I liked a lot of my classmates and loved one of my professors and took multiple classes with him. I saved a lot of money and if youre still in high school you can save a lot more with either AP classes or duel enrollment (id focus more on duel enrollment if I could do it over again)
One benefit to my community college at least was that a lot of professors reused exams and lab books so if you knew someone who already took the class you could get an easy A. Only works if its not something you'll need to know later though. They also offered more flexible times for classes because they knew most people worked.
Anecdotally but if there's an incompetent professor you're kinda screwed. Deans won't do anything and most of the posts I've seen on reddit asking for what to do about a shitty professor are from people going to community colleges. It was easier to transfer to a different professor when I was at my 4 year university but at community college it was usually only 1 professor teaching the class unless it was like the first entry English class or something.
Also you miss out on the college experience but its potentially only 2 years. Depending on how competitive your major/field is you might be at a disadvantage with getting research opportunities and networking because you'll have 2 years less when you transfer.
Overall I recommend it though.
Depending on how competitive your major/field is you might be at a disadvantage with getting research opportunities and networking because you’ll have 2 years less when you transfer
This is very true and it means you'll have to be proactive about finding research opportunities during those two years. There are some programs, like NSF REUs, that are geared towards giving research internship experiences to students who lack those opportunities.
Several of my classmates and good friends from CC ended up in Ph. D programs for science, so going to CC is not a death sentence for those career aspirations.
It was awesome, great educational experience, obviously very affordable. You can pick up a bunch of new skills on the way to your degree. I got to learn the basics of all the main types of welding, some machine shop, makerspace stuff, etc. I also got to play new musical instruments and join a beginner ensemble.
The fact that tuition is inexpensive and you're free to set your own schedule means that you can try a bunch of new things in a structured environment. It's awesome.
Academically, the classes were challenging and rigorous and definitely prepared me for transferring to my university.
My CC also had a lot of undergrad research opportunities (for a community college) which is a decisive factor for people trying to become scientists.
Also community colleges are often the only place to go for certifications like EMT or a nursing degree.
Clubs were a great way to stay engaged and I got to do and see things through student organizations that I would not have been able to otherwise.
Can't go wrong there imo.
straight out of high school it sucked. going back in my late 20s was awesome.
I went to CC twice, once when I got out of high school and again after I left the military.
First one is where I met some of my most long-lasting adult friends, including the guy I'm currently sharing a house with. I had a full schedule and basically was at the college from sunup to sundown all day so we have a ton of time to build our social circle in the cafeteria/library - and outside of school I was in a couple study/project groups that met semi-regularly. It was a great experience, felt like being part of a diverse community, too bad I didn't take my homework seriously and ended up dropping out.
Second one was during COVID. All of my classes were remote, I didn't learn a goddamn thing, I performed even worse academically and generally it was a really shitty year of my life. I think it would have been equally terrible to be taking classes at any online university, since having done it both ways now frankly college for me just didn't work without being part of a community of actual people that I saw every day.
Anyway the price is right and the degree that you get is worth the same as any other college. You miss out on "connections" which you would get at a more prestigious university but if you had a realistic chance of making those kinds of connections to begin with you wouldn't be looking at community college as on option.
I think it's good because you save a lot of money upfront and it's relatively easy to transfer to a University
Experience was great at community college, some of my best learning was done there! I was able to go for free because of the FAFSA and being poor. I got enough for tuition+textbooks and pirated my textbooks so I basically got paid $400/semester to go.
Transferred to state school and got a bachelor's degree on the cheap. Working on PhD now and they told me that going to community college was why I got into the program (token poor).
If you're the type that would lament missing out on the "college experience", it might not be the best. It makes school a lot more like a job where you're commuting in. For many people that works better though.
