If you live in the US then you should look into community colleges that offer transfer degrees. Many offer automatic acceptance into a public 4 year university if you do well enough. PLUS it will save you a ton of money.
Would getting a transfer degree at a community college be better than getting an associates that ties in with the field I want to study? I intend on studying until I get my Masters but I don't know if I should go for an associates in something that relates closely to CS or get a transfer degree in science.
There is no such thing as a "transfer degree". You either transfer or you do not.
Get an associates, the paper looks good, it's an ego boost, and it will make your family proud of you. After you get your bachelor's, the associate's will not matter for anything.
A community college is a great way to get into a far better school than you could have anyway, I'm living proof. This is because your GPA resets when you start junior college, and a 3.0 GPA on a junior college will get you into a much better school than a 3.7 would have in high school.
Just get in there, and don't screw up your grades. If you are not going to get a high grade in the class, drop it and then re-take it. It's a weasel thing to do, but it's better than getting a shitty grade in your record.
It's no big deal the situation you are in. Just work at it intelligently. You will actually save a ton of money than if you had gone to a 4-year college for all 4 (or 5 or 6) years from the beginning.
> There is no such thing as a "transfer degree". You either transfer or you do not.
The name may be different at different places, but transfer-guaranteed programs do exist. For instance in California community colleges, the "Associate Degree for Transfer" [0], the University of California Transfer Admission Guarantee program [1], and California State University Transfer Admission Agreements and Transfer Admission Guarantees [2].
Do this! I went to community college and you where guaranteed admission into any state school as long as you meet the GPA requirements. Work hard at community college and go to a great state school. Best thing to do if you messed up in high school and still want to go to a good school.
Thirded. My wife took classes at DeAnza college in San Jose for something like $30 per credit hour. Once she maxed out on transferable classes she transferred to a 4 year college where it was $300 per credit hour.
In the end her degree was from a well known 4 year college.