I like CCs but there are definitely some downsides to consider as well: (speaking from california perspective) - Our cc’s are all impacted and getting the classes you need is nearly impossible. Many people end up taking 3 years to graduate. - When you do transfer to a bachelors program, you’ll find that your cc was missing a lot of the pre reqs you need for your major (depending on your major). I’ve seen a lot of cc…
> Our cc’s are all impacted and getting the classes you need is nearly impossible. Many people end up taking 3 years to graduate.
This problem is not unique to CCs; this happens at all public schools. The solution is to plan your schedule years ahead. Most school officials readily give this advice, it's not a secret.
> When you do transfer to a bachelors program, you’ll find that your cc was missing a lot of the pre reqs you need for your major (depending on your major). I’ve seen a lot of cc students at UC schools have to go back and take freshman and sophmore level classes. (total could end up taking 6 years overall)
There's almost always a test you can take after transfer to verify your level of play.
When I transferred to a UC, they wanted me to retake some levels in my foreign language that I'd already completed at CC. Or, they offered a test I could take to jump ahead. I took the test. They saw that I could hang at the higher level. They let me enroll.
I wanted to take an upper-level writing course without taking the underclass pre-reqs. The program asked me to audition by submitting some samples. I did. They saw that I could hang at the higher level. They let me enroll.
This is fair and reasonable policy. UCs are world-class universities and they have a responsibility to maintain that standard. CCs offer everything needed to prosper after transfer (I think this is state policy), but it's up to students to make the most of their CC time.
> All the other students when you transfer are already friends and have relationships with the professors and local businesses. Whose going to get the prestigious research position, the new guy or the one whose been bonding and proving themselves to the professor for 2 years? Same goes for internships.
These are public schools. You are invisible to professors and faculty for the first couple years. I was better known to my programs after taking my transfer tests than most of the students who'd already been there for years. As far as friends go, again, these are public schools. They're too huge for any one clique to run the roost. Making friends has less to do with your transfer status and more to do with...your ability to make friends.
> Who you spend time with shapes who you are. If you are a bright individual, it can be frustrating or depressing being around some of your peers in CC. My girlfriend took an online cc class where they had to submit a paragraph to their class forum. Two students literally copy and pasted her response word for word.
I took vector calculus at my CC. Do you assume my vector calculus class was full of idiots just because it was at the CC?
What still surprises me most about CC was the large population of incredibly bright people I found there. They're not hard to find, but it's incumbent upon the student to put themselves in the more challenging classes where they congregate.