Will going to a community college hurt me in the long run?

samdawitness23 · 04-24-2009, 06:08 PM

Alright here's my friend's story

He is currently a senior right now. He got accepted to UCI and UCSD, rejected from Berkeley and UCLA. He is wait listed at Harvey Mudd.

He is disappointed that he didn't get into Berkeley or UCLA that he's thinking about going to a community college for a couple of years and transfer to a better school.

If he does so, would going to a community college hurt his chance of getting into top grad schools for engineering? such as Caltech, M.I.T, Stanford, etc.?

What should he do? Harvey Mudd is very expensive too even if he gets accepted. UCSD or community college and transfer? and then a top grad school?

Coolbrezze · 04-24-2009, 06:22 PM

I wouldn't attend a community college, looks like your friend has good universities to select from.

Vehicle · 04-24-2009, 06:27 PM

The California community college system is easy to transfer for larger UCs such as UCLA and Berkley. They say about 40% of transfers are from community colleges.

It's a great way to save money especially if your goal is to transfer. It won't hurt him so long as he's only taking general education courses while enrolled in the CC. A lot of schools look down on courses in the programs being taken at another university so make sure he checks with UCLA/Berkley's program requirements.

hmom5 · 04-24-2009, 06:58 PM

I would go to UCSD is his place. It's as good as the top UC's for most majors and better for some. I think 4 years there will look best of his choices to grad schools and employers.

Kaley89 · 04-24-2009, 07:00 PM

I wouldn't turn down UCSD for community college... it's a very good school, and he can always try to transfer from USCD later if he doesn't like it

ReachForDreams · 04-24-2009, 07:52 PM

I think he should go to UCSD, and if he doesn't like it, transfer.

momfromme · 04-24-2009, 07:54 PM

No problem as long as he takes challenging courses and does well. It won't be the same experience, in large part because his fellow students will be less strong academically and of varied ages. But I know someone who did what you describe who is now an M.D. It is possible to do quite well starting from CC.

ebeeeee · 04-24-2009, 07:58 PM

I notice all the comments about UCSD then transfer are from out of state. I know people are trying to be helpful but the facts are that the UC system has a heavy emphasis on transfers from CA CCs. There are very few transfers taken from UCSD into other UCs.
There are great community colleges to choose from.
For instance, Santa Barbara City College offers UCSB dorm housing and a two year program with lots of transfers into UCLA, etc.
In the long run, everyone will know his degree came from UCLA or whatever UC he chooses. No one will ask or know that his first two years were at a CC.

samdawitness23 · 04-24-2009, 07:59 PM

He wants to go into engineering in grad school.

samdawitness23 · 04-24-2009, 09:37 PM

bump bump bump

katliamom · 04-24-2009, 09:54 PM

sam, getting into grad schools at MIT & Caltech is very difficult and I think your friend would be a more competitive candidate if he did his 4 years at UC. That doesn't mean he CAN'T get into top caliber schools... it just might make it harder. My recommendation would be for your friend to go into one of the UCs he got into. They're excellent schools that would also offer a more traditional (and I think more fun) undergrad college experience. Those extra two years on a UC campus will be great for getting to know professors and getting a leg up on the more selective seminars and projects. UC is the way to go in this instance.

Mom2jej · 04-24-2009, 11:52 PM

While UCs do take CC transfers FIRST, some do take transfers from other UCs. Your friend should look at Ucla's and Cal's websites about transfers and do some investigating.

I think CCs are a terrific option. The Validictorian of my oldest S class went to a CC before transferring to Ucla. But there's a lot of misinformation out there that it's IMPOSSIBLE to transfer to a UC from another UC. It depends on the UC.

samdawitness23 · 04-25-2009, 01:56 AM

Thanks for the responses, but what I'm looking for is advise for top engineering gradschools, not just transferring to a UC.

Would it be better to go to a CC and transfer into berkeley than to attend UCSD for 4 years to get into a top engineering school?

hmom5 · 04-25-2009, 05:49 AM

I think most here are telling you your best option for looking attractive to grad schools is 4 years at a UC. While SD isn't Cal where engineering is concerned, it's still excellent and might actually allow you to do better as UCB engineering is extremely competitive.

I also agree with the others that UC to UC transfers are not as difficult as people generally say. The UC's I've looked at have a very close transfer acceptance rate from other UC's as from CC's. There are so many myths that float around about UC's. So if you really want to transfer after 2 years it won't be impossible.

hellojan · 04-25-2009, 09:01 AM

California's community college system is specifically designed to send students to top schools (which, in turn, prepare students for top grad schools).

I'm in Pennsylvania and my community college has send students to Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, MIT, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, UPenn, and Columbia. I'd say that succeeding at any of those schools would make someone a good candidate for a top grad school.