Community College

[CBright7831 0]

This fall, I will be returning to school (I'm currently under way by registrating) and I've decided to go to a community college. I'll probably start off by taking one or two classes (three at the most) for this semester. To be quite honest, I don't know what to expect. It's been two years since I stepped into a classroom (high school) and I'm a little worried that I'll end up going through the hell that I went through so long ago. I don't really know what I'll be studying in but my hobbies include computers and movies. It's sort of funny - last year - if you would have asked me if I would ever go to college, I probably would have told you no, but things change.

 

Thoughts? Advice? Stories?

[EricMM 0]

I attended prestigious Montgomery County Community College (Takoma Park) for a semester.

 

*shrug* Its a bit like "college" without the college life. Just another form of school like highschool except no one gives a fuck what you do with yourself outside of class. Show up on time, turn your shit in on time, you'll get A's.

 

Its all on you now, remain sharp and do not overwhelm yourself. And make friends in class so you can work together outside of class.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

It always made the most sense to start out at a CC, if for nothing else than to not go broke just taking your basics. I'm a bit annoyed by the whole high school label, but it can be accurate in some ways.

 

Where I went, it didn't have the high school vibe when it came to cliques and all of that. No one's all that popular, because frankly, it doesn't seem like most people care to expend the energy in such things. Most people just show up, do their thing and get out.

 

I always thought the notion of going away to school to be on your own was a tad overrated, since in most cases, your parents were funding the bulk, if not all of your excursion into "freedom."

[MrRant 0]

Going away has it's pluses in exposing you to different people. Providing that "away" is like going from Alabama to Michigan or something.

[CBright7831 0]

Well, thanks guys.

[Guest Princess Leena]

Community College was fun, and most importantly, extremely easy.

 

Just do most of your work, and you'll get mostly A's. You don't even have to show up all the time.

 

The big negative about CC though, is meeting people. The people there either: 1) poorer people who work a ton outside of school, and have no time to socialize anyway, 2) slackers who think CC is easy and won't show up much (that was me), or 3) poor inner-city types who steal the opportunity to go to school for free, most of which are slackers and smell bad.

[EricMM 0]

Leena is correct, the social scene there is weaker.

 

But on the plus side, if you're any good at all, you can shine there, among the 40somethings taking classes after work, you can scoop most of the younger girls.

[Guest Princess Leena]

That's why I much preferred night classes... old people are a lot easier to work with, and the younger people were much more mature, and didn't annoy you horribly. That's where I met my 2 college boyfriends.

 

Plus, night classes are generally a lot easier... as you meet less, and thus get less work to do. The negative is having a 2.5 hour class at night... the mind eventually wanders when you're there that long doing one thing.

[vivalaultra 0]

I went to good ol' College of the Mainland, a community college in Texas City, Tx for about a year and a half to get all of my core curriculum out of the way and it was, as everybody has already said, both cheaper and easier than a 4 year school. I'm not very social anyway, so I can't say that I was disappointed about the lack of social activity. The biggest difference between that school and my current school, University of Houston, is that at UH, all the professors have to have a Masters Degree, whereas at my former university, they only had to have a BA, so they had alot of unqualified people teaching classes, and also alot of teachers that weren't very knowledgable on their subject matter outside of their curriculum.

[Hawk 34 0]

I took a whole year off between HS and college and it was the best thing I can tell someone to do. Get a job for a year and you'll get a taste of the real world, that way when you go back to school you can appreciate it more.

 

I attended Miami(the real miami, not the beach version) for the first semester and it was okay but I moved to a regional branch closer to home and it was cheaper and it was the same education.

 

I strongly encourge people to go to CC or a regional branch since it's cheaper and frosh year is usually refresher/basic classes.

 

Leena, was spot on. CC's and regional branches are ass for social purposes.

[Guest Felonies!]

I took a whole year off between HS and college and it was the best thing I can tell someone to do. Get a job for a year and you'll get a taste of the real world, that way when you go back to school you can appreciate it more.

I'd say it's the worst thing you can do. I know a good handful of people who "took a year off" and never went back. You have to stay on track as best you can, I think.

[Hawk 34 0]

I took a whole year off between HS and college and it was the best thing I can tell someone to do. Get a job for a year and you'll get a taste of the real world, that way when you go back to school you can appreciate it more.

I'd say it's the worst thing you can do. I know a good handful of people who "took a year off" and never went back. You have to stay on track as best you can, I think.

 

If you couldn't find your way back to school after a year off, you were likely to just drop out anyways. People who "take a year off" to just be lazy, yeah those people aren't going back. There's a difference for people who take a year off to actually do something (work, travel) and always planned for college.

 

Some people never survived college because they got so burnt out after 12 years of education under one specific system and then comes the natural pressure and confusion of being a frosh overwelms them so much that they give up and leave.

 

It's a case specific thing for any person in regards to college.

[Guest Felonies!]

I took a whole year off between HS and college and it was the best thing I can tell someone to do. Get a job for a year and you'll get a taste of the real world, that way when you go back to school you can appreciate it more.

I'd say it's the worst thing you can do. I know a good handful of people who "took a year off" and never went back. You have to stay on track as best you can, I think.

 

If you couldn't find your way back to school after a year off, you were likely to just drop out anyways. People who "take a year off" to just be lazy, yeah those people aren't going back. There's a difference for people who take a year off to actually do something (work, travel) and always planned for college.

Well, no, they were working for a year, but they kept working for years thereafter. This is a stupid argument, and I can safely say you're the last person on this board that I'd ever want to have it with.

[spman 0]

It really all depends. If you know exactly what is is that you want to do with your life, then apply to a real college and go fir it, but if you're like most kids who are just out of High School, you're not going to have any clue at all what you want to do tomorrow, let alone for the rest of your life, so spend a couple of years at Community College and sort things out. You don't want to get to the end of, or even halfway through a 4 year program only to realize that you completely dispise whatever it is you're studying, and have a 20,000 dollar coaster at home. Maybe it's just my experience though, but College seems to have the same petty groups and cliques as High School. You're either a Frat Guy, a Jock, a Scholar, or a Free Spirit. If you don't fit into any of these categories, then you're just going to end up as another face in the crowd.

[CBright7831 0]

I took a whole year off between HS and college and it was the best thing I can tell someone to do. Get a job for a year and you'll get a taste of the real world, that way when you go back to school you can appreciate it more.

That's pretty much what I've been doing since I graduated in 2004 - working at grocery store.

 

It's a pretty good atmosphere when everyone is in a semi-good mood.

[vivalaultra 0]

I dropped outta high school at the end of my sophmore year, back in nineteen hundred and ninety-nine...mainly due to disagreements with the public school system (interesting stuff, really.). Anyway, I got my equivalency degree like...2 months later, so there I was...16 with a High School degree and nothing to do, so I basically sat around for 4 years, moved from Louisiana to Texas and worked crappy jobs until I finally decided to go to do something with my life and now I'm a semester away from graduating Summa Cum Laude in English. Next year, I'm going to get certified to teach High School. I'm gonna make the kids call me "Coach". I originally had a point about taking a year off after High School, but I lost it. I just got up from a nap.

[Guest Princess Leena]

I think working before college is a good thing to do... yeah, as long as you do eventually go to school.

 

I wish I did... would have made things much easier. Not having the pressure to work so many hours while going to school. Saving up while you can is always a good thing to do.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Its a bit like "college" without the college life.

 

Or the college bill.

 

My two favorite years of schooling/meeting different people were during my time at the Community College of Allegheny County. If you are still undecided on what you want to do in terms of a career path, this is your best path.

[tominator89 0]

As stated, the instructors may not be as knowledgeable as Ph.D. professors, but when you're only there for Gen Ed's (which don't matter) then who cares? Take advantage of the cheaper tuition costs and go from there.

[tominator89 0]

I took a whole year off between HS and college and it was the best thing I can tell someone to do. Get a job for a year and you'll get a taste of the real world, that way when you go back to school you can appreciate it more.

I'd say it's the worst thing you can do. I know a good handful of people who "took a year off" and never went back. You have to stay on track as best you can, I think.

 

Trying to survive on wages from lousy jobs teaches the importance of an education.

 

I think the worst thing for someone is having stupid parents who spoil their kids well into their 20's.

[Hawk 34 0]

Its a bit like "college" without the college life.

 

Or the college bill.

 

My two favorite years of schooling/meeting different people were during my time at the Community College of Allegheny County. If you are still undecided on what you want to do in terms of a career path, this is your best path.

 

Even if you know what you want to do(as I did), it doesn't hurt to attend the regional school or community school.

 

If you are afraid of missing out on the "college life", you can still get it without the big bill.

[Slayer 0]

I took one year of university right out of HS and bombed because I just wasn't ready for it. I took what I thought was going to be a semester off, and assorted situations turned that into a little under four years (and moving out of state), but other assorted situations made me realize that I needed to go back to school (and moving back here), where I lept back in at juco and had a great time and finally got my bachelors degree last year.

 

So I absolutely cannot fault anyone for taking time off between HS and university.

[tominator89 0]

I took one year of university right out of HS and bombed because I just wasn't ready for it. I took what I thought was going to be a semester off, and assorted situations turned that into a little under four years (and moving out of state), but other assorted situations made me realize that I needed to go back to school (and moving back here), where I lept back in at juco and had a great time and finally got my bachelors degree last year.

 

So I absolutely cannot fault anyone for taking time off between HS and university.

 

Yeah, I completely understand this.

 

Since college isn't free (for most people), then I'd say it's better to do what you have to before rushing into school and wasting thousands of dollars.

[Star Ocean 3 0]

Adam Carolla hates community college and demands it be called junior college.

[Guest Felonies!]

Okay.

[vivalaultra 0]

I hate Adam Carolla and demand that he be called Jackass.

[Star Ocean 3 0]

!!!

[vivalaultra 0]

???

[Guest Felonies!]

!!!

That's a band.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I went to a major university immediately after high school and did so many drugs it took about a month after leaving the following year before I could pass a piss test reliably to get a real job.