<p>Basically, my family does not have tons of extra money so I am paying for my schooling. I have no idea what I want to do yet. I don’t have a great idea on what I want to study. I found a good CC where I will have a VERY nice living situation and awesome financial aid. I would ultimately like to do this school for two years, get my gen eds completed, and (fingers crossed) transfer to UMich. I’m currently a senior, with my unweighted gpa following junior year at a 3.75 (will be up loads by the end of this year) and an act score of 29. I’m enrolled in three ap courses this year, also taking 2 honors courses, am acing all of my classes, and took two ap’s last year. </p>
<p>My only holdup is that many students at my high school talk about how bad CC’s look and people have told me it’s harder to get accepted into a uni after attending CC than just going straight there. Any insight/knowledge? I’m having second thoughts on my original plan and time is running out to apply anywhere else.</p>
<p>Thanks! x</p>
<p>You’re a junior and you’re competitive for a 4 year college. UMich “meets need” for its Michigan applicants, so you really don’t have anything to lose if your family is lower-income. You can apply to UMich, Michigan State, Michigan Tech, to a community college, and (why not?) to some private universities or colleges.
Since you’re a junior, you also have plenty of time to retake the ACT.
Community college CAN be a cheap solution but the downsides of being a strong student surrounded by lower-achieving classmates is that you may not stretch yourself enough and may not get the study habits you would get at a 4-year college, another issue, if you’re taking a lot of AP courses, is that the community college may not have classes that match your needs (you’d have to make sure you won’t run out of advanced classes and what the articulation agreement with UMich is - could work out but check); in addition, the best financial aid goes to freshmen, so that two “free” years at the CC + 2 years with less good financial aid at UMich may not end up being such a bargain (if indeed you are lower income and would thus have all your financial need met at UMich if you got in). In your case it may well be cheaper to attend UMich if you take in all 4 years. In short: consider 4 year costs as well as value.</p>
<p>Have you applied to any colleges yet? You certainly have the academic credentials to get into a respectable 4-year college. I’m presuming that you’re a Michigan resident. If not, then why not look at your own state’s 4-year colleges. Most CC’s have open admissions and late application deadlines, and so you can always enroll if you don’t secure an adequate aid package at a 4-year college. </p>
<p>can’t emphasize enough how important it is to run the net price calculator at each college you consider before you make such an important decision. </p>
<p>I also can’t over-emphasize how important it is to listen to your friends and other advisors and then be able to discern for yourself the validity of their suggestions. </p>
<p>@MYOS1634 I am actually a senior; we just don’t have first semester grades and cumulatives run yet so the only numbers I can provide are those i was last given at the end of junior year. As for motivation, I’m highly competitive and always want to be the best so I have no issues pushing myself. My hang up on UM is that I’m just below an average student by their standards and might have bigger issues getting the scholarships I need. My likelihood of acceptance was calculated to a 70%.
Do community colleges really look THAT bad? </p>
<p>Apply to UMich. UMich gives great FA to instate students. </p>
<p>Is your family low income? </p>
<p>no, they don’t. CCs are the way many Americans start their bachelors education. When I went to cc, there were a lot of kids there who were trying to get their academic feet under them, it’s true, but there were also a lot of serious students who were preparing themselves for a bachelors the best that they could given their family situation. </p>
<p>I think what @MYOS1634 and @woogzmama are saying is that with your grades and a slightly better ACT there might not be an academic reason to go to cc AND there might be financial reasons to AVOID going to a cc since most FA at 4yr colleges goes to incoming students who will be there for four years.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids by fafsa standards, probably not. With my father’s overtime work (he puts in about 65 hours a week) and my mom’s job, we have a family of 6 and an income of about $80,000 a year. That number might be slightly different after taxes are done in January for us but it’s a rough estimate. The cc I’m looking at – which, believe me, is a LOT nicer than most – I will be able to attend for about $1000 a year after my aid and scholarships.</p>
<p>EDIT: I should add that my parents are very wise with their money but with market crash and regular expenses/bills we typically only have around $1000 in the bank. </p>
<p>Financial aid is not related to your grades - you’re confusing with merit aid.
For UMich, if you get in, they cover your financial need with a financial package. RUN THE NET PRICE CALCULATOR.
NOW. 
UMich is known for its excellent Financial Aid for its instate students, as mom2collegekids said above - that’s money you get because you got in and your family is lower income, not because of grades. (Your grades got you in, now they’ll make sure you can attend).
You can also apply to schools where you may get merit aid, of course.</p>
<p>Community College aren’t “that bad”. It’s just that for a strong student, you lower your odds of graduating from a 4 year college if you start at a CC; you even lower them from that if you compare CC to a selective university like UMich; and even more if you’re lower income. In short, your odds of graduating and succeeding in college are higher if you are admitted to UMich directly, than if you go the CC route, especially since it’s not as common in Michigan as in California (which is THE model for CC-flagship articulation). </p>
<p>As a senior, apply to Umich, Michigan State, Michigan Tech, add Kalamazoo, Kettering, Lawrence Tech, Albion deppending on what atmosphere you’re looking for and what major you’re considering.
Would you be willing to consider other states? Do you have an idea of what field you’d like to get into (CS, Spanish, International Relations, Economics, Math…?)</p>
<p>BTW: Did you get your application fee waivers? If not, go ask your counselor on Monday.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 thank you so much for all of your help and patience with me! I ran the net price calculator; $27,000 total, approximated $14,000 in aid (+merit aid eventually I’m assuming), $5000 in loans, $2500 from work, with remaining cost of $5000.
I won’t be going out of state per request of my parents. No idea what I want to major in; I’ve looked at becoming a pre-med student, travel & tourism, public relations/marketing, business, nutrition… Not that I can’t find something I’m interested in, I just can’t decide on a single thing. I love my health courses but can’t see myself handling med offices well (I’d be bored) and a hospital setting might be really stressful for me. On the other hand, I feel like travel or business would waste my extensive health field knowledge.
I am working on lining up internships to hopefully guide me towards something specific. Grades wise, would you think I’m competitive enough to get into a pre-med program or general LSA at UM?
On app fee waivers: I do not meet the criteria for them according to my guidance counselor. </p>
<p>Again, sorry for the lengthy reply but thank you for your assistance :)</p>
<p>as for your admission to UM, your ACT is in the lower end of the middle 50 score, which puts you in the running for admission, esp. since you’re in-state. this makes you a match. You have every reason to apply. Michigan State would be a safety for you. </p>
<p>@MYOS1634, I don’t believe what you say is true. For a strong student, going to CC, IMO, does not lower the odds of graduating from a 4-year college. Do you have data to prove me wrong? CC students, on average, certainly don’t graduate from 4-year colleges at the same rate as those who enter UMich, but there is a big difference in the quality of the average student going to CC and the average student going to UMich. That does <em>not</em> mean that the same strong student would do worse going the CC route vs. entering UMich directly. There is also a study that showed that for lower-income students, going to a directional (where you have a lot of commuters looking to improve their life) actually improves the odds of graduating compared to a average flagship (where many of the kids come from well-off families and are mainly looking to party).</p>
<p>BTW, for an in-state student, transferring in to UMich from a CC won’t be that hard so long as you keep your grades up.</p>
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<p>Even if an out-of-state school is less expensive?</p>
<p>A 3.75 HS GPA and 29 ACT could get you some large merit scholarships that could leave a remaining cost less than $14,000 per year.</p>
<p><a href=“http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/”>http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/</a> indicates the following are low cost possibilities:
Alabama - Huntsville
Tuskegee
Alabama State
Arkansas - Monticello
Howard
Florida A&M
Prairie View A&M</p>
<p>Starting at CC is not necessarily a bad option, but it is not the only option you have. However, UMich’s transfer credit listings indicate that it is relatively stingy with transfer credit from other colleges (CC or four year), so it may be preferable to start at UMich as a frosh rather than transfer there. For other four year schools, check their transfer credit listings to see if they accept course work in your possible majors from the CCs you are considering.</p>
<p>Have you spoken with the Transfer Advisor at the CC that you are looking at? That person should know which courses UMich is likely to take, and definitely will know about any formal articulation agreements or guaranteed transfer agreements within the state.</p>
<p>Two brothers in our neighborhood went to CC, then transferred to local 4 year public college - they had scholarship to CC. It worked out great Our local 4 year college is a top tier public state school - saving on room and board was helpful. They also were able to line up paid work in their field.</p>
<p>Some local students actually live on campus rather than at home, even though parents live very close to campus (less than 20 min drive). I think the peer students don’t care, because there are many that live at home and many live in dorms.</p>
<p>Going to CC first, it is different than attending four year college right away. However, since so many schools have requirements for first year students living on-campus and taking a particular meal plan, those things do drive up first year costs. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>