Anonymous wrote:The problem with community college is it's not a real college experience. While their peers are rushing frats, going to football games and participating in freshman dorm hijinks, community college kids are still living a high school life -- complete with the bedroom in mom and dad's basement -- but one that's far less fun since most of their friends are off at actual college.

I think bigger issue is quality of peers, no high achiever attends community college, there are enough merit scholarships to find some 4-year college even if they don’t qualify for financial aid and parents couldn’t or wouldn’t pay. If you are a good student and not stuck on colleges of your choice, there are plenty of free options. Community college’s majorly enrollment has some weakness limiting their options. They sure can work hard and change so but an small percentage does that. This is the main drawback for community colleges imho, dorm and football are minor in comparison.

OP, what's your point in posting? We all know what Community College is.

Anonymous wrote:The problem with community college is it's not a real college experience. While their peers are rushing frats, going to football games and participating in freshman dorm hijinks, community college kids are still living a high school life -- complete with the bedroom in mom and dad's basement -- but one that's far less fun since most of their friends are off at actual college.

This is DCUM, but 50% of US college students live with their parents during college and 35% of US college students attend community college already.

What you’re describing has only ever been a rite of passage for upper middle class kids.

Nothing wrong with the community college path. CEO of my former company was a foster child, scraped by through high school, made his way to community college, two years later transferred and graduated from Cornell. His work ethic and intelligence was unreal. I just think that for many parents on DCUM, community college is the furthest from their minds, short of failure to launch, learning difficulties, mental health issues etc. It is the plan of last resort. Having said that, I really love how in America there is always a second and third chance - offered by avenues such as the community colleges - you could become a dentist at 35 if you really want to! - these are NOT options in other developed countries.

Anonymous wrote:The problem with community college is it's not a real college experience. While their are rushing frats, going to football games and participating in freshman dorm hijinks, community college kids are still living a high school life -- complete with the bedroom in mom and dad's basement -- but one that's far less fun since most of their friends are off at actual college.

Yeah none of that matters if you can’t afford college.

I went to actual college, and it was great but I couldn’t afford to do Greek life or go to many football games. I had to budget for the tuition bill each semester.

The problem with community college is it's not a real college experience. While their peers are rushing frats, going to football games and participating in freshman dorm hijinks, community college kids are still living a high school life -- complete with the bedroom in mom and dad's basement -- but one that's far less fun since most of their friends are off at actual college.

There is guaranteed transfer program from CC to UVA and UMD.

I love the California community college system: two or three years and a certain grade point average and you’re guaranteed admission to a California State university. A lot of kids do the prerequisites at the much lower cost community college and the transfer to the universities.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a year or two at community college. My niece is a great student but had some mental health issues in high school (cutting) and is doing two years at Santa Monica Community College (they live in LA) to stay at home. She is academically challenged and has found great support from her professors.

Another anecdote is a neighbor’s son who went to community college than transferred to a state school, did a CS major and now works at IBM. UMC kid with family connections in industry but they think community college link helped not hindered.

You can get into very good colleges paid by GI bill if you do military service after community college.

If I can help financially, I would save them from the stigma and help them go somewhere with high performing peers. If they can’t get full financial aid because of my financial status then it would be unfair to leave them out in cold because financial system is rigged against college applicants and depends on parental income.

Also, I would send my kid to community college before I would ever co-sign a Parent Plus or Private student loan if those were the only options.

There are also a lot of schools that I believe offer poor value.

I will say this: people always point to low completion or low transfer rates from community colleges, but fail to take into account that those factor in kids who are 22+, have zero family support, or have serious other issues. Your kid from a UMC family will not be subject to those same forces, so their chance of completing the program is much higher.

This is DCUM. Grabbing my popcorn.

More and more good schools, professional schools and employers now offer easier pathways to community college graduates for transfer, admission, internships, scholarships, and hiring. If your kiddo didn’t do well in college admissions cycle, tell them there is hope, all is not lost. Be diligent and work hard to catch up with or surpass others.