[HoneyOnMyTongue09]

Ok. I'm 19 yrs old now and I go to a community college, in highschool my GPA was high enough to go to a university but I felt like I wasn't ready to part from my crazy family. I figure that I'd get my associates in about three years I'll be like 22 or 23 when I go to a university. I can't help but wonder am I missing out on something by doing my freshman and sophomore years at a community college, instead of a university? Or was it better to start off at a small school and get use to college assignments and then go to a pack and crowded university?

[pandieboo]

honestly, in my opinion, i wish i did what you are doing and went to a community college first.
you save a ton of money for the first two years and the first two years you usually take
your gen ed classes. Unless you were aiming for a 4 year degree program at a university,
community college is a good option. At my school, its a jesuit school, so i have to take a bunch of
pointless religion classes and classes under the category of 'becoming a better person' its really stupid and
a waste of money. so you made a good choice and you are not missing out. A lot of my friends that are
dorming in colleges and universities just party on the weekends since there is nothing really to do.
Its never too late to join organizations or clubs to experience college either.

[conheomap2003]

i also wished that I went to community college first. Like pandieboo had pointed out, if you are not actually aiming for a particular program,
then the community college route will save you a lot of money. Be aware that there are programs that can finish your degree in a shorter
time, like for example USC's 6 years Pharm D. program. Lastly, if you do decide to take community college first, do not screw up your GPA at this point.
I think this is the best time for you to maintain a high GPA before you enter the universities. (Assuming that it might be a little more challenging to
get the greatest grades in the latter years.)

[kram]

hey im having sorta the same problem! although i'm only a senior in highschool. I have a 3.8 GPA, an okay ACT which i'm going to take again in december! and in the top 10% of my class. I know community college is cheaper, but I feel like all my hard work the past 4 years has gone to waste. In community college ANYONE can go even if you are failing everything it doesn't matter, there are no special criteria like universites who have specific requirements, you don't need to be accepted or anything. I just think that sucks, to try so hard throughout highschool and just waste it at a community college where no special talent is even needed to get in. Thats my reasoning for not choosing a community college. I have also been told by several people that transfering to a University is not that same as starting there and that you should start as a freshman. so I don't know what i'm going to do. I've changed my mind like 1239752857196 times in the past couple months. I'm going to talk to my community college advisor on friday and see what she says

[the_red]

^ it doesn't matter where you start for the first two years.

if you are truly talented at what you do, it will show even if you started at cc for the first two years. my colleague in my research group started out in cc and he's doing phd in engineering now. i look up to him since he's smart, even though he often underestimates himself. he's been to china, hawaii, europe to present his research at ieee international symposiums.

only thing you'll miss out is the partying. well honestly, even at uni, the only parties i've been to are the christmas party and summer party from the research group i'm in. my uni social life is still so dull but had gotten slightly better.

[ejc90]

Hmm.. I think it just depends on how you feel you can keep up. I actually go to both University and CC and i do great! But sometimes i feel like its better to go to a CC cause if you want good alone one-on-one time with your professor your you'll get it there!

[Aerolite]

I went to a community college for one year, right after high school...I transferred to a 4-year university, and will be graduating this Spring. But I'm actually going to go back to my community college because I want to get my Associate's (which is only a few more credits for me). Anyway when I transferred I didn't really miss out on much...In fact I joined a sorority and several school orgs.

I don't regret going to a CC, mainly because it literally cost me nothing, and I was able to experience things differently. At first I felt like it was high school all over again, just with a wider age range...However I felt the same way when I entered my university. The difference to me was that in CC, a lot of my colleagues were older than me (as opposed to a uni where most people are around the same age). And because the people I knew there were so different, it was actually a humbliing experience for me which better prepared me to be on my own now.

Had I gotten into the schools I wanted to straight out of high school, I would've went straight for the 4-year university route. But I don't at all regret going to a CC.

[missakky]

i think that going to a CC isn't a bad choice at all. when i graduated high school my dad told me to go to a CC but i didn't listen to him. i was 18, living on my own, and just having fun since there were no rules. my grades weren't the best so i decided to go move back home and go to a CC. that was the best decision of my life. my gpa was a 3.8 and i really was focused. now the only thing i caution u about with going to a CC is MAKE 100% SURE that your credits won't be screwed when you transfer to a 4-yr school. when i transferred this past fall...omg..they messed me up a bit and i had to fight to make them not have me take classes over.

[papasmurf]

I GO TO COMM. COLLEGE. i like it because i can interact with professor one on one, and also a lot of nicer people in comm. college. People here are trying to learn rather than "COLLEGE PARTY" like universities. However this is just my perspective of uni. and i know not everyone parties or slack off, so kudos for those of you whoa are trying your best to become better =]

[PoooBear]

I GO TO COMM. COLLEGE. i like it because i can interact with professor one on one, and also a lot of nicer people in comm. college. People here are trying to learn rather than "COLLEGE PARTY" like universities. However this is just my perspective of uni. and i know not everyone parties or slack off, so kudos for those of you whoa are trying your best to become better =]

I go to a university and we get one-on-one time with professors all the time o.0 oh and the people are nice too, they really focus on their studies, it's amazing O.O. Haha. I dunno what the uni's where are you are like. But yeah, I go to a pretty small school with 1,500 students x] it's a private uni though, so maybe that makes a difference.

To the OP, I don't think you're missing out. School is school, doesn't matter as long as you get a degree. The only thing your missing out on are the crazy frat/sorority parties which someone at my school recently died from...

[pink lemons.]

I'm going to go to a cc first and then transfer.
I actually start this spring.
I feel the only thing i'll miss is the suspense in worrying or not if im going to get into Uni.
LOL.
When you apply for transfer, you dont get an acceptance/reject letter, do you?

[THEmerryJANE]

Maybe you miss out on the social aspect of it, but academically I don't think you should regret anything.