<p>I’ve gotten a lot of advice on CC regarding paying for college but the same reoccurring message is given to me consistently, “make sure you apply to community colleges since you’re not financially well off”. This makes me feel like all the hard work I did and all the good grades I’ve earned doesn’t matter, If I’m financially deprived; just throw away my dreams of going to a good college. I have a lot of pride, if I went to community college, I would feel like a loser especially when there’s someone at my high school who’s at the same level as me academically but they’re able to go to a known state college because they can afford it. That would demoralize me so much. I always view community college as a “college” that students who earned C’s and D’s in high school were accepted to because they were always rejected from any universities of significance. I would rather rack up 120k+ in debt, graduating from a well known business school and the ability to have a good paying job than to not really have much debt, graduating from a no-name not have a well paying job in the same shabby town that I live in.</p>
<p>I was wondering is this the wrong mindset?</p>
<p>(I will post my stats and list of colleges in a later post)</p>
<p>I don’t think you have the wrong mindset! Maybe because I think we are the same… I have nearly a full ride to a college where only 20% of students graduate. People call me ungrateful because I want a better education. I think it’s heartbreaking that such passionate people cannot live their dreams because education is too freaking expensive.</p>
<p>Depending on your stats and state of residency, you may be able to go to a good university with much less debt than that. At the top of the financial and scholarships forum are sticky threads with full tuition to full ride scholarships you can try for.</p>
<p>Definitely the wrong mindset. I know it must be frustrating to have worked so hard in school and then end up at a CC with many who did not work hard at all. However, there are just as many very good students who are attending CC for many reasons- financial, local jobs, just not ready to leave, etc. Your feelings of being a loser are misguided, and unfortunately, reading the many postings here on cc is not helpful as the students who post here are probably not the typical student. Just because you start at a CC doesn’t mean you can’t transfer to a good university after 2 years. Employers don’t care where you started out, but only where you end up. In this economy, it would not be a good move to rack up such a huge student debt as it would really curtail your lifestyle after you graduate. You say that you are “not financially well off”; it that is the case it is doubtful you could even borrow the money to attend a university. Your parents or another qualified person would have to co-sign for your loan which sounds unlikely. As a student, you are very limited in how much you can borrow. </p>
<p>Your stats don’t really matter if you can’t afford universities, unless they are good enough to get great financial aid. Yes, I know it is disappointing, but you need to get over it and move on. You will get as much out of your 2 years at a CC as you put in. Go in and get great grades so that you have as many options as possible to transfer. If your CC has an honors program, look into it. Get involved at the school so that you have a lot of good EC’s . Use this time to save money and you will be surprised at how fast the time goes!</p>
<p>My ex-husband went to CC for two years, then attended our state flagship for 2 years before graduating. He went on to attend Georgetown Law School. </p>
<p>Last week I had a meal with an old college classmate and her husband – he graduated from University of Michigan with an engineering degree, and I found out at that meal that he went to CC for two years before transferring to Michigan. I hadn’t known that, and I have known him for a long time. There is no shame in starting at a CC and transferring. You are letting peer pressure, envy, and a hunger for prestige get in the way of common sense.</p>
<p>Yes, I do think this is the wrong mindset. </p>
<p>Nothing about going to a community college would denote you a “loser” and a failure in any way, shape or form, and quite frankly, it’s mindsets like yours that perpetuates that myth. There are very hardworking, bright, and gifted individuals who go to community colleges for a variety of reasons, and then go on to transfer to good universities. This does not make them losers, nor do I think they would appreciate you considering them as such.</p>
<p>That being said, you can certainly go straight to a 4-year university, but be realistic about your situation. Racking up 120K+ in debt is not a good idea and should NEVER be done because of your pride. Apply to schools that provide good merit and need based aid. Work your but off to get scholarships, and work while you’re in school. Going to a “well known business school” does not automatically give you the ability to get a good job–your talent, hard work, and perseverance may, but there are still no guarantees. What happens if you are 120K+ in debt and then you can’t find a job when you graduate? Or you can’t get a job that would allow you to pay rent, get groceries, AND make your student loan payments.</p>
<p>Be realistic, forward-thinking, and mature about your decision. Consider all of your options, and make the one that would be best for your future. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that community college is for “losers” or that you can only succeed if you go straight to a 4-year university from high school. Don’t let your jealously and pride harm your future financial stability.</p>
<p>I’d never recommend 100+K debt for undergrad, but if you have decent stats, there will be schools that offer decent financial and/or merit aid - you just have to search more carefully to find them. You should be able to find one that doesn’t leave you with 100K in debt.</p>
<p>Whether your cc has high stat students at it or not depends upon your location. Ours does not… (the admissions person at ours commented on my 10th graders ‘30’ on his ACT and said she’d never seen anyone with a score so high - he was the talk of the admissions office - but he was taking classes as a high schooler - couldn’t drive yet and needed parent signatures - hence -why we were there to overhear things). His junior year ACT was considerably higher and cc “for real” was never an option for us. In other areas it does appear to be different, so it could be worth checking into yours with an open mind. However, my primary advice is to search for schools carefully to find one that fits your stats with enough non-loan aid to attend (basic loans will only leave you with < 30K debt - a decent investment IMO).</p>
<p>well, if you have the stats, apply to Deep Spring, two year college that seems pretty tough both mentally and physically. You may have to be male as well; the school wants to admit females but it seems stalled.</p>
<p>I don’t really think that someone who doesn’t want to go to CC would exile themselves to an alternative college that involves manual labor in nowhere California (despite the fact that many of their alumni continue to top schools). I can’t really see OP or most people that post here there.</p>
<p>Not saying OP is lazy, just saying that’s…quite a jump from CC vs 4 year.</p>
<p>I do agree that not wanting to go to CC is the wrong mindset, but I can understand where OP is coming from. For example, I think that students that can perform well (slightly below the ‘average’ CC’er in some cases) but struggle with motivation/focus issues like myself would become unmotivated and bored/frustrated (mostly the latter) at CC. Again, not saying the OP is like that but I am. Of course, there are support services at CC just like any other school, but if the OP lives in a state with a booming CC system it’s likely that the built-in support is not as strong as a 4 year college.</p>
<p>Well, you’re low income, so you won’t qualify for those loans and your parents won’t qualify to co-sign them, so thankfully, that bad idea is out.</p>
<p>If you’ve worked so hard, then you have the stats to get into a school that will either give you large FA or large merit.</p>
<p>What state are you in?
What are your test scores?
What is your GPA?
What is your major/career goal?</p>
<p>BTW…many very successful people have gone from CCs to good univ and had very successful careers.</p>
<p>I see you have Pace down as the school you want to attend. Pace gives lousy aid.</p>
<p>I went to a community college for 2 years before transferring to a well-known, highly ranked state school. I loved my cc and hated the state school. I know my degree from this school is looked on favorably, but I still have fond memories of cc. </p>
<p>Going to a cc is not a negative. I think it is actually a great option for many kids. If you do end up going to cc, please keep an open mind. A lot of your success/failure can come from your attitude.</p>
<p>I don’t think you have the wrong mindset at all, just the wrong numbers. $120K is too much debt, and even if someone would lend it too you, there is probably a way to achieve what you want with less debt. </p>
<p>I’m more familiar with community college as a place for the students who couldn’t get into 4 year colleges. Apparently in some parts of the country it’s become more acceptable to start there, but I’ve only heard of that on CC. It’s not the reality where I live. </p>
<p>If your low income, look into financial aid, look into questbridge, look into merit aid, and yes, look into some loans, but be careful. </p>
<p>There is often too much “debt is bad” sentiment on CC.</p>
<p>The fact is, it is often worth investing in yourself by borrowing money. However, you have to do the math and make sure it’s worth it and calculate the risks. </p>
<p>My rule of thumb is don’t use rules of thumb. Do the math. </p>
<p>I think each case needs to be evaluated individually on the merits of how much you are borrowing, what the likelihood is that you will be able to pay it back, and if there are exit points along the way - typically, you only borrow for year 4 after you’ve completed year 3, etc. </p>
<p>This way if you crash and burn freshman year, you won’t owe that much.</p>
<p>ClassicRockerDad, where do you live? You seem to have no idea about any college path except the one you took yourself. I am guessing that it is just as common “where you live” for kids to go to CC for two years and transfer. Sure, a lot of kids don’t, they just get their AAs and are done. And some don’t finish their AAs. That is true everywhere. But there are going to be a fair number of kids who do transfer. Just because you don’t run in the circles where lots of kids go the CC route doesn’t mean it isn’t a perfectly valid route for someone like the OP. I grew up in a town of about 35,000 people in the midwest. I knew a lot more kids going to the local CC than to four year colleges. And probably 25% of those kids went on to 4 year schools. Knew a couple of kids who didn’t make it academically at the state flagship, went back to CC for two years, then on to successful degrees and careers from four year schools. The CC is booming in my hometown right now, too. More course offerings, new buildings, they even built dorms recently. </p>
<p>If the OP is really superior to his peers academically, he should be able to ace his AA courses at a reasonable cost and still end up with a degree from a four year college with minimal debt. There is nothing wrong with that path.</p>
<p>We’ve had this discussion before and I still disagree with you intparent. </p>
<p>You don’t learn as much from studying with less capable students as you learn studying with people smarter than yourself. Of course CC is a valid approach. It’s just inferior, the OP knows it, and s/he wants a better option.</p>
<p>Of course, starting at CC means doing frosh and soph years on the cheap, so that if one is at risk of doing the crash and burn then, the cost and debt will be low.</p>
<p>Then again, the OP has not given any useful information specific to his/her case, such as high school academic credentials, intended major in college, state of residency, actual cost constraints, etc… Without that, specific suggestions would be hard to give.</p>