<p>[Top</a> graduating senior a rags-to-academic-riches story](<a href=“Berkeley News | Berkeley”>Berkeley News | Berkeley)</p>
<p>[At</a> just 14, UCLA math student Moshe Kai Cavalin has written his first book, ‘We Can Do’ / UCLA Newsroom](<a href=“http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/at-just-14-ucla-math-student-moshe-229359.aspx]At”>Newsroom | UCLA)</p>
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Well that seems a tad unlikely. Only at Berkeley? Really?</p>
<p>Oh, he’s just using his rhetoric skills ;)</p>
<p>I can come up with rags to riches stories without college and with all levels of college (Unknown to Ivies).</p>
<p>I fail to see the point, but is certainly isn’t “Only at Berkeley” with or without cc first.</p>
<p>I can also come up with “moderate” success and even “failure” stories both with or without college (of all levels).</p>
<p>There’s an aspect of it all that comes from within coupled with opportunities.</p>
<p>I don’t think the second story captures the title of the thread; that just seems like a story of a precocious kid.</p>
<p>The precocious kid transferred from East LA College (a community college) to UCLA.</p>
<p>The point is that, contrary to what some people think, community college is not just for academically marginal students. Given the likely bloodbath in this year’s admissions cycle at four year schools, more students may have to look at starting in community college this year.</p>
<p>He entered community college at 8 years old. It’s highly unlikely a kid at that age would be welcome into a university like UCLA.</p>
<p>Community colleges will be increasingly popular as the vehicle of choice to commence a college education. </p>
<p>College costs have so far outpaced inflation that the value proposition will continue to decline, even among “name” schools. Colleges and universities have been living off of the subsidies created by federally backed loans and those loans are imposing unreal hardships on borrowers. The availability of such loans has enabled colleges, perhaps among the least efficient of our “industries” in the last 40 years, to raise prices to an unbelievable degree.<br>
Community colleges invariably with be the college of choice and it is already starting. Taking on any sizable undergraduate debt is really a questionable proposition these days. </p>
<p>For a strong student attending a community college, the key is to take as challenging of a curriculum as possible and avoid the distractions which do come with being with some lesser prepared students. They don’t get to enjoy the social experience of a four year college but in a world where economic realities are becoming rather cold, this is but a minor problem.</p>
<p>I fail to see the newsworthiness of this. Smart people go to comm colleges and then on to whatever-state-flagship and do quite well in life all the time. Honestly, sometimes people on CC seem not to be aware of the existence of economically successful people who don’t have elite degrees; I continue to be amazed as to how limited their life experience must be.</p>
<p>There was an astronaut who started out at a CC.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl, you’d be surprised at how many people scoff at CC students. Having attended university and having to drop out in my early 20s as a senior, then start at a CC seven years later as a sophomore PLUS being forced to retake about a semester’s worth of classes again because certain out-of-state classes were not accepted, I can say that there is absolutely no difference in the curriculum and know what I’m talking about. anybody who thinks CCs are cakewalks for slackers too dumb to go to a “real” college has never taken a class at one. Considering how hard I worked (full time student and working 40 hours a week), the elitism just burns me up. </p>
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<p>Here in Texas, the Associates of Arts/Science in Teaching can save a student about $4,000 when s/he transfers to a teacher education program. For those who don’t know, an AAT is just an AA (or AS, in my case) with about 15-18 extra hours of education classes added to it. Those four to six classes transfer to four-year schools (two as upper level classes) and save quite a bit of money. This semester at my four-year school would have cost me over $3,600 for the 12 hours that I paid less than $800 out of pocket for at my CC.</p>
<p>I would strongly encourage any student who does not have a scholarship to school to go to community college, rather than racking up crippling debt just to say you went to a university for four years. Honestly, it’s just not that crucial. Not to mention that transfer scholarships for students with high grades are absolutely MAH-velous, and many have automatic acceptance and/or guaranteed funds for students with a certain GPA, Phi Theta Kappa members and/or people with associate’s degrees. My mother got her AA in 1980 with some of the worst grades ever printed (apparently Ds got degrees back then), but her AA granted her automatic acceptance to a four-year school 26 years later.</p>
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It really does depend on the school. You have experience at one school, you can’t speak for all of them.
I don’t know about Texas, but a LOT of schools only have scholarships for incoming freshman. Nothing for transfer students.</p>
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<p>Is UC or Berkeley unusual? The Berkeley Undergraduate Scholarship, Regents’ Scholarship, Chancellor’s Scholarship, Alumni Leadership Award, and Alumni Achievement Award are all available to transfer students as well as freshmen.</p>
<p>[UC</a> Berkeley Financial Aid Office: Undergraduates Types of Aid Scholarships](<a href=“http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/undergraduates/types_scholarships.htm]UC”>http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/undergraduates/types_scholarships.htm)
[Scholarships</a> | CAA](<a href=“http://alumni.berkeley.edu/services/scholarships]Scholarships”>http://alumni.berkeley.edu/services/scholarships)</p>
<p>Also, everyone’s favorite big-merit-for-freshmen-with-high-stats school, Alabama, has some pretty big scholarships for transfer students as well (mainly Alabama’s Promise, and the small number of Community College Honors scholarships):</p>
<p>[Scholarships</a> for Transfer Students - Undergraduate Scholarships - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://scholarships.ua.edu/transfer/]Scholarships”>http://scholarships.ua.edu/transfer/)</p>
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<p>Or maybe they have taken classes at both and discovered a difference. Or maybe their kids have taken classes at both and discovered a difference. Or maybe they have friends who have taught at both types and mentioned the huge difference between the levels of schools (4 years included - not just cc). Or maybe they have heard from medical school admissions reps and heard that there tend to be differences in both based upon their experiences. You are speaking from just your experience and you are likely correct for your comparable places. It does not, however, mean you are correct for everywhere or even the majority of places.</p>
<p>It’s not elitism. IMO it’s reality based upon a gleaning of multiple experiences including my own. (The “it” being that some are of equivalent value, but many are not.)</p>
<p>Of course, cc is perfectly adequate to assist many people with their goal of getting a degree or extra education or whatever. I don’t think anyone is disputing that. It’s not necessarily more inexpensive. I paid $220 per credit hour ($660 per 3 credit class) for my guys to take classes as high schoolers. I’m paying less per credit for their 4 year schools due to a combo of merit/need based aid. (Mine start as freshmen at their 4 year schools.) Oldest has told me his English 101 class at the cc was much less rigorous than the same course at his LAC. He’s glad his credits transferred. He’s not fond of English. 
Middle son will have his comparisons to add after next year. We’ll be paying less for his 4 year school too.</p>
<p>So far, all 3 of mine began college at a community college. Financially, for us, it made sense. Oldest transferred to a four year college with 28 credits and a huge scholarship. He finished his degree in 3 years and then went to to a graduate program where he received a full scholarship and grad assistantship. He is currently employed in his field (full benefits and all - a ‘real’ job.) </p>
<p>Child #2 began at our cc and stayed there upon gaining acceptance into their nursing program. Thsi program is very difficult to get into, so it made sense for her to stay. Upon graduation, she passed her NCLEX exam (and became an RN) and she simply transferred to a 4 year school to finish up her BSN. Her final tuition bill will be very little. </p>
<p>Child #3 also transferred 30 credits into her 4 year school and she also received a huge scholarship. She is on track to finish her undergraduate degree in 3 years. So far her 4.0 gpa is intact. </p>
<p>CC can certainly help anyone who is willing to work hard. Like all schools, some are better than others so YMMV. We are fortunate to live close to an excellent CC. That can not be said of all the CCs in my state. </p>
<p>My kids have certainly heard their share of snide comments about how bad CC is. They simply learned to smile and turn away. CC helped them to get a degree without debt and in the end, that counted for a lot.</p>
<p>bookreader - that’s truly inspirational.</p>
<p>My grad advisor at any Ivy League U started out at community college. He was the first in his family to attend college and his cc profs discovered he was a mathematical genius and encouraged him to continue his studies at a four year university. In my program, he was very popular as an advisor, as he was the most approachable and down to earth prof. He was also well-known as a top researcher in his field.</p>