<p>In some ways the diversity of competence is good. It provides learning opportunities that go beyond the academic. For instance, I’ve had a number of students on the GI Bill, and the perspective they have of the world is quite fascinating. I’ve had an MD who was taking a management course to better manage his medical practice, and he was a fabulous “father figure” to other students. He taught his classmates as much as I did.</p>
<p>In other ways, the lack of academic competence can be frustrating, especially to higher-achieving students who find themselves at CCs because of economic issues. I would personally be embarrassed to sit next to someone who cannot write one short grammatically correct sentence and wonder why I am in the same class.</p>
<p>As a result, I would probably not send my own children to CC because they are high achieving students (they are still in K-12). In elite schools - with all their drawbacks and costs - at least you have a student body that is highly intelligent. Also, the “branding” of the school unfortunately still makes a difference - hence the reason I went to an Ivy grad school.</p>
<p>But the comparison of a 3.6 at Cornell to a 3.7 at CC is still ridiculous . . . of course the 3.6 at Cornell is more impressive because of the competition.</p>