<p>That was a great post. I actually see your point. There isn’t as much disagreement there as you might imagine. I think you state the case for spending more $$$ and going private or at the very least public honors very well. </p>
<p>Believe or not I’ve weighed those options carefully. </p>
<p>And I think there is one very big crucial point you and parents who think like you are missing. What makes you think my son (the oldest one) doesn’t do EC’s, community service and leadership stuff already? Can you honestly post on this board that those sorts of things are ONLY done at elite and quite expensive even after FA U’s? </p>
<p>I’m seriously considering sending my son to South America to build houses with Habitat for Humanity after high school. Those opportunities are there at a CC, a public or a private. Most kids at a CC work, which isn’t all that bad of a thing maturity wise, but my kids won’t have to do that and with the extra time they have they will do EC’s. </p>
<p>Where I agree with you is that the EC’s are enhanced at a private. My son isn’t losing anything really he just will get to some of the good stuff as a junior not a freshman. He will have the advantage of not having to work and he will be able to pick up a duel degree if he wants to and take a little more time to finish if he wants too. Some students at privates are under serious pressure to finish and if they change their major, just to name one example, things go haywire. Who needs all that hassle, stress and pressure? </p>
<p>This summer, right before his senior year, we are going to visit some places. I think you have made some very good points on this and the other threads we have interacted on and I thank you for them. I agree with you to an extent that college isn’t a buffet line where you just pick up some credits and then head off to the work force but I do think the work load involved to get to the same destination (the career) ought to be considered unless one is a martyr or really intent on proving things to other people. </p>
<p>There is nothing I am disappointed in my son at. I can understand what you are saying though. You expect much of your kids and had they wanted the easiest path you might have been a bit disappointed. Is that it? </p>
<p>Well, I am not disappointed. </p>
<p>We are not losing opps for EC’s or stimulating conversation.</p>
<p>I NEVER said that choosing the 4 year college over the CC was a no brainer. What I DID say was that I think ACC is wrong in saying that sending kids who can get into an Ivy or the Patriot League schools to CC for the first two years is a “no brainer.” </p>
<p>I wrote:
</p>
<p>In other words, I think that for MOST kids who can get into an Ivy or a Patriot League school it would be a mistake to go to a CC. </p>
<p>NOWHERE in my posts do I claim that it is my parenting skills that are responsible for my offspring’s academic success–or failures. </p>
<p>But, yes, my offspring had the chance to go to a top college. If that chance were turned down in a trade for a truck, I’d be upset. I don’t think that’s an insult to anyone else. It’s just the truth. There might be some reasons a kid would choose a CC over a 4 year college that I could understand and accept–but to get a truck or the promise of a down payment of a house years from now? No, those are NOT reasons I’d accept.</p>
<p>In most instances, they only offer lower division courses. This creates an awkward situation for students who are accelerated in a particular subject – especially if they plan to major in that subject. The courses these students are prepared to take are not offered.</p>
<p>My daughter, who is an economics major, completed AP Economics and AP Calculus in high school. She took upper-division economics courses starting in her first semester of college. She could not have done that at a community college.</p>
<p>We happen to have an excellent community college where we live, but we also have high schools that emphasize APs. The best students from our high schools are not a good fit for our community college because of the acceleration factor.</p>
<p>I didn’t read any of the responses, but just wanted to say - CC saved me. As a 22 year old newly-wed student going back on her own, I couldn’t just start out in a 4 year. Financially, it was a much better route. Now I’m transferring out. I have been admitted into SDSU for spring, still waiting to hear from UCSD for fall. Not sure which path I’m going to take as of now. But all that to say, I am very thankful for community college. In my situation it benefited me. It can be a wonderful resource. </p>
<p>I think to each his own. I have a one year old daughter right now and I wouldn’t be disappointed if that was her decision. If she wants to go off to a 4 year university, I understand that too. It depends on your individual circumstances.</p>
<p>I went to a CC the first 2 years and actually probably the same one in orlando you work at lol! SCC? or SSC? lol. I would have to disagree I disliked going there so much. I felt I was missing so much of the college experience. So I just became so motivated to finish my AA and get out! Now I am at FSU this fall!</p>
<p>University of Florida, which is a pretty highly ranked public university, takes a lot of transfer students from community college.</p>
<p>So while not optimal, it is not a bad option, especially if you don’t come from a rich family. </p>
<p>Further, some kids (such as myself, 40 years ago) were not quite ready to go away to college, so community college offers a good transition. I myself went away to college, and the first year was tough.</p>
<p>Other kids might not have “bloomed” academically by the time they reach 18, but might well be ready to attend a 4 year school two years later.</p>
<p>There are probably many other reasons to attend a community college.</p>
<p>I would have sent my D to a CC as a last resort OR if she REALLY preferred to attend a CC.</p>
<p>The graduation rate at my state’s CCs is about 25%. Of that 25%, I do not know how many transfer to a four year school and of those who transfer, how many graduate with a BA or BS.</p>
<p>In my state, about half of all entering CC students have to take developmental or remedial Math or English, non credit classes.</p>
<p>I do not think my D would have been particularly challenged at our local CC. None of her friends opted to attend. In fact, no one from her private school attended a CC anywhere as a freshman student. </p>
<p>It’s nice that CCs have an open door policy with many remedial classes for those students who are at that level. The open door policy allows returning students, displaced homemakers, and a host of others to start their college coursework without having to meet entrance requirements, take SATs, and so on. </p>
<p>Our CC is filled with recent HS graduates who are unmotivated and ill prepared for college. I do not know what happens to the kids who drop out of CC. Our CC does not have many vocational or technical programs, unfortunately.</p>
<p>Face it, some kids are not as smart as others or have not had the advantages of an early foundation in basic skills. Not everyone is college material. A hard and unpleasant truth.</p>
<p>CC graduation rates can be misleading. I attended a cc for 2 years (ages ago), however, I did NOT graduate from the cc as I was 3 credits short in language arts. Every credit I earned at the cc counted at the university I transferred to and I graduated from the university on time in my intended major.</p>
<p>I had several friends who attended cc for one year and then transferred to a 4 year school from which they later graduated. But again, they were not counted as cc graduates.</p>
<p>Community colleges also have students taking courses without intending to graduate with associates’ degrees or transfer to complete bachelor’s degrees. For example, a student may be attending solely to take a sequence of foreign language courses (s/he may or may not already have an associates’, bachelor’s, or other degree).</p>