What are the advantages of going straight to a University instead of attending a community college first?

Question

I'm 16 and i have a little bit before i have to go to college, but i don't know what exactly to do. helpp?

Answer 1

Well, some part of this varies state to state. I'm in California, and we have a really awesome CC system (109 CCs, 10 UCs and 23 CSUs). Also, California's CCs are only $20/unit/semester and there is an initiative to drop that to $15/unit/semester and $13/unit/quarter.

Now, at a 4-year school, tuition is much higher, but there is much more campus life. Depending on the CC, students who transfer fare better on average than students that go straight to 4-years.

But another big factor is which 4-year you're considering. There is a big difference between a large private school (most Ivies, Stanford, etc), a large public school (UCLA, U.C. Berkeley, U. Michigan Ann Arbor, etc.) and a small private school (Bennington, Reed, Dartmouth, Colby, Wellesley.

Community colleges have smaller classes than the big schools that can have classes with more than 400 students in them. At CCs, the teacher is more accessable, and you can get more help in your classes, and, if lucky, get some good letters of recommendation. Now, some people say that all the smart teachers go to big research universities, and knowing CC teachers is pointless, but some pretty impressive teachers sometimes can't stand the 400 student classes and want to move to a smaller school (really, when you're teaching multiple 400-student classes, you have a lot of papers to grade). My political science teacher recently published another peer reviewed article on methods of teaching Economics and my math teacher has a degree from Harvard and a Ph.D. from Yale and teaching experience from the University of Michigan and U.C. Santa Cruz.

However, a smaller college (most are private), you actually do get to know your lower division teachers, but you have to fork over 40,000+/year for tuition (did I mention textbooks and food?)

But in the end, it really comes down to what school fits you best. I would recommend touring the local community college. If you're planning on transferring, I'd recommend stopping by their transfer center. Many schools have transfer programs set up with 4-year schools. Also, try to find out if you can audit some classes.

Answer 2

The financial advantages of attending a community college are without debate. Not too much research needed there. Now, would it be better to start at a cc rather than at a university? Depends on the who, where, and what. This is a tough question to answer without there being some form of opinionated response, because it involves asking the asking "What is an education?" In most cases, the better universities will provide a better education. How to prove it? The proof will always be in the books that make up the core reading list. When you attend a community college, many of your classes (humanities related) will be taught through one textbook and tested by either a multiple choice exam and a couple of essays. When attending the better universities, you’ll be engaging in a wider and often times more challenging variety of course relevant books with professors capable of teaching the material. The classes as well as the exams will be more writing intensive, and you’ll be expected to achieve a higher level of critical thinking through discussion and analysis. Could one receive the “exact same” education as one found at a university? No. The quality of the education you receive depends on the course material, the professor, and rigor of the course itself. What we're actually talking about here, is the "other" university you are comparing it to, and how close the community college curriculum mimics the curriculum of a particular university. At good community colleges (ones with high transfer rates to top universities and excelling students), you'll find that most of the successful students are involved in honors programs. These programs are more writing intensive and will cover material in ways similar to the methods found at universities. That is where real learning takes place, and that is what an education is all about. It’s about critical reading, writing, discussion, research and enlightenment. So in many ways, you CAN get an education similar to one found in the first two years of a university, it just won't be the EXACT SAME. In the end, the university has more resources and is structured to provide upper-division studies(major). As far as the first two years go, well, if you’re a student that loves learning, then I think you’ll find ways to do so no matter what your alma mater ends up being. If you want proof, that is where you need to look. The competing curriculums, the material covered, and how it is taught.

Answer 3

I've found that attending a community college first really prepares you for a 4 year school. A lot of people go away to school and arent prepared and end up coming back home anyway. If you decide to go to a community college just be sure that you don't get comfortable there and make sure that you keep moving to a university.

Answer 4

One thing you need to keep in mind is that your credits from a community college may not all transfer into a university if you decide to work on a Bachelor degree later. The only advantage to a community college is that it will prepare you work the work force faster.

My experience, and the current trend, is that you have to have a Bachelor degree for many of the jobs in todays market.

Answer 5

It's more exciting to go to a four-year directly from high school then a community college, there's just more to look forward to.

Also you can live in the dorms and enjoy the social life and make friends with people, some of whom will remain friends throughout life.

There are more people your age. More clubs and activities. There is also a greater variety of courses to take.

Answer 6

no transfers of credits and possible loss of credits

full program coordination within the university for credits toward degree

larger campus and social life on campus

more course offerings

But you didn't ask about the disadvantages:

more expense (dorm or apartment rent),
more tuition for the same 101 classes you could take at community college
more fees for campus maintenance
more temptation from campus life/parties
lack of supervision

depending upon what your maturity level is and how much experience you have doing everything for yourself (shopping, cooking, laundry, dishes, housekeeping, studying without being compelled by an adult...etc.), determines your success away from home.

if you actively seek help from the university you would transfer to and work with the guidance office from the junior college, they can help you tailor a program which will prevent loss of credits or useless credits from creeping onto your transcript.

good luck!

Answer 7

If you are out of school and want to take classes, go ahead and go to the Community College. If the University will take you, there's no reason why you shoudln't go ahead and go.

In the long run, if you have BOTH on a transcript, the Comm Coll will have the same view as the Univ. credits. It showed that you started in, and kept on with your studies.