Reply to Looking back, do you wish your child attended the least expensive college?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is a huge mistake parents make all the time

People are so against community college on this board however it is a great way to save some cash and still end up with that four year degree. Given Gpa's restart when transferring also a win.

Parents need to talk about these financial implications when kids apply not after.

There is nothing wrong with an instate school.

Parents are afraid little jon or suzie or summer or apple will have to go go [b]god forbid UMD or UVA[/b] LOL parents are absurd,

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I don't think this is the choice that too many parents stress out about.  It's more what to do when their kids don't get into UMD or UVA/WM/VT.  Sometimes there's not an acceptance to a great in-state public fit for your kid but there's a great acceptance to a perfect fit that costs more. That's where the hard decisions lie.

Also, community college is great for kids who will persist through it and is a lifesaver for smart kids who didn't quite pull it together in HS or families who need the savings,  but your likelihood to get a 4 year degree in a timely fashion when you start at community college is a lot less. You're often surrounded by people on a different life-track, the required courses can be difficult to get into in a sequential fashion and it ends up taking longer than you expected.  Even if you make it, you'll also likely make fewer connections with peers and professors when you transfer compared to having started at school at the beginning.  It can be harder to get in the swing of things socially and academically.  If your finances are such that you CAN afford the 4 year school without too many loans/sacrificing retirement security it probably pans out better in the long run for your kid.  [/quote]

I completely agree with you. Essentially community college works best for the smart kid who would have done well at a 4-year institution, but for whatever reason, financial or otherwise, was unable to attend one right off the bat. For the others, well, they're going to have to make do with an Associate's degree and get a job.
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