Here’s a topic for discussion. Who has had a list of acceptances to universities but chose to do Community College?
Our daughter was set on a nice in-state university about 60 min from our home. That was until we got the financial aid package and got a total of zero money back. That actually would’ve been affordable if we still lived in our last house…but a year ago, for unforseen circumstances, we had to move “post-inflation.” Ugh! And it’s the same size house too! That made going away to college unaffordable. So, our daughter, being mature, and wanting to avoid a pile of debt volunteered to live at home and go to community college for her first 2 years.
One friend of a daughter was in a similar financial situation, although it was due to a combination of a divorce plus her father’s small business struggling. She was one of the stronger students in her high school, but could not afford to attend university. I think that the way that they calculate need based aid with divorced parents and a small business was not in her favor.
She instead went to a local community college for two years. She did very well, and transferred to an in-state public university with a merit based scholarship that fully covered tuition and fees. She was able to live at her father’s home the entire time and needed to pay for only books and a few incidentals and her car (which was needed to get from her father’s home to the university). I happened to run into her at a store near my home about one month before she graduated university – with nearly straight A’s, a very marketable major, and very little in debt. She was doing very well.
I am confident that her father was very proud of her.
My DD’17 did community college only. She was a good student, mostly A’s, a lot of art talent and skill with software. Graphic design was an obvious choice and that meant a 2 year graphic design AAS at cc was an option. We compared and it had as many or more design credits as the bachelors degrees, just a lot less gen eds.
DD was all for getting it done efficiently and avoiding debt. She also really liked the cc on her tour and got “that feeling” and loved the town. She was able to live in student housing as it was an hour from home, and have a bit of that away at college life but with her own bedroom and bathroom suite. Between the tax credit and scholarships, I don’t think there was any net tuition out of pocket. It was a strong program there too.
For a little while senior year, she got a little shy about telling people she was going to cc, especially after a couple of people commented negatively. But then she bucked up and told people confidently she was excited to go there and save money.
Whether it was a detriment to her job search to not have the BA, we do not know. None of her interviewers brought it up. But she got a job and now that she’s been in it for 4 years, her type of degree will figure in less in any future job moves.
I think that choosing community college is a great option. Some people may look down their noses at it, but you know what? When you transfer and then graduate from the 4 yr institution, it doesn’t say ‘community college X’ on the diploma. It says ‘University X.’ Employers won’t care either. My DH went to community college first because that’s what he could afford. It all turned out fine in the end.
I don’t think anybody should feel embarrassed or ashamed to go to community college. If starting at community college is what you have to do, then own it and be proud of it. Anybody who sticks their nose up at you over it is just showing what a judgmental butthead they are…it says way more about them than it does about you.
My eldest is just starting out with the admissions process, so we aren’t yet making these decisions.
But some time ago, my niece started off at an Ivy, had to withdraw because it was not a fit for her at all, transferred to an OOS public, and had to take a leave of absence due to significant health issues and then ultimately withdrew. She completed her degree at her local community college. She grew up in a community where people do look down on the community college path, but in the long run, it has all worked out OK for her. She was able to get healthy and still landed a great internship in accounting after her graduation, but decided that ultimately that was not her path. She’s now an interior designer happily running her own successful small business.
Her brother did complete his degree at an Ivy, and if you ask their dad, he’d say that he feels quite strongly that her path has been just as successful as her brother’s (at a fraction of the cost and achieved in a way that worked best for her situation), and that he’s proud of her and the career she has created for herself.
I’ve seen those posts too. In fact, I believe it to be the opposite. Students choose CC mainly because of financial reasons. Sacrificing “college experience” to avoid debt is a sign of real maturity, especially when medical school costs so much.