[lilt]

I took some community college classes in high school through a program we had with them. The environment and students were very underwhelming. Your mileage may vary.

I got to take relevant classes (CS) in my very first quarter of college. The first two years it was a 50/50 split. The biggest benefit was being among smart, interesting people. College was way better than any previous educational experience, by far.

That being said I didn't experience waiting for core classes. The class sizes were typically very large though. Taking these on the side at a community college while attending a 4 year college sounds like a good idea. I'm just opposed to putting everything on hold for 2 years to do basic classes. I don't think a community college is the place to explore interests.

[derangedHorse]

You don't have to put anything on hold. If you're motivated, you'll start learning what you have to on your own.

To be transparent, I went to a community college for 2 years and honestly can't recommend it enough for the reasons listed by the OP. I learned a lot better in the small class setting, and a good ratio of my professors were actually good at teaching (unlike the university I ended up going to where teaching was a necessary evil for professors).

[pfranz]

> I'm just opposed to putting everything on hold for 2 years to do basic classes. I don't think a community college is the place to explore interests.

In my state a 2 year community college degree allowed you to transfer as a 3rd year student into any state university. You could also pick and choose individual classes, but they may not transfer directly. I believe a lot of states are like this. The only thing you have to be careful about is if you want to transfer out of state. Schools aren't incentivized to allow you to transfer credits (or test out of classes).

I just wanted to let others know that's an option and it shouldn't be stigmatized. I think I was a little too arrogant to pursue community college classes and because of my frustrations with the university I left.