into your new classes at the 4 year university? Did you notice a difference in the exam rigor? I took a CC class recently, and when I compared our syllabus to one at a reputable state university, even though we used the same textbook, the state university class covered more chapters and topics. Also, my classmates at the CC were not expected to buy the textbook and were even discouraged from doing so. The powerpoint slides were considered enough. I bought the textbook, because I prefer in-depth learning.

Things could be different now than when I was in college over 20 years ago. However, I had no issue jumping into classes at the university. I finished my B.S. with a 3.9, so I did well.

I always bought textbooks at every level-- CC, Bachelor's classes, and all my Master's classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I began college at a top-tier university, but I was only able to complete three months of my first semester before I had to take medical leave due to a life-threatening illness. I was still undergoing treatment the following school year, so I took classes at a local community college while I was in treatment.

Community college was the best decision I made. I had outstanding professors, learmed how to study, was able to complete all my "basic" courses and pre-requisites, and earned a 4.0. Although I was medically cleared to return to my university after a year, I decided to finish my Associate's degree at the community college before transferring to complete my Bachelor's degree.

I am a huge proponent of students considering community college. It is not right for everyone, but it is right for many.

BTW, I did not have a single professor or instructor who was just "phoning it in."

PP, did you have any trouble jumping into your new classes at the 4 year university? Did you notice a difference in the exam rigor? I took a CC class recently, and when I compared our syllabus to one at a reputable state university, even though we used the same textbook, the state university class covered more chapters and topics. Also, my classmates at the CC were not expected to buy the textbook and were even discouraged from doing so. The powerpoint slides were considered enough. I bought the textbook, because I prefer in-depth learning.

For what it is worth, my cousin had great difficulty moving from the community college system (where she was a top student) in So. California to USC. Instead of two more years, it took her three. YRMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I started at a community college. My fellow students were unmotivated and the professors mostly uninterested, just collecting a paycheck.

I had some great professors in community college.

[Anonymous]

Are you being paid to write positive things about community colleges, OP?

[Anonymous]

Sounds like some people here do not like community colleges because of the difference in social class. It is by far the cheaper alternative.

Community college offers more than a road to a 4 year college. There are programs that offer a road to work life after 2 years of study. So to just compare the numbers is misleading

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you being paid to write positive things about community colleges, OP?

I was wondering the same thing.

[Anonymous]

I took three semesters in CC while studying for my GMAT and completing prerequisites for the mba degree. At that point I already had an undergraduate degree from another country (it was not business/finance related). I was very impressed with the quality of teaching however was really underwhelmed by the ‘quality ‘ of classmates. I personally was there because I needed a student visa while preparing to start mba and it felt like most of other people “ended up” there as well, it wasn’t really a dream destination for anyone. That said, I loved my classes- I still remember the teachers’ names 20 years later and am very grateful for the great start that School gave me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I began college at a top-tier university, but I was only able to complete three months of my first semester before I had to take medical leave due to a life-threatening illness. I was still undergoing treatment the following school year, so I took classes at a local community college while I was in treatment.

Community college was the best decision I made. I had outstanding professors, learmed how to study, was able to complete all my "basic" courses and pre-requisites, and earned a 4.0. Although I was medically cleared to return to my university after a year, I decided to finish my Associate's degree at the community college before transferring to complete my Bachelor's degree.

I am a huge proponent of students considering community college. It is not right for everyone, but it is right for many.

BTW, I did not have a single professor or instructor who was just "phoning it in."

I am very glad that you had this experience, but I'm finding it hard to believe that your CC classes were equal to those at a top-tier university. I have taken classes at both. Many of the CC professors are dedicated teachers, but the quality of writing that is expected and the depth of understanding that exams assess is in no way comparable.

And, at some level, it would be awful for professors at NOVA to expect what UVa professors expect. The students come in, on average, with drastically different preparedness and support.

Of course, a community college can offer a rigorous track aimed at kids who want to transfer to top schools. My understanding is that the quality of the community college-four-year-college handoff varies a lot from place to place. Some community colleges and four-year colleges may handle the hand-off well.

But students choosing the community college need to look into this super carefully.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had very high sats and ended up at MC for a semester before going to UMD (family reasons) 15 years ago. It was great. I got to take chem and physic and engineering 101 in a class of 30 instead of 500 and learned a ton. Had very engaged professors, ended up tutoring calculus since I had APnin high school etc. it was a good adjustment. I misse dvery little in terms of social life and folded in just fine. I had scholarship money otherwise I could have stayed a year and everything would have transferred. I’m glad I got to miss some crazy big weed out classes at umd.

I'm one of the posters who's skeptical about the idea of the community college promotional effort.

But, obviously, there are going to be diamonds in the rough.

Signs of that:

- It's in a state like Maryland that takes community college funding seriously.

- The community has a lot of good employers in the field of interest. A community college anywhere near NASA facilities, for example, might get some great STEM instructors. I'm sure there are a lot of great writing and filmmaking instructors at community colleges in New York and Los Angeles.

- A lot of the community college students would be interested in a topic. I'd expect many community colleges to have solid classes in areas like nursing and culinary arts.

The challenge here is that, if you get a C in what turns out to be a bad course at UMD, you avoid mentioning that grade. If you the same thing happens at a community college, you might not be able to transfer to UMD and may not get full credit for the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like some people here do not like community colleges because of the difference in social class. It is by far the cheaper alternative.

Community college offers more than a road to a 4 year college. There are programs that offer a road to work life after 2 years of study. So to just compare the numbers is misleading

But only 29 percent of the students who seek the certificates or two-year degrees get them.

Statistics vary by state, and NOVA and the Maryland community colleges may be a lot better than the average, but, in general,
the U.S. community college system as serious problems. If a lot of us loud parents sent our kids there, maybe we'd change things, but I honestly don't want my son to be a pioneer in that way. Given his specific characteristics, his only realistic chance of having a decent life is to get a degree. I don't want him to start out with a 29 percent chance of him getting even an associate's degree.

[Anonymous]

My son recently took classes at our local community college and he was impressed by the availability of professors during office hours. One professor even held optional group study sessions which were pretty well attended. That's an indication to me that the students were motivated to do well in an academically challenging course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could be but 4 year universities have had more time to build a seasoned faculty and an expectation of tenure. Community colleges, however, have strict budgets and a particular demand of classes for which they must find teachers. They usually hire adjuncts quick and fast.

This is a delusional assessment of the sector.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like some people here do not like community colleges because of the difference in social class. It is by far the cheaper alternative.

Community college offers more than a road to a 4 year college. There are programs that offer a road to work life after 2 years of study. So to just compare the numbers is misleading

But only 29 percent of the students who seek the certificates or two-year degrees get them.

Statistics vary by state, and NOVA and the Maryland community colleges may be a lot better than the average, but, in general,
the U.S. community college system as serious problems. If a lot of us loud parents sent our kids there, maybe we'd change things, but I honestly don't want my son to be a pioneer in that way. Given his specific characteristics, his only realistic chance of having a decent life is to get a degree. I don't want him to start out with a 29 percent chance of him getting even an associate's degree.

You sound like a helicopter/tiger mom parent
What does your son think?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son recently took classes at our local community college and he was impressed by the availability of professors during office hours. One professor even held optional group study sessions which were pretty well attended. That's an indication to me that the students were motivated to do well in an academically challenging course.

Some of the study sessions at CC are offered for extra credit. That's a nice carrot-on-a-stick. I've never heard of this at a 4 year, however.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son recently took classes at our local community college and he was impressed by the availability of professors during office hours. One professor even held optional group study sessions which were pretty well attended. That's an indication to me that the students were motivated to do well in an academically challenging course.

Some of the study sessions at CC are offered for extra credit. That's a nice carrot-on-a-stick. I've never heard of this at a 4 year, however.

Tehy didn't get extra credit for attending the study sessions in this case. Attendance was completely optional, no carrots.