Transferring from Community College to University?

[godwinscareer]

COMMUNITY College...?

If you start at a community college, is it possible to transfer to a top ranked university??

 

[Asphodel]

Sure. That's rather the point?

 

[G01]

Yes it is. Make sure you work hard and really understand what your studying and you should be fine.

 

[godwinscareer]

say i go to a cc in Illinois, will universities from other states still consider my application.

 

[godwinscareer]

I have also been accepted by a universitiy in Illinois (SIUC).
Which would be a better choice?
P.S I am and INTERNATIONAL STUDENT

 

[leon1127]

Yes, it is possible. I knew someone who started in local community college. Now she is in grad school at Harvard.

The question is "does community college prepare student for top ranked college?"

 

[Asphodel]

say i go to a cc in Illinois, will universities from other states still consider my application.

Sure.

I have also been accepted by a universitiy in Illinois (SIUC).
Which would be a better choice?
P.S I am and INTERNATIONAL STUDENT

There are benefits to starting out at a full university (for anyone, possibly more so since you're an international student). In exchange, it usually costs more. The choice here depends on your own financial situation.

 

[G01]

The question is "does community college prepare student for top ranked college?"

As usual with a question like this, the answer is that it depends on the school. As there are good universities and crappy ones. There are also good and crappy community colleges.

The best advice I can give is to put your learning under your control whenever possible. The more you control your education, the less a bad calculus professor or a bad physics program is going to affect you. Obviously, it can't hurt going to one of the better community colleges, but if you take it upon yourself to make sure that you learn the material, it shouldn't matter in the end. Go the extra mile, study that chapter your professor skipped in lecture, and do that harder problem that wasn't assigned. If you have an attitude that let's you go that extra step, then you will be better off in all stages of your education and career.

 

[rocomath]

With the right attitude and vision, you can make it anywhere.

 

[Holocene]

With the right attitude and vision, you can make it anywhere.

As long as you have the money.

 

[rocomath]

As long as you have the money.

True that!

 

[huckmank]

As long as you have the money.

Or a government willing to give you grants and interest differed loans and private organizations willing to part with scholarships.

I'm dirt poor and I've made it most of the way through a top 10 engineering school (first year and a half at a CC) and because of Pell Grants and scholarships I've yet to have to pay any of my tuition. I've had to take out 15k in loans for living expenses and books, but tuition has been fully covered and then some.

Money is nice and all, but it's not needed to succeed in this society.

 

[Feldoh]

Money is nice and all, but it's not needed to succeed in this society.

You said you had to take out 15k in loans, and food/water is sort of needed. Well you know, if you like living...

 

[rocomath]

I like money :-]

 

[huckmank]

You said you had to take out 15k in loans, and food/water is sort of needed. Well you know, if you like living...

The quote I was responding to was "As long as you HAVE the money." I don't have the money currently; I'm being loaned the money, interest deferred, by my government. Of course one needs money in a capitalist society. My point, and I think you knew this, was that you don't necessarily need to come from money to get a top-tier education in America.

 

[godwinscareer]

But I read many university sites and they accept transfer students from community colleges which are there in their state. Is it hard to transfer to other states?

 

[Asphodel]

Harder in that it's more work - for starters, they get fewer students from there so they don't have established course equivalences. Probably not harder to get accepted.

 

[ebaywannabe]

It's definitely more difficult for an out-of-state student to transfer to a UC campus. California community college students have the top priority, the system is set up that way.

 

[600burger]

I went through a CC to UCDavis and straight into Mech Eng.

When transferring and asking counselors how well transfers do in the University main stream I was told they usually do better then the ones that started there. This is true so far as I can tell as well as I am now a senior in mechanical engineering and two of my transfer mates and I are all consistently at the top of the courses we take.

As was mentioned California seems to prefer California transfer students (you don't want to pay out of state tuition anyways). Also, it usually happens that CC's near major universities will have dedicated transfer agreements which are very little hassle (take these classes, have this GPA, and you're in w/o even submitting an application).

Obviously your results may vary. Go talk to your CC's counselers to get better details on your specific situation. I recommend getting a second or third opinion as well since some counselors do not always know what they're talking about.

Bottom line. Work hard, focus on your studies and the rest practically falls in your lap.

Hope this helps.

 

[bombastic]

I did my first two years of education at a California CC. There are different things to take into account when going to a CC:

Pros:

--It's cheap. Live at home/cheap in-town apt, pay very low tuition rates, work part-time with CC's forgiving schedules.

Cons:

--You may lose out on some entering/freshman-only funding.
--Many Uni's limit numbers of transfer students.
--You may lost out on the connections established in that first or second year.
--You may have to repeat courses

My cons list is bigger, but with a good CC and very good planning, the cons almost disappear. Going to a CC will require more dedication and more planning than simply starting at a four year. That is why, in my opinion, that many schools like to tout that transfers do better. To move on from the two year requires more work, but it is work that will pay off in the long run.

Going out of state is obviously a problem. State schools favor in-state applicants, and in-state CCs often have transfer agreements with the four year Unis. If you have out of state applications, it will be extremely important to communicate with counselors at both the CC and potential out of state school almost monthly. You will need to send syllabi, course descriptions, and transcripts often. Getting great marks at a CC will signal, however, that you are a capable student and more matured than a high school graduate.

 

[j93]

Yes you can and if your state includes top public colleges you might be in luck because some states require a percentage of students come from CC's