s/o Community College thread...

heyitsme

When YOU were making your college decisions, was community college something that people encouraged you to attend, discouraged you to, or neutral?

I was in the top 30 of my graduating class of 180 and attending community college or even the state university nearby was frowned upon. Community college was never presented to me as an option--it was seen as the "13th grade" to my high school.

I attended a private college because that was what a person with my grades was "supposed to do" in the eyes of my school, my parents, and my extended family.

I am now $25K in debt from attending that private college. I had grants, but it didn't cover the entire cost of attendance plus room and board for 4 years.

My husband, on the other hand, attended community college for 2 years and then our local state university campus for 2 years--got his degree and has NO student loan debt whatsoever. I make slightly more than he does, but not enough to make a huge difference.

I plan to let DD know that whatever she chooses to do after high school, we will support her (in an emotional sense, not necessarily financially, although we plan to help out). I won't let her choose the path I did--or at least, I'll make her aware of the consequences if she chooses it.

 

RunningMom

?attending community college or even the state university nearby was frowned upon. Community college was never presented to me as an option--it was seen as the "13th grade" to my high school.This- but the state university was 13th grade as well. ?I think people can be successful coming from these schools but not BECAUSE- actually despite. ?It's the person....

Bellisimo

Nah, it was encouraged.  It had all sorts of benefits:  more affordable, close to home, could live at home while attending, got lots of prerequs out of the way, stuck close to my current boyfriend and friends from my graduating class, could work almost full time and still go to school.  It may be frowned upon by some, but as I always say, "An ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure."  

DevonPow

Community college was not presented as an option to me. I went to a very small K-12 private school were every single person went to a 4 year college. I just never thought about it.

 

 

eclaires

No, and neither was the local branch of the state university - both were considered 13th grade and totally worthless.

However, the two major state universities [Indiana University and Purdue University] were considered to be good universities and good options for all the students in my class, including the top ones.  Depending on your interest, both had well respected programs.

PinkPiano

CC wasn't really presented as an option to me, but I think if I would have wanted to go that route I would have been supported (with maybe a bit of reluctance).  Honestly, it never occurred to me though.

I went to a private liberal arts school, my dh went to a state school for both his undergrad & MBA.  As for our kids, all options are open.  I think there are things that a 4 year school can offer (life experiences) that a CC can't, but I don't think CC's are a bad option, in some cases they are the best option.  Actually, I think I could've went to a CC and got a much better job that paid more than my previous jobs. 

 

Amanda&Chris

Well, I graduated 7th in my class of 173 and I went to community college during my senior year of HS.  My HS had a rule that you had to be enrolled in 6 classes, they didn't all have to be HS classes.  As a result I graduated from HS with 16 hours of college credit.  That was NICE!

As for an option after college, no it wasn't really something I considered.  Most of the people from my HS that went to CC instead of a 4 year were slackers.  That's not true of all of them, for sure, but that was the preception.

lsufan

There were 800 people in my graduating class, and a few of them did end up going to the local CC, but it wasn't something anyone I knew wanted to do.  There was no stigma attached to attending a state college, though.  A huge chunk of our graduating class went to either Texas or Texas A&M.

Chrisy-Wyobride

It was frowned upon alright...frowned upon by ME.  I would have killed myself if after all the hard work I did in HS I had to stay at home & go there.  I was given the choice to do what I wanted & was smart enough to know the consequences of my actions.  Thanks but no thanks to CC...I have $40K in SL debt from college & graduate school & I SAH so I currently make no money but I still don't regret it at all.  I will not encourage my child to do CC unless they get crappy grades in HS.  

pincushions

It was frowned upon where I lived. I went to the cc here and transferred to the state college after 3 semesters. There was a huge difference in the caliber of students between the two, from what I experienced. 

DH went to great schools and will want the same for the kids. Even with his parents paying for his undergrad and masters we will be paying his SL off for his doctorate for some time.

I just want them to be happy.

hopefulmom

I have attended both a state university and a community college and found that the biggest "slackers" are at the state university.  The reason I say this is because you have a very wide range of people (age-wise, income-wise, experience-wise) than you do at the university.  They party much more at the universities than cc...just because no one lives on campus at the cc.  Obviously you don't make friends like you do in college...but quite frankly, my friends are the ones I had in high school...probably because we lived near each other and hung out a lot together.  Even after all these years...I'm still good friends with my high school friends.  I never partied while going to the university because I did not live on campus.  I needed to focus on studies.

My oldest DD went to community college.  My oldest DS went to a private  university ($26,000 a year) for one year and came home to go to community college and then back to private college.  He doesn't have any friends from any of the colleges he went to and he went for 6 years (changed majors 3 times!). 

My DH went to community college and then transferred to state univ. and then to a private college for his masters.

I think if you get with a guidance counselor and know what univ. you are transferring to you'll have no problems transferring credits.  No one in my family had any problems transferring all credits.  They are all pre-reqs anyway!  Why waste money on those at a more expensive college?

MelandJeff

Chrisy-Wyobride:

It was frowned upon alright...frowned upon by ME.  I would have killed myself if after all the hard work I did in HS I had to stay at home & go there.  I was given the choice to do what I wanted & was smart enough to know the consequences of my actions.  Thanks but no thanks to CC...I have $40K in SL debt from college & graduate school & I SAH so I currently make no money but I still don't regret it at all.  I will not encourage my child to do CC unless they get crappy grades in HS.  

Wow. Just wow. 

ljlkm

It was an option for me, but honestly not a great one.  I got into Berkeley as a freshman and it's highly unlikely that I'd have gotten in as a junior (it's almost impossible--there are only roughly 150 slots set aside for CC transfers). 

Lucky for me, when I went there student fees were only around $2000 per year.  I got a great education very, very cheap.