I went from MC to Georgetown, a few friends went to MD it is very common. Nothing new. Go to the school you are planning to graduate from and they will help you plan so the classes transfer.

My husband did this - he started his college classes while in the military, but was going to school part-time while working full-time for many years.

When he moved back to VA after already obtaining an associates through the military, he had to start back at 2nd semester freshman status at NOVA because his tech school training classes that counted towards his associates in the military didn't translate to college credit.

He did a couple years part-time at NOVA, then transferred seamlessly to GMU to finish out his degree in Electrical Engineering.

I honestly think this is the best way to go if you are going the state school route at this point. Saves money on tuition and probably room and board. With tuition so ridiculously expensive at this point and student loans ballooning, this seems a logical choice financially. While I loved my 4 years experience at a liberal arts school, I doubt we will be able to do the same for our child unless something changes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Much better option than mediocre 4 year school and being in debt, if VA has this option, sounds great, hopefully a motivator for your kid, because have to do very well generally to successfully transfer.

In California, a student of mine went to community college for 2 years (was indigent from an immigrant family), then transferred to UCLA, where he continued to do fabulously, and is now in a top 10 medical school, after a year of research at NIH.

A friend of mine did this too. Two years at a CC in California, two years at San Luis Obispo, and then grad degrees from Stanford and Yale. Not a bad trajectory at all.

what field if I may ask? And by San Luis Obisbo I assume you mean Cal Poly?

Sorry for the late reply. Yes, Cal Poly. I am not sure what he majored in there... maybe history? Then Latin American Studies at Stanford and Forestry / Envirommental Studies at Yale.

A number of my friends' kids are doing it to save money. The VA system will guarantee you a slot but you must maintain a certain GPA at the community college. My DS is going to GMU so I don't know what the required GPA is, but I'm sure it's posted somewhere. It's a terrific way to either save money (a lot of kids are doing summer programs and transferring just those credits as well) or to help the kid who just isn't quite ready to go away to college yet. My nephew in California did the same: two years at the local community college, then transferred into USC (although that's private so she had to apply but got in). Worked out well for her.

^ this is good news. I have two in college from FCPS. I haven't heard of anyone transferring from NOVA to a school that they wouldn't have gotten into anyway. I would not have considered NOVA a good option -

I have a friend whose daughter did two years at a community college and then went to UVA and got a degree in nursing. Another friend has a son who also did two years at community and just got accepted into the UVA School of Engineering.

I've known a few people who've done it just to save money. I've known people who transferred into JMU and UVA. These are people who would have gotten into either school straight out of high school, though. Just wanted to save $$.

Anonymous wrote:

an amazingly, down to earth, white girl who immediately struck me as socially conscious.

or perhaps, just someone with low LSATs who couldn't get in to a better school.

"The UDC David A. Clarke School of Law (UDC-DCSL) in Washington D.C. created the Advocate for Justice Scholarship, allowing up to 20 students per year a chance at a tuition-free legal education. “We created the scholarship so those with a burning desire to change the world for the better and to serve other people and the environment won’t be burdened with crippling debt. They take on public interest positions spanning the range from civil rights and social justice to environmental advocacy,” says Joe Libertelli, alumni director and spokesperson for the school of law. UDC-DCSL even has funds so that students can take unpaid internships in public interest law in their summers."

Anonymous wrote:

an amazingly, down to earth, white girl who immediately struck me as socially conscious.

or perhaps, just someone with low LSATs who couldn't get in to a better school.

or perhaps, just someone who didn't want to get saddled with really large law school loan debt. I didn't ask her what area she was interested in specializing in, maybe just maybe on many levels it made sense for her to go the udc law school route.

an amazingly, down to earth, white girl who immediately struck me as socially conscious.

or perhaps, just someone with low LSATs who couldn't get in to a better school.

Anonymous wrote:So a gap year could actually be spent taking classes at a cc to save money? Would it be weird for a kid coming from a top 3 private? The student body would be so different. It might be demoralizing....

"Demoralizing?" PP get rid of your top 3 private attitude. It would do your kid good to be around more normal people to burst his bubble. Recently, I ran into a NCS grad who is attending UDC's law school...an amazingly, down to earth, white girl who immediately struck me as socially conscious.

I did it - many years ago - ended up summa graduate of UMD and summa from grad school, top ranked in my field. The Montgomery College teachers were great. I couldn't have afforded college otherwise.

Another option might be to try to do a local branch of a large university and then try to transfer to main campus. I'm thinking something like Penn State Altoona for 2 years and then move to main campus. I know Pitt has some smaller campuses, too. I imagine it's easier to transfer that way than from a completely different school.

Anonymous wrote:So a gap year could actually be spent taking classes at a cc to save money? Would it be weird for a kid coming from a top 3 private? The student body would be so different. It might be demoralizing....

Or eye-opening.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Much better option than mediocre 4 year school and being in debt, if VA has this option, sounds great, hopefully a motivator for your kid, because have to do very well generally to successfully transfer.

In California, a student of mine went to community college for 2 years (was indigent from an immigrant family), then transferred to UCLA, where he continued to do fabulously, and is now in a top 10 medical school, after a year of research at NIH.

A friend of mine did this too. Two years at a CC in California, two years at San Luis Obispo, and then grad degrees from Stanford and Yale. Not a bad trajectory at all.

what field if I may ask? And by San Luis Obisbo I assume you mean Cal Poly?