Community College vs 4 Year

jslee812
Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:55:57 +0000

Kinda long but please read?

I’m in a real dilemma here.I’m considering going to either Santa Monica College or any of the 4 year Universities i’ll be applying for Fall 2009 admissions(I live in Southern California).

Weighted GPA:3.44
Non-weighted GPA:3.0
UC GPA:3.44
SAT I:1980
SAT II:720/620

I really struggled through high school and i’m really glad I only have a year left. I mean it just sucked for me,I recently failed my pre-calculus class and will have to retake it my senior year.

Santa Monica College
Pros:
-SMC has the highest transfer rate to UCLA of all CC’s across the nation
-Cheaper
-It’s in Santa Monica
-I could live with my sister in her apartment since she works in LA.
-I’m still able to move away from my family.(They’ll be like an hour away)
-I’ll most likely end up at UCLA----a top school,baring any major meltdown
Cons:
-I’d miss the Freshman experience (i.e. connections with professors and other social connections,living in a dorm,etc)
-Don’t really know how my friends would react.I mean they really are good friends,but for the most part they can be judgmental and very cocky.Most of them are probably already going to go to CAL,UCLA,UCSD,etc out of HS.

Univeristy of California Irvine/Davis/Santa Barbara/Riverside/Santa Cruz/Merced

Pros:
-Won’t miss the Freshman experience
-Better education
-Friends wouldn’t judge me
-Out of the house(well I guess i’d be out regardless)
Cons:
-Expensive compared to CC,plus I know I won’t get a scholarship since I failed math recently.
-Depending on which UC I’d get in i might not enjoy it knowing I could have gone to CC and than tranfer to UCLA.I mean I’d be very satisfied with going to Irvine,Davis, or Santa Barbara and this wouldn’t even be an issue, but most likely I won’t get into those schools…and I’d be stuck with SC,Riverside, and Merced.

I really just don’t know.I’m getting all this flak from my sister and family. I’m Asian so my parents would probably disapprove of going to a CC since my stupid sister went to Stanford and now goes to UCLA for her JD.So expectations were/still high for me and I’ve been kind of viewed as a disappointment.

Sick of my parents telling me what to do.