Welp folks, my dd is going to a CC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here,

The CC has agreements with several 4-year institutions; ODU, Penn State, Drexel, Temple and SUNY just to name a few.

We are on top of making sure all credits transfers, but haven’t decided on which 4-year institution she prefers at the moment.

She wants to work with animals in some capacity, but being a Vet is not necessarily her goal.

Lovely to hear that you are carefully researching everything. I teach CC and in my opinion the students that are successful are the ones that have a good plan and fully research things like articulation agreements etc. you can get a fantastic education but it is also very easy to drift or get lost. Your child has to advocate for herself as you won’t be able to act for her (or even see her grades etc). The counselors are nice but it will really fall on her to figure out what to do and ensure she stays on track

[Anonymous]

Let me write about the other side of this question. Out of HS, I didn't get into my first choice school.

I ended up going to my safety and flunking out because I thought I could do the work at my safety using only about 50% effort.

I then ended up doing a year in the equivalent of a CC, where I actually did get straight As with about 50% effort, while I worked 40 hours a week.

By that time, I was very bored with only putting in 50% effort, moved on to my state's 2nd tier flagship, understanding that I had to use all my time to obtain a GPA worthy of grad school.

Now 30 years after getting my phd, I realize when I didn't get into my first choice school, I should have gone to CC, done a better search for a college that fit, and gone there a year late.

OP, that is my suggestion to you as well. Figure out what college she does want to go to ASAP. If your DD does really well the first semester of CC, consider applying for her 2nd year.

Even if her 2nd semester doesn't go as well, most likely they would let her defer acceptance a year for another year at CC and you would have lost nothing.

What you want to do is have the right amount of challenge at the right time. Being able to feed in more challenge on cue is important and being bored is bad.

Good luck

[Anonymous]

Let me write about the other side of this question. Out of HS, I didn't get into my first choice school.

I ended up going to my safety and flunking out because I thought I could do the work at my safety using only about 50% effort.

I then ended up doing a year in the equivalent of a CC, where I actually did get straight As with about 50% effort, while I worked 40 hours a week.

By that time, I was very bored with only putting in 50% effort, moved on to my state's 2nd tier flagship, understanding that I had to use all my time to obtain a GPA worthy of grad school.

Now 30 years after getting my phd, I realize when I didn't get into my first choice school, I should have gone to CC, done a better search for a college that fit, and gone there a year late.

OP, that is my suggestion to you as well. Figure out what college she does want to go to ASAP. If your DD does really well the first semester of CC, consider applying for her 2nd year.

Even if her 2nd semester doesn't go as well, most likely they would let her defer acceptance a year for another year at CC and you would have lost nothing.

What you want to do is have the right amount of challenge at the right time. Being able to feed in more challenge on cue is important and being bored is bad.

Good luck

This is great advice.

[Anonymous]

Depends on SAT score. I'd recommend a gap year before sending a student with a 3.0 off to a university.

Why? Based on what evidence that a gap year is a good idea?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would you not send her to a regular college? 3.0 is a good GPA. How sad you cannot give her a chance, if you can afford it?

Depends on SAT score. I'd recommend a gap year before sending a student with a 3.0 off to a university.

You must be joking. A 3.0 is a B average. What planet do some of you live on?

You get a B average just for showing up at most high schools. 50% of all high schoolers have an A average (3.6+ GPA).

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/17/easy-a-nearly-half-hs-seniors-graduate-average/485787001/

For kids who struggle just to pass HS classes, this is one of the most insensitive and ignorant things I've seen in a long time. Fortunately, this is a small percentage of kids. But, no, you don't get a B just for showing up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me write about the other side of this question. Out of HS, I didn't get into my first choice school.

I ended up going to my safety and flunking out because I thought I could do the work at my safety using only about 50% effort.

I then ended up doing a year in the equivalent of a CC, where I actually did get straight As with about 50% effort, while I worked 40 hours a week.

By that time, I was very bored with only putting in 50% effort, moved on to my state's 2nd tier flagship, understanding that I had to use all my time to obtain a GPA worthy of grad school.

Now 30 years after getting my phd, I realize when I didn't get into my first choice school, I should have gone to CC, done a better search for a college that fit, and gone there a year late.

OP, that is my suggestion to you as well. Figure out what college she does want to go to ASAP. If your DD does really well the first semester of CC, consider applying for her 2nd year.

Even if her 2nd semester doesn't go as well, most likely they would let her defer acceptance a year for another year at CC and you would have lost nothing.

What you want to do is have the right amount of challenge at the right time. Being able to feed in more challenge on cue is important and being bored is bad.

Good luck

I think this is good advice but I do want to caution that CC classes are not necessarily easy peasy. In fact, CCs have weed out courses just like any other college/university does. CCs do tend to have smaller classes and the professors tend to be more accessible. The subject matter is the same as what is taught at a 4 year university and it can be brutal. It's possible that class curves/extra credit might be handled differently at a CC vs a competitive 4 year institution. But, in order to do well in upper level courses you really need mastery of that lower level course to succeed. That means putting in the effort to understand any questions that you might have missed on a test.

Don't go into a CC thinking that you can skate through with little in the way of effort. Have good study habits from the very beginning of the semester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me write about the other side of this question. Out of HS, I didn't get into my first choice school.

I ended up going to my safety and flunking out because I thought I could do the work at my safety using only about 50% effort.

I then ended up doing a year in the equivalent of a CC, where I actually did get straight As with about 50% effort, while I worked 40 hours a week.

By that time, I was very bored with only putting in 50% effort, moved on to my state's 2nd tier flagship, understanding that I had to use all my time to obtain a GPA worthy of grad school.

Now 30 years after getting my phd, I realize when I didn't get into my first choice school, I should have gone to CC, done a better search for a college that fit, and gone there a year late.

OP, that is my suggestion to you as well. Figure out what college she does want to go to ASAP. If your DD does really well the first semester of CC, consider applying for her 2nd year.

Great advice! And OP, my BF's daughter went to a CC the first two years and has just been accepted into her first choice for grad school. One thing that I think helped is she knew from the beginning what she wanted to her profession to be and was able to focus. It's easier to keep your eye on the prize when you know what you want.

And returning to PP's great advice, my boyfriend's daughter got straight A's and one C ... the C was in a summer course this past summer at a community college...

Even if her 2nd semester doesn't go as well, most likely they would let her defer acceptance a year for another year at CC and you would have lost nothing.

What you want to do is have the right amount of challenge at the right time. Being able to feed in more challenge on cue is important and being bored is bad.

Good luck

I think this is good advice but I do want to caution that CC classes are not necessarily easy peasy. In fact, CCs have weed out courses just like any other college/university does. CCs do tend to have smaller classes and the professors tend to be more accessible. The subject matter is the same as what is taught at a 4 year university and it can be brutal. It's possible that class curves/extra credit might be handled differently at a CC vs a competitive 4 year institution. But, in order to do well in upper level courses you really need mastery of that lower level course to succeed. That means putting in the effort to understand any questions that you might have missed on a test.

Don't go into a CC thinking that you can skate through with little in the way of effort. Have good study habits from the very beginning of the semester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to make sure she's only taking classes that will transfer to a 4-year college when the time comes. Other than that, it's a fine, economic option.

My son did this, he graduates with a Business Degree in 2 months. It was more a maturity issue with him than economic and it has been perfect.

The CC was very helpful in making sure he was taking courses that were going to transfer to a 4 year school in the state. We are in VA and there were specific requirements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me write about the other side of this question. Out of HS, I didn't get into my first choice school.

I ended up going to my safety and flunking out because I thought I could do the work at my safety using only about 50% effort.

I then ended up doing a year in the equivalent of a CC, where I actually did get straight As with about 50% effort, while I worked 40 hours a week.

By that time, I was very bored with only putting in 50% effort, moved on to my state's 2nd tier flagship, understanding that I had to use all my time to obtain a GPA worthy of grad school.

Now 30 years after getting my phd, I realize when I didn't get into my first choice school, I should have gone to CC, done a better search for a college that fit, and gone there a year late.

OP, that is my suggestion to you as well. Figure out what college she does want to go to ASAP. If your DD does really well the first semester of CC, consider applying for her 2nd year.

Great advice! And OP, my BF's daughter went to a CC the first two years and has just been accepted into her first choice for grad school. One thing that I think helped is she knew from the beginning what she wanted to her profession to be and was able to focus. It's easier to keep your eye on the prize when you know what you want.

And returning to PP's great advice, my boyfriend's daughter got straight A's and one C ... the C was in a summer course this past summer at a community college...

Even if her 2nd semester doesn't go as well, most likely they would let her defer acceptance a year for another year at CC and you would have lost nothing.

What you want to do is have the right amount of challenge at the right time. Being able to feed in more challenge on cue is important and being bored is bad.

Good luck

I think this is good advice but I do want to caution that CC classes are not necessarily easy peasy. In fact, CCs have weed out courses just like any other college/university does. CCs do tend to have smaller classes and the professors tend to be more accessible. The subject matter is the same as what is taught at a 4 year university and it can be brutal. It's possible that class curves/extra credit might be handled differently at a CC vs a competitive 4 year institution. But, in order to do well in upper level courses you really need mastery of that lower level course to succeed. That means putting in the effort to understand any questions that you might have missed on a test.

Don't go into a CC thinking that you can skate through with little in the way of effort. Have good study habits from the very beginning of the semester.

I didn't drop down far enough and my response landed in the middle of PP's post - I've bolded my response...

[Anonymous]

I'd rather pay for my not-yet-ready kid or so-so-academic kid to go to a CC than pay tuition at a big university for them to flunk out first semester/year.

I'm not in that boat, but I have three good friends dealing with that right now. Two brought their kids home after their first semesters ended in December and the third's kid was just notified that they will be on academic probation in the fall and if a 2.0 GPA isn't reached, he'll be released. Of the first two, one was a legacy who wasn't academically up to par with where they were admitted (UVA) and the other one wasn't emotionally ready for college (should have been red shirted, IMO, but parents pushed to get her admitted into K at 4 w/ very late bday).

FWIW, my sister was dealing with some health issues her senior year and chose not to go away to college. She was planning on just doing 1 year at CC but was shown the benefits of doing 2 years and getting an Associate's Degree before transferring. She did that, transferred to Dartmouth for undergrad in Biology, and then went to Johns Hopkins for med school.

Plenty of successful people start off at a CC.

[Anonymous]

OP what's the ACT or SAT score? any AP scores?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish my DD would make this same decision since I don't think she is ready to go away to college. I think a couple years to get her act together wouldn't be a bad thing.

NP here. I think there are a number of situations in which CC is a good option. If my child does not have his act together academically during the last 2 years of high school, I will totally consider having him do CC, a more affordable setting to get his act together and figure out how to be a good student at the college level. If my child's commitment to his education is shaky, I will not be paying premium prices for college until he is more seriously focused and working hard.

[Anonymous]

This is a fine path, OP!

I teach at a CC. My advice to you and your daughter is to make SURE her advisor and her professors are aware that she intends to transfer to a 4-year school in time. There are students with all kinds of goals and ambitions and life circumstances at CC, and some will make it and some are disillusioned, so the ones who are are 4-year-school-bound can get lost in the fray if they aren't vocal about it and/or stand out in class via participation and grades. Many of the professors will also adjunct at nearby colleges/universities: they can be a good resource for connections and recommendations, and possibly internships.

Make sure she has a study-situation in place that is different from high school. Encourage her to use the library at her CC. Is she getting an apartment? Is she hoping to intern or work? If so, have her connect with school resources to see if they can help her find something remotely applicable to her goals.

She will do fine, and she/you will have much less debt for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a 3 y.o. and 3-4 specific urban CCs (E & W Coast) in mind for him as first choices. They're open admission and amazing institutions.

Not that there's anything wrong with CC, but you're already planning for your 3 YEAR OLD to make that a first choice? Seems a little (read: a lot) premature.

[Anonymous]

My brother started at a CC for social and academic reasons. He transferred to the top-ranked program in his discipline (though rankings are subjective, of course). Guess what? No one asks where he spent his freshman and sophomore years. Amazing, isn't it?

The guarantee agreements are specific and you sometimes can't get all the classes at one NOVA campus. Just keep that in mind.