University vs. Community College

Off Topic
21

If it’s a choice between community college for two years and then finishing up at university, I don’t think it’s really that big of a deal. Maybe it’s worth it to save money. If you’re deciding between getting a community college degree and continuing on and getting a university degree, you’d be foolish not to continue on.

And I would not take very many grad school pre-reqs at community college. I would use it to fulfill my gen ed requirements there. If I was in grad school admissions, I would automatically mark you down for grades in key classes you completed in community college.

I see you’re in PA? That’s where I’m from. Where do you go to school? Mont. Co? Del Co? Get the hell out of there and at least try to transfer to Penn State Main Campus or a better school.

22

[quote]chillain wrote:
If you’re planning on med/vet/dental/pharm/optometry school after undergrad, you’d have an easier time getting straight A’s in those basic lab sciences at a community college.

[/quote]

They also mean a lot less. I think that’s bad advice.

23

Unless you get a ‘ride’ of some sort, opt for the CC. You can live at home instead of in some shitty dorm, with all the crack heads and shitty food. Transfer after 2 years and you can have your own apartment and a car.

What Bill Roberts said about teaching is true and sad. CC is better for the first 2 years.

24

[quote]calibreeze wrote:
Thanks for your thought on it

And I don’t know I guess after graduation, assuming I get the right job, and also assuming I’d be over 21, I’d meet people at work/bars/clubs and what ever the fuck else you do…

And yeah, my CC isn’t that great, maybe its just the campus to be honest[/quote]

Ah, well if it’s a question of a specific community college versus a specific university for the first two years of college, the answer might be different than for the general question.

I don’t know about your state, but in Florida a state resident can attend any community college in the state for the same or similar low rate. Also the CC’s are not far apart from each other. So for example when I lived in Lake City Florida I took classes both at Lake City Community College and at Santa Fe in Gainesville. There were even third and fourth options available within still-not-too-unreasonable driving distance.

25

Sorry if I am repeating what someone else has already said…

I would transfer to the University. As an undergrad, getting an education is only one aspect of going to a university. Learning to live on your own, learning to socialize and network, and prioritizing what you need to do are as much of college as the degree. Also the question of money and figuring out how to make it a week with $10 in your pocket is an invaluable experience. You just will not get that going to a community college and still living at home.

26

Why do you confound the question by adding in variables that need not be added?

You convert the question from being one of CC vs university to ones where all sorts of other variables are being needlessly added.

E.g.:

can just as readily be true of attending community college, and the statement

does not remotely have to be true.

Of course you then add in, “and still living at home” but that is needlessly adding a confounding variable. The post was not asking whether someone over 18 really out to go out and make it on their own or not, and that can MORE readily be done with CC than university, actually.

27

I think the intangible experiences should be taken into consideration.

How many college grads work in a field that is directly related to what we studied in undergrad? What you learn in class is not nearly as important as what you learn simply by being in the university environment.

28

Thanks for the insight

to someone who asked, I’m on the Pitt side not penn state side, and also I wouldn’t be able to get into the main campus yet, i’d have to stick with a branch. I’ve been thinking about maybe going to Cal-u but I dunno

29

[quote]Optimistic Cynic wrote:
I think the intangible experiences should be taken into consideration.

How many college grads work in a field that is directly related to what we studied in undergrad? What you learn in class is not nearly as important as what you learn simply by being in the university environment.[/quote]

So what – besides having probably been in more keg parties over a 4 year total – is the “environment learning” accomplished in 4 years all at the university that is not accomplished with 2 at the community college and 2 at the university?

30

I would say it depends on your budget. If you are on a tight budget take as many classes as you can at community.

If not, spend the money for a university. You certainly are missing out on some experiences that can only be bought once in a life time. (Old people revisiting college just don’t get the experience on the same level)

I loved and hated dorm life at the same time for example. Now that it is over, I’m glad I had a year in a dorm. It was like summer camp with beer and lots of bitches and you didn’t have to sneak any of it. Sometimes the cafeteria food was excellent and you could eat as much as you wanted, which was awesome after a heavy squat session. Some times it sucked so much it was funny. Fond memories either way.

Living on campus or in a college town is just fun too. Most of the population is your age and the air itself seems vibrant, energetic and fun.

But, if you can’t afford it, make the prudent decision. In the end it’s all about the jobs a college degree brings.

31

[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
Optimistic Cynic wrote:
I think the intangible experiences should be taken into consideration.

How many college grads work in a field that is directly related to what we studied in undergrad? What you learn in class is not nearly as important as what you learn simply by being in the university environment.

So what – besides having probably been in more keg parties over a 4 year total – is the “environment learning” accomplished in 4 years all at the university that is not accomplished with 2 at the community college and 2 at the university?

[/quote]

I’m a recent grad myself and my job could not have been attained without a bachelor’s degree.

No it would not have mattered from strictly a degree perspective if I completed two years worth of hours at cc and then graduated uni as opposed to university all the way.

I did not go to cc though. Freshman year I joined a fraternity, a more professional marketing group and some other groups.

Some cc’s provide these opportunities (on a smaller level usually), many do not. Especially if you transfer rather than take an associates degree as you remove yourself from the cc network and organizations, which would be kind of ridiculous to default back to if you graduate uni in the end imo.

Networking was the key reason I joined all groups, though I did enjoy the parties and other perks some provided along the way.

I found my job through the marketing group and networking events it opened up to me, which would not have been available to a cc student.

Sure, you could come in at two years and start networking, but most relationships are built from freshman year up in my observation.

I was prez of the marketing group when I graduated, which meant I was a point of contact for the professional chapters which was great for networking.

I started as a member freshman year, built relationships and was elected VP of Communications as a Soph. and up to Prez Jr and Sr. year as I had proven myself to the group. Kids did move in but were viewed a little differently, nobody knew them and time wasn’t on their side to form a niche usually. Right or wrong it’s just how it was.

There is a lot to be said for setting up shop early and networking through a university system that can’t be quantified like class hours or money.

And before I get flamed I’m not mentioning this to pat my own back. I’m using myself as an example for the OP. I do see the value of cc from a financial stand point but I tend to believe there are a lot of benefits to uni a cc can’t provide in the details, so long as uni is affordable.

32

[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
Optimistic Cynic wrote:
I think the intangible experiences should be taken into consideration.

How many college grads work in a field that is directly related to what we studied in undergrad? What you learn in class is not nearly as important as what you learn simply by being in the university environment.

So what – besides having probably been in more keg parties over a 4 year total – is the “environment learning” accomplished in 4 years all at the university that is not accomplished with 2 at the community college and 2 at the university?

[/quote]

You’re not a man until you’re supporting yourself and living on your own. You’re not really grown up if you’re away a college being supported by Mom and Dad. But you’re really a child for that much longer if you’re living in your parents house. There’s a whole host of things you learn and ways you develop socially away at college. Though I suppose it really doesn’t matter if you go two years later.

I’m also not sure what world people are living in. But the education at a community college and a decent university are very different indeed. And I’m sorry to say the discrepency between how the world at large views them is even greater. I suppose it doesn’t matter in the end if you transfer to a good university. Though it would for grad school purposes if a lot of pre-reqs for the chosen field were taken at the community college. That’s why I’d say, get your gen ed requirements taken care of at community college and save your core curriculm for whatever field you’d like to go into for university.

33

[quote]jsbrook wrote:
chillain wrote:
If you’re planning on med/vet/dental/pharm/optometry school after undergrad, you’d have an easier time getting straight A’s in those basic lab sciences at a community college.

They also mean a lot less. I think that’s bad advice.[/quote]

Not really. I can think of three friends who did exactly this, matriculated to US med schools and are doing just fine because of this strategy, in part.

34

[quote]jsbrook wrote:
And I would not take very many grad school pre-reqs at community college. I would use it to fulfill my gen ed requirements there. If I was in grad school admissions, I would automatically mark you down for grades in key classes you completed in community college. [/quote]

It doesn’t work like that, js. On the pre-healthcare track, the basic lab sciences are all lower division courses and are basically the first hurdle to weed out the underachievers.

You don’t arrive at university as a junior and then start taking your gen chem, bio and physics with the freshmen.

35

2 words - state school. They are cheap 4 year schools where the teachers don’t care about you and the booze and drugs flow freely. Problem solved.

36

I go to a California Community College and it is true that many classes in the liberal arts and social sciences are cake(besides maybe economics). BUT, science, engineering and math classes are quite rigorous. Calculus is calculus and organic chem is organic chem whether you go here or Berkeley or UCLA. The main thing you will miss out on is large 500+ student classes, cut throat pre-med types, and ridiculous curves that set up a pre-determined percentage of the class up for failure regardless of what they’ve learned. Missing out on these in no ways impedes your ability to grasp and excel at the same material kids at universities do.

37

[quote]chillain wrote:
jsbrook wrote:
chillain wrote:
If you’re planning on med/vet/dental/pharm/optometry school after undergrad, you’d have an easier time getting straight A’s in those basic lab sciences at a community college.

They also mean a lot less. I think that’s bad advice.

Not really. I can think of three friends who did exactly this, matriculated to US med schools and are doing just fine because of this strategy, in part.

[/quote]

What med schools are these? I have friends at top med schools who took orgo at top universities but as a summer class. Even that was frowned on in some instances.

38

Furthermore, many medical schools will not even include community college grades when calculating GPAs. This then requires that your prerequisites be taken at a four-year institution (otherwise you could officially have no science GPA!). Even if the medical schools to which you apply do accept your two-year-college science courses, they will likely weigh the two-year courses less than those at most four-year colleges, and this will hurt your chances of acceptance. This does not mean you cannot get into medical school if you start your college career at a community college - only that there may be additional factors for you to consider. (and that your trajectory may take longer)

39

Here’s what the Dean of Admissions at Michigan Med School had to say on the matter. Michigan is not a school that absolutely bars prereqs at a community college even though it’s a top ten med school. But here is their view on the matter:

“Completing medical school requires a great deal of hard work, and we look very favorably upon those people who have had to work significant hours to complete their education. Taking classes at community college will place you at a disadvantage because it is typically not as difficult to obtain high marks from the community college. Several applicants attempt to inflate the GPA by taking the majority of their tough science prerequisites at community colleges. If there are special circumstances require you to take peer exits at community college, you should explain this in your personal essay.”

40

^^ Thanks for posting that and clearing up my misconception.

(and yeah, those particular friends of mine didn’t end up at top-10 MD programs)