Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I went the route of starting at a CC, then finishing my BS at a state school (quite good, but not expensive), then attending an excellent private university (extremely expensive) for my MS on scholarship. I saved a ton of money.
The key is to know your goal and have discussions with all of the relevant programs right from the start. When I started my AA I connected with my state college and made sure that I was taking all the right classes to transfer. My transfer was seamless and I walked into my state school knowing that I was on track to graduate with my peers who started there when I started at my CC.
The advice "Start at a CC" is good advice, but incomplete. It should be "Figure out your goal and your path to that goal and try to incorporate less expensive options such as CC into that path."
The problem with CCs is that they're not all the same. Very few provide a college education. Most only provide the classes, but there's little or no actual research and publications to participate in -- which is where most of college education comes from.
You can make this up in a 4-year school later on, but you then end up with taking 6 years to complete an undergraduate degree unless you skimp out on the education.
That and statistically, the number of students who start at a CC that finish college is much lower than that of who start at a 4 year college. But that may have more to do with the type of students at each than the schools themselves.
The problem with CCs is that they're not all the same. Very few provide a college education. Most only provide the classes, but there's little or no actual research and publications to participate in -- which is where most of college education comes from.
You can make this up in a 4-year school later on, but you then end up with taking 6 years to complete an undergraduate degree unless you skimp out on the education.
That and statistically, the number of students who start at a CC that finish college is much lower than that of who start at a 4 year college. But that may have more to do with the type of students at each than the schools themselves.
Funny, most of my college education was taking classes not doing research for professors/instructors for publishing.
Where do you guys go to college where that happens?
It's kind of amazing to me that there are still modern colleges that don't do that. It's one of the things I look for on resumes now. If someone doesn't have it, we don't even look deeper because they just aren't competitive with those who do.
Oldest spent two years as an undergrad on a research team. It included data analysis, writing a research proposal for the team that required satellite observation time (which was approved), and presenting at a conference. Youngest will be doing research project this summer (COVID canceled last summer's).
You just don't get that at a CC.
Last edited by tnff; 05-01-2021 at 08:01 AM..
Reason: corrected wrong word
It's kind of amazing to me that there are still modern colleges that don't do that. It's one of the things I look for on resumes now. If someone doesn't have it, we don't even look deeper because they just aren't competitive with those who do.
Oldest spent two years as an undergrad on a research team. It included data analysis, writing a research proposal for the team that required satellite observation time (which was approved), and presenting at a conference. Oldest will be doing research project this summer (COVID canceled last summer's).
My youngest is not doing STEM but history. Summer will be spent mapping various backcountry sites for New York State. (No we don't live there, but that's who's funding the project). University of South Carolina has a project to document the history of cotton mill towns and mill culture before they all fade away. Yes, STEM has more glitz in today's society, but other fields do research too. The opportunities are there; students just have to take advantage of them.
Added: I just noticed I said "oldest" will be doing research this summer" in my post above. Corrected that to "youngest."
Funny, most of my college education was taking classes not doing research for professors/instructors for publishing.
Where do you guys go to college where that happens?
Agreed. Most colleges don't have a significant number of undergrads doing research or publishing. It can happen, but it is not the norm in my experience. Perhaps it occurs more in STEM fields? I know my brother did research as part of his engineering degree.
The problem with CCs is that they're not all the same. Very few provide a college education. Most only provide the classes, but there's little or no actual research and publications to participate in -- which is where most of college education comes from.
This is utterly inaccurate.
Most college education does not come from participating in research or publishing. That is the culmination of a science-based degree, not the start of one. A student needs a corpus of knowledge to draw from prior to being in any way qualified to participate in research. The first time students are exposed to the opportunity is usually during their master's, and the whole point of a doctorate is to give them the opportunity to learn how to do research from start to finish.
Virtually nobody outside of a VERY few participate in research in their first two years at university.
The problem with CCs is that they're not all the same. Very few provide a college education. Most only provide the classes, but there's little or no actual research and publications to participate in -- which is where most of college education comes from.
This is utterly inaccurate.
Most college education does not come from participating in research or publishing. That is the culmination of a science-based degree, not the start of one. A student needs a corpus of knowledge to draw from prior to being in any way qualified to participate in research. The first time students are exposed to the opportunity is usually during their master's, and the whole point of a doctorate is to give them the opportunity to learn how to do research from start to finish.
Virtually nobody outside of a VERY few participate in research in their first two years at university.
My sons History Degree got him a part time substitute teaching gig
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
