Community college ——-> University path

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a variety of reasons, it’s looking as if going to community college then transferring to a four-year university may be the best path for my child. If your kid has done this, could you share your experiences, tips, advice? (Please only your own family’s experiences, not what you’ve heard from or observed in others.)

I have experience with this with both a family member, and as a high school special educator who makes sure to keep in touch with kids who have gone on so I know about their experiences.

The kid in my family who tried to do this, was a kid who had done poorly in high school due to major issues with executive functioning that impacted his grades in high school. Those issues continued in community college, and the disability support services there were lousy. They ended up flunking multiple classes, and were not eligible for any kind of guaranteed transfer. They went to a specialized program for kids with LD, got their grades up, and then went to a small private 4 year school with excellent disability services and did well until covid. In my experience, if a kid's reasons for picking CC are because they didn't do well in high school and it was attributed to maturity or executive functioning or a learning or attention disability or a mental health diagnosis, community college is not the solution, or at least Montgomery College is not the solution.

On the other hand, I know kids who did this for other reasons, and it was a great experience for them. For example, I know kids who started high school with no English, so the first few years of grades were rough and impacted college admissions. They did great. I know single parents who did great. I know kids who had medical issues that prevented them living away from home, who did great. Lots of homeschooled kids do this, because they start college classes while they're in high school.

So, my thought is that it really depends.

[Anonymous]

I went to NOVA and got an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) before transferring to GMU as a junior. I also graduated in four years and had no challenges integrating into the four-year college experience.

OP, if this is looking like a path for you I think it's a great opportunity to test the waters for college-level courses and also to save money.

Right now it seems a lot of people are migrating to the CC experience because four years are so darned expensive.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

My DD did this, kind of. She started at a small liberal arts college that we both thought she'd like, particularly because she has learning disabilities. The school had much smaller classes than larger universities and fairly easy access to disability services.

Turned out she hated the school, from the professors (whom she felt weren't helpful) to the culture (too preppy, too Southern). She dropped out and went to community college after freshman year. But some of her credits didn't transfer and there was a whole new set of gen ed requirements.

But she liked community college much better and felt like the professors were more amenable to giving extra help. I only wish she had started out there since it took three semesters to be able to transfer to a state four-year college as a junior. She's done well there, but between starting two years after most of the students and remote classes because of the pandemic, she hasn't gotten to know other students well or really had an on-campus experience. But she says she's OK with that and we're both excited she's graduating next month!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the cc and the 4 year school. Some transfer all credits, some don’t. Do your research. Some 4 years schools won’t accept/count classes that are REQUIRED for your major if you take the class somewhere else. I would recommend you talk to a student who went thru this process in the last few years. They can tell you about their roadblocks.

For reference, my DS went to medical school. CC prerequisites were not accepted to the schools that he applied to.

Which is what I’m trying to do, but people without first hand experience keep chiming in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to NOVA and got an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) before transferring to GMU as a junior. I also graduated in four years and had no challenges integrating into the four-year college experience.

OP, if this is looking like a path for you I think it's a great opportunity to test the waters for college-level courses and also to save money.

Right now it seems a lot of people are migrating to the CC experience because four years are so darned expensive.

Good luck!

Thank you! This a similar path to what we are thinking and I’m glad it worked well for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wrote the above because I saw it as a hidden gap in the 2 to 4 year experience and I factored in that this board doesn't usually write a whole lot on this subject and would rather debate if Cornell is still relevant. I know both young women really well and this came as a surprise to them. Both are organized ambitious smart students who felt gobsmacked initially so I wanted to get it out there.

'

Thank you for posting this information. I'm not the OP but it is immensely helpful. Some people are just rude.

UMD will tell you this as well. That’s why they have a transfer forgiveness program just like Freshman Forgiveness.

[Anonymous]

A good family friend had a daughter do the CC to UVA route. The girl really wanted to go to UVA and was driven. She worked very hard to make sure she had the grades for automatic acceptance. Money wasn't an issue so she was able to take 3 years at UVA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD did this, kind of. She started at a small liberal arts college that we both thought she'd like, particularly because she has learning disabilities. The school had much smaller classes than larger universities and fairly easy access to disability services.

Turned out she hated the school, from the professors (whom she felt weren't helpful) to the culture (too preppy, too Southern). She dropped out and went to community college after freshman year. But some of her credits didn't transfer and there was a whole new set of gen ed requirements.

But she liked community college much better and felt like the professors were more amenable to giving extra help. I only wish she had started out there since it took three semesters to be able to transfer to a state four-year college as a junior. She's done well there, but between starting two years after most of the students and remote classes because of the pandemic, she hasn't gotten to know other students well or really had an on-campus experience. But she says she's OK with that and we're both excited she's graduating next month!

Thank you! It’s interesting that the small college wasn’t a good fit, but community college was. I’m glad it worked out well for your daughter. Congratulations to her!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A good family friend had a daughter do the CC to UVA route. The girl really wanted to go to UVA and was driven. She worked very hard to make sure she had the grades for automatic acceptance. Money wasn't an issue so she was able to take 3 years at UVA

Thank you! I’m happy to hear it can work out how the motivated kids want it to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a variety of reasons, it’s looking as if going to community college then transferring to a four-year university may be the best path for my child. If your kid has done this, could you share your experiences, tips, advice? (Please only your own family’s experiences, not what you’ve heard from or observed in others.)

I have experience with this with both a family member, and as a high school special educator who makes sure to keep in touch with kids who have gone on so I know about their experiences.

The kid in my family who tried to do this, was a kid who had done poorly in high school due to major issues with executive functioning that impacted his grades in high school. Those issues continued in community college, and the disability support services there were lousy. They ended up flunking multiple classes, and were not eligible for any kind of guaranteed transfer. They went to a specialized program for kids with LD, got their grades up, and then went to a small private 4 year school with excellent disability services and did well until covid. In my experience, if a kid's reasons for picking CC are because they didn't do well in high school and it was attributed to maturity or executive functioning or a learning or attention disability or a mental health diagnosis, community college is not the solution, or at least Montgomery College is not the solution.

On the other hand, I know kids who did this for other reasons, and it was a great experience for them. For example, I know kids who started high school with no English, so the first few years of grades were rough and impacted college admissions. They did great. I know single parents who did great. I know kids who had medical issues that prevented them living away from home, who did great. Lots of homeschooled kids do this, because they start college classes while they're in high school.

So, my thought is that it really depends.

Thank you! Great perspectives on this.

[Anonymous]

I attended UVA, then had a career switch where I took some classes at NVCC about 6 years after undergrad.

I have to say that some of the BEST teachers I've ever had were at NVCC. Brilliant professors who really teach and care for their students.

I had a lot of duds at UVA who were just hanging on and going through the motions.

Stop making generalizations about community college. My classmates in those classes were juggling jobs and classes. They were amazing.

[Anonymous]

The thing with going to Community College and getting a two-year degree instead of a bunch of credits is you can degree stack, AAS, BS, MS, etc. Even if a lot of places want more than two years it shows motivation to get the degree.

[Anonymous]

Hey OP do you mind telling us which CC you are considering for your child? Is it NVCC or MC for instance? You might have more people sharing their experience if you tell us which one your child is considering
Each community college has articulation agreements with specific 4 year universities For instance, MC has articulation agreements with UMD, Towson etc and even Georgetown. For UMD, you are guaranteed admission as long as you have an Associates degree and meet the GPA cutoff. I don’t remember what it is - it might be 3.0. Most students earn an Associates degree in a specific discipline (eg Business) and take care of most of their distributional requirements as well as intro classes and prerequisites before they transfer
If you want to attend a “limited enrollment program “ at UMD (think Engineering, Nursing, Business), admission is not guaranteed. You have to get top grades, good recommendations, strong ECs etc.
While it is very competitive to get into a LEP at the flagship state university, it is easier to get into these programs at Shady Grove for instance and the student experience at Shady grove is great as is their job placement.
What else did you want to know?
The California poster had some great insights into the educational experience- small class sizes, committed professors etc.
Tell us a little more about what you are interested in learning

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I attended UVA, then had a career switch where I took some classes at NVCC about 6 years after undergrad.

I have to say that some of the BEST teachers I've ever had were at NVCC. Brilliant professors who really teach and care for their students.

I had a lot of duds at UVA who were just hanging on and going through the motions.

Stop making generalizations about community college. My classmates in those classes were juggling jobs and classes. They were amazing.

Thank you. I’ve heard great things about NVCC professors. I’m happy to have it confirmed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a variety of reasons, it’s looking as if going to community college then transferring to a four-year university may be the best path for my child. If your kid has done this, could you share your experiences, tips, advice? (Please only your own family’s experiences, not what you’ve heard from or observed in others.)

My dd got her AA degree from Montgomery college and now is at a local college as a junior. They accepted all 60 credits. Due to the pandemic, she is zooming from home. I would say for her it is working but, it isn't finished yet.

Good luck!