I can understand if you want to get into an Ivy league school, but other than that, it seems like going to Community College is the way to go.
I didn’t care at all in High School; I partied a lot, got a 2.2 GPA and didn’t spend any of my time studying and worrying about what college I was going to go to out of high school.
I currently go to community college for Mechanical Engineering, I have a 3.785 GPA, and I will most likely get accepted to the school I want to go to when I decide to transfer. I’m in classes with kids that got all A’s throughout high school, and the only difference between us is that a lot of them took Calc 1 in high school, so Calc 1 in college is a lot easier for them. We still get the same grades, and it seems like they almost wasted their time doing well in High School because we are in the exact same spot at college.
I guess my point is that I see a lot of people stressing over their grades in high school, when really they don’t even matter that much. You can just do well in Community College and go to whatever University you want to go to. Lighten up a bit
There’s a happy medium between not caring and wanting to go to an Ivy-league. Personally I believe that high school shouldn’t be all work and no play, but I also believe in doing well. Community college is definitely a good option for some people, but others would rather go directly to a 4-year school. Just like there are plenty of reasons to go to a CC first, there are plenty of reasons to go directly to a 4-year school.
Starting at CC is a perfectly reasonable path for many students.
However, students who do well in high school have more college options, some of which may involve scholarships that can make college even less expensive that the start-at-CC path. In some cases, state-based financial aid that may be used at either a CC or university has some high school GPA component to it. Also, students who do well in high school tend to be better prepared to take college courses at any college, including CC if they choose to go there.
Some people are looking for a different type of experience. My oldest son went your route- he did not like high school, and did the bare minimum to graduate. After spending a few years at several CC’s he transferred and graduated 2 years later with a very high GPA. He has been working in his field since before graduation and is doing quite well. Even though it has all worked out for him, he now says he regrets that he missed out on the experience of going away from home and living on campus his freshman year. His twin sister did well in high school but also chose a CC for the first 2 years because she knew she wanted to get her Master’s and wanted to keep costs down. She was very quiet and wasn’t really too excited about leaving home anyway and it all worked out for her. My next 2 both worked hard and did very well in high school. They were both anxious to attend university programs away from home and their hard work in high school afforded them that opportunity by giving them a lot of options academically and finacially. As long as you are happy with your experience, that is all that matters.
Many kids who don’t go to the Ivies will still get terrific merit-based aid at other schools, making them a much more affordable way to get a degree than the CC/transfer approach. Maybe you messed around in HS too much to begin to notice there are other kids whose financial situation was significantly different than yours.
If you are happy with your path, then by all means, congratulations. But IMHO, I don’t think it reflects all that well on you for suggesting that some of your peers, those who have worked harder than you, have wasted their time.
Getting an education is the single best thing a person can do for themselves. It is far easier for some than for others, many of the obstacles some of their peers have to overcome are almost unimaginable.
I have said the same thing to my son and daughter, who were both valedictorians of their respective HS classes. I am grateful that even though they are at Columbia and Stanford, they still treat others kindly and respectfully.
Perhaps the difference is more of a philosophical issue, and it gets at what is the purpose of an education? If you merely look at education as a path to employment, you are perhaps missing the point.
Freshman year at a community college does not mean you will have a carefree path to Mech E degree, so maybe speak up when you actually have traveled this road. If you CC is too easy, you may have your clock cleaned at your final school. Those folks did more than just Calc 1 in high school.
It is a lot easier for vast majority of folks to work a reasonable amount of time for 4 years in high school and then work again in college to finish your degree.
And not everyone finds partying so much superior to doing interesting things in HS academically.
And then there those who really do just work 24x7 in high school to get in their dream school … but they have a right to do that too. And they may be making 3x your salary to start …
How does a reasonably bright kid get a 2.2 in HS ?
This is a confusing post. Of course there are late bloomers who do well in academic realms with mediocre HS starts-- but is this guy recommending this? Or is he spouting off sour grapes due to his unexpected transfer rejection or his current struggles inhis first Calculus class? Perhaps he should spend less time advising HS students or denigrating high achievers and instead get some Calc tutoring
I’m glad things worked out for you. Many who start at a CC don’t finish or don’t go on to a 4 year college. Plus you will have missed out on the first two years of social and academic experiences at the college you eventually attend. It sounds like you were smart enough to kick things into a higher gear and “catch up” academically at CC, but not everyone can do that. I wish you luck moving forward but don’t presume that what worked out for you will be the right path for everyone.
if you had your way, a lot of academically inclined kids would be partying 24/7 in high school so they can go to community college and then easily transfer to the big league. What you don’t seem to realize is that maybe your “party” threshold is higher than normal. I think most kids would tend to get bored after excessive partying or worse yet, end up in rehab. Your advice is immature which shows that maybe had you gone straight to a four year college, your thinking process would have evolved.
First of all, transfer to a university is not guaranteed. Second, it is more likely to take longer time to complete the degree by transfer than starting at a 4-year university directly due to acceptable credits and course availability. It may still be cheaper to go through the CC route though if it does not cost you an extra year. Third, renewable merit aids are mostly for freshmen only and obvious those performed very well at high school. Forth. those work hard at high school may have more AP credits that will get them graduate sooner. Nevertheless, CC is a good alternative path to give some students a second chance. It would not be a recommended path except for cost consideration.
The kids who worked hard in high school are more likely to have AP and dual enrollment credits which will transfer to CC and allow them to place out of some of the introductory classes and transfer to a four year college faster.
It’s also worth considering that in certain states it is quite difficult to transfer into the more selective four year colleges and be admitted to more popular and impacted majors.
If you read the title, I am asking a question, not trying to advise anything. I wanted to see all of your responses, because I wanted my question answered. I’m not trying to tell people to just party in high school and not care about grades, because it is true, most people can’t and don’t change their lifestyles like I did. Many of you are very ignorant when it comes to community college though. It doesn’t make your degree take more time, and it isn’t easier than university. Transfer to a university IS guaranteed through the guaranteed admissions program and the whole “4 year college experience” thing is also not true lol.
Usually there is a GPA requirement to transfer. Additionally some universities don’t participate in transfer guarantee so someone taking the CC route may not be able to attend their first choice university. This may not matter to you, but your question was posed as a general proposition.
“It doesn’t make your degree take more time”
If you attend an impacted CC it most certainly can. Students in this position are unable to get into the classes they need to graduate on time.
I just tried hard because I wanted to have a lot of options and I wanted to get the most out of my high school education. High school isn’t just about college prep for everyone
College-wise, my goal was to get into one of my more local private schools, which didn’t necessarily require me getting straight A’s. I still tried my best though and it ended up paying off because I ended up having an opportunity that I would NEVER have gotten if I had only gone for the bare minimum.
If you have a certain goal that doesn’t require you doing well in high school, then yeah, maybe you don’t have to try so hard. But I changed a lot from the start of my senior year to the end of it and so did my plans, so I figure trying your hardest no matter what is always the best path because it means you have more options to choose from.
I enjoyed learning. I enjoyed my classes. I enjoyed the personal satisfaction of getting As. And while I do think community college is a great option, personal reasons made me not want to live full-time at home for another two years. Not to mention that the universities I was interested in are much more difficult to transfer to than they are to be accepted as a freshman.
Some students thrive on going for it and giving 100% with everything they do. In high school those kids aren’t necessarily working hard to get into a certain type of college. They give their all to what they do, and school is one thing they do. It does pay dividends but that isn’t necessarily why they are putting in 100%. but if I were to choose to hire someone and were given a choice between someone who doesn’t bother until they have to or someone who always does their best you can bet on which I’d choose.
