Community College Grads?

[GravitySucks]

Anyone else get their college start at Community Colleges?

I was an unmotivated high school student and parents never offered any college help or advice.
After not finding any good employment here for a few years I escorted DGF to her registration day at the local CC. While there I filled the forms out and ended up going to college part time.
Probably the best teachers I ever had where teaching there. After getting an Associates degree I went on to get a Bacholers at SUNY and an MBA at a private college, all part time. Even the grad school professors were no where near as good at teaching as a few of those CC professors.

 

[acronymous]

Nice! I was not ready for college and bailed after a poor freshman year at a 4 year institution. Moved home and worked for a couple years taking some credits at the local CC before finishing my 4 year degree at an in-state college. I also had some great teachers and classes at CC and I was motivated to learn.

 

[CindyBlue]

Yep, my first two years were at a local junior college. My parents were all for me getting a college education, but they said that I was an adult and if I wanted to go, I had to pay my way. They said I could live at home for free as long as I was a full time student, to help with expenses. I got along great with my folks so that was not an issue for me. They even kicked in for gas sometimes for my gas guzzling '62 Rambler Classic (smile!) I worked part time jobs while in school, and full time in the summer.

Lucky for me, we have a wonderful junior college in a city nearby, so I got all of my gen ed courses out of the way there. A four year state college (now a state university) had opened in another nearby city in the late 60s, and I was ready to transfer there from the junior college in the mid 70s, so another lucky break for me. Easy driving distances to both schools.

I was lucky enough to earn lots of scholarship money for my junior college years. I was able to save enough of it that it paid for my first year at the state college. My jobs paid for the rest. I know I'm very lucky to have attended college during the years and at the schools and under the circumstances I did, so was able to get through college without debt.

Got my Masters years later at a prestigious private college.

I very much value my junior college experience. I really wasn't ready to leave home by the time I graduated from high school - I was a very successful student, but a very shy country girl. The junior college was perfect for me, and gave me a great foundation for higher ed.

 

[youbet]

I’m a CC grad! I liked my welding and my racquet ball instructors best. After 13 years of Chicago Public Schools, the suburban CC made me feel like I was attending the Harvard of the Midwest!

I handled family responsibilities and worked full time, night shift, in a factory while attending and managed to finish in 4 years.

 

[mf15]

Not exatly a CC,but got a Associate in Chem Engineering from Temple U 1966-1969. Went in Army 1970,came out 1972. Decided associate not good enough, got BS Chemistry at night took me till 1977. Survived untill I retired 08, upper middle management private industrial lubricant company without advanced degree. How did I do that. Chem Eng teacher at Temple taught us.
Never Assume. I also was a boyscout. Be prepared.
Oh yea,wife does not believe it but Poppopmike is never wrong. LOL
Oldmike

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

Yep, Associates and then transferred to a 4 year school as a junior. Think I learned more than those that spent the first two years at the University but they had more fun (and I bet most are still working!).

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We have a very nice CC near us. Both of us and our kids have taken classes there.

 

[Midpack]

I did not go to a CC, but they are starting to come back strong, and should figure in more and more as deglobalization continues. A good thing. Some have long been under appreciated, unfortunately others preyed on students who didn’t know what they were (not) getting. Hopefully there will be way more of the former in the future.

 

[Free To Canoe]

Not exatly a CC,but got a Associate in Chem Engineering from Temple U 1966-1969. Went in Army 1970,came out 1972. Decided associate not good enough, got BS Chemistry at night took me till 1977. Survived untill I retired 08, upper middle management private industrial lubricant company without advanced degree. How did I do that. Chem Eng teacher at Temple taught us.
Never Assume. I also was a boyscout. Be prepared.
Oh yea,wife does not believe it but Poppopmike is never wrong. LOL
Oldmike

Not many places offer the Associate in Chem Engineering, especially back then. I got mine from Trident Technical College. I got an excellent education there. I was lucky to have very qualified instructors. One was the retired head of the analytical lab at the naval ship yard. Another was a retired engineer from DuPont. I went on for a BS and a MS but the community college experience had the most impact on me.

 

[O2Bfree]

Yes! I have two CC degrees from two different colleges.

Like the OP, I was somewhat unmotivated in high school and received no guidance from my parents. I decided to get into electronics because it seemed like a fast-growing field with many different opportunities for different skill sets. So I got an ATA in electronics technology. Man, those were good times, I had a blast going through that two-year program. Our class had some pretty crazy end-of-quarter parties.

That ATA served me well for 12 years in two jobs that I really enjoyed. Then I decided to try a different but related field, and wanted a university degree for that. Only a few of my credits transferred, so I got a transfer degree from another CC. Less expensive, easier to get into, smaller classes, and often a more convenient location—there are lots of plusses for starting at a CC.

And as the OP mentioned, CCs can have some great instructors and programs. Some of the best classes and instructors I had were at a CC, and some of the worst at a university.

 

[Lewis Clark]

... And as the OP mentioned, CCs can have some great instructors and programs. Some of the best classes and instructors I had were at a CC, and some of the worst at a university.

Faculty at a four-year college may be focused on their research. Faculty at community colleges are usually more focused on their teaching.

One four-year college I attended fired some of their best teachers because they didn't do enough research.

 

[O2Bfree]

Faculty at a four-year college may be focused on their research. Faculty at community colleges are usually more focused on their teaching.

One four-year college I attended fired some of their best teachers because they didn't do enough research.

Yeah, I hear that. One of my profs at the UW was a key member of the team that designed the traffic monitoring and reporting system for WSDOT. His classes could be terrible, like he did no prep work at all, just walked in and shot from the hip.

 

[stepford]

We talk about this in our family quite a lot. DW spent two years at her local Community College then transferred to state University for her BS, MS and PhD. She's now a (semi-retired) college professor. I went to a fancy Ivy League school for both undergrad and grad and it's not clear my results were any better than hers (though my alumni newsletter is nicer - so there's that).

 

[DayDreaming]

I went to community college, got my Associates Degree, and was all set to go for my BS at another college. Then I had a change of heart about what I wanted to do with my life, went back to the same community college for an Associates in another field, I got a job in that field which was paying more than I ever imagined, I stayed with that company for 25 years and never went back to school for my BS. Retired at 48 with just 2 Associates Degrees.

 

[TripleLindy]

I too, was an unmotivated high school student and really had no understanding of higher education. My wife and I married right out of high school and I attended CC at night while working a physically demanding blue collar job. It took me almost 10 years of on again, off again night school, but I finally obtained an AS in computer science. I had already found work as a programmer and soon leveraged those skills to move into high-end IT sales. I dropped out of college soon after, as job and family commitments became too time consuming and my income was relatively high. As my career progressed, and I moved into senior leadership, I often felt insecure due to my limited formal education, but I think that ultimately pushed me to outwork many others, leading to my career advancement. I ended my career in a senior management role in an industry filled with advanced degrees, mostly PhD and MD. Not too shabby for a CC graduate.

 

[street]

Another CC Grad. Was a very positive thing for further education.

I'm another that believes CC (2 year) don't get the credit they deserve.

 

[ncbill]

CC can work well in states where the 4 year public schools are required to accept CC classes.

In other states, or for private schools, there's no guarantee credits will transfer.

But don't forget the military options...both my kids used Uncle Sam to pay for tuition via ROTC scholarships.

One moved on to a service academy and so had room/board covered as well.

But the above doesn't mean those graduates must go career...most only do their 5 years required active duty service obligation & then move on to the civilian world.

And in many states simply joining that state's National Guard waives tuition at in-state, public schools.

 

[pacergal]

Did a year at University, away from home, didn't really like it.
Came home, applied to CC nursing program, got my ADN, then later returned to finish bachelors. Many of the classes in my BS program dually applied towards a Masters, so I am about 1/2 there too. But never completed that one.

I agree with the assessment of CC professors, at least for me. My CC instructors were far superior to the ones I had at both Universities, one a state public and one a private .

 

[old medic]

Both of us, and our Daughter...
I took the 1st Paramedic certification class at our local CC. Got my state credentials, and it was my career. The wife started out at the same CC and transferred to a private university to finish up her Criminal Justice degree.

Our Daughter started at the same CC doing dual enrollment in high school, transferred to the neighboring CC and had her Associates degree in a year, transferred to a state university and had her Bachelors in Criminal Justice AND phycology 2 years later, while working nearly full time. And continued while working full time to received her Masters in Criminal Justice.

 

[Plantman]

I utilized what is called the 2+2 program at Penn State. You do the first two years at one of the twenty branch campuses scattered around Pennsylvania and the last two years at the main campus in University Park, PA.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

CC can work well in states where the 4 year public schools are required to accept CC classes.

In other states, or for private schools, there's no guarantee credits will transfer.

California implemented laws to make transfers from CC to the 4 years easier and make it clear for students what classes will transfer and which won't. They also have transfer agreements now between the CCs and most of the 4 year public schools. If students meet the transfer program requirements, then most 4 years have to provide programs to let them graduate in no more than 2 more years of full-time classes.

Initially the schools did not seem to be happy campers over these laws. Even after the first law was passed, our local CC didn't have anything about transfer programs on their web site or in their course catalog. I sent one of our kids to the guidance counselor at the CC with a copy of the law printed from the Internet, and then they had to comply and pull something together. But these days now there is a state web site just on transfer programs and on every schools' web site and the program has grown over the years to include more schools and majors.

 

[Walt34]

I was another "unmotivated" (and that is understatement!) HS student who barely graduated in 1968, then spent the next semester unloading trucks at Woodies (Woodward & Lothrop) with a friend until I figured out what I wanted to do and the best way to get there. Meanwhile hoping I didn't get drafted and sent to Vietnam.

I knew I wanted to go into police work but was unsure of the best way to get there, knowing they liked to see prior military service but there was also a growing push to see college grads in the applicant pool. Finally I decided that I'd go to college and if I didn't like that I could drop out and go in the military, but it doesn't work the other way around. It turned out I liked the community college, which offered the curriculum I wanted while Maryland U. did not so I got the AA degree and that was enough to get me hired. Not to mention that the heavily locally subsidized CC was a lot cheaper. Later when I started the B.S. degree there was no noticeable difference in the difficulty or workload in the classes.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Our kids had at least one instructor who taught at both the local CC and U.C. Berkeley.

 

[GravitySucks]

California implemented laws to make transfers from CC to the 4 years easier and make it clear for students what classes will transfer and which won't. They also have transfer agreements now between the CCs and most of the 4 year public schools. If students meet the transfer program requirements, then most 4 years have to provide programs to let them graduate in no more than 2 more years of full-time classes.

Initially the schools did not seem to be happy campers over these laws. Even after the first law was passed, our local CC didn't have anything about transfer programs on their web site or in their course catalog. I sent one of our kids to the guidance counselor at the CC with a copy of the law printed from the Internet, and then they had to comply and pull something together. But these days now there is a state web site just on transfer programs and on every schools' web site and the program has grown over the years to include more schools and majors.

The local private University here had many complaints about transfer credits not being honored. A coworker of mine at the time was denied the transfer of 30 CC credits even though they were all As and B's. SUNY has a school that was specifically set up for transfers. Junior and senior level courses only.
I've heard that issue has been resolved, but don't know anyone who has tried transferring lately.

 

[nap470]

I was an accidental CC student. I had a partial football scholarship to attend a 4-year college quite aways from home. Just before HS graduation, my father was diagnosed with cancer. Surgery and treatments followed, and my help was needed on the family farm. He recovered enough by Fall that he wanted me to go to school, but I did not want to go far. I chose a nearby CC, played 3 weeks of football, blew out a knee and decided that was enough of football. I played baseball instead and helped out as much as I could at home. Balancing schoolwork, sports and farm work taught me a lot and gave me focus. The CC instructors were very approachable and understanding of what I had going on. I transferred to a nearby 4-year college for my last 2 years, continued to help at home and play baseball. My father passed during my senior year. In hindsight, the CC and small college experience were exactly what I needed at that time in life. I think if I had gone further away to school, I would have dropped out and moved home. The nearby, smaller school atmosphere and support helped me immensely. I am very thankful to have gotten the extra time with my father.