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by legitster 1158 days ago
I had a wonderful time at community college! (It helps that my community college had an amazing service department).

Even for people who don't finish a degree, it's still a great place to get exposure or make connections. And it's much cheaper to find out college isn't for you at community college.

Transfer programs though are a mess. The culprit are the 4-year universities - who actually punish you for not coming directly from high school. Your application is deprioritized, the requirements are much more stringent, and no one is there to help you.
2 comments
kaycebasques 1158 days ago
> Transfer programs though are a mess

Depends on the state. IGETC [1], the transfer program from California community colleges to the UC system, was very straightforward back in 2007-2009. Cal had a few dorm buildings specifically for transfer students. Each UC even provided stats on the admission rate for each major.

[1] https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requi...

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legitster 1158 days ago
I took advantage of a similar transfer program in WA state (about which this article is written) but it was not at all straightforward. The state colleges only had so many openings they made available to transfer students, and the application process was worse in many ways.

Part of the issue they won't tell you is that you can apply as a transfer student with basic admissions requirements, but to actually get into some of the specific undergraduate programs had their own admissions requirements.

I was in a weird situation where I got accepted to the college but not into the undergrad program I had been working towards. AND ON TOP OF THAT you couldn't transfer in as a sophomore - you had 6 months to declare a major or you got kicked out. So you were forced to find ANY program at the college that would accept you.

(So as much as people have bad experiences with community colleges, I personally had a much worse time at the university level)

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kaycebasques 1158 days ago
True, the UC system also has the issue where there are general transfer requirements (IGETC) but then each major has its own requirements on top of that.
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driverdan 1158 days ago
That depends on the school. I went to Monroe Community College which worked with Rochester Institute of Technology to craft its CS program. MCC uses the same material as RIT. In this case transferring is very easy.
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