Should I go to Community College for 1 year and then go to a regular college for the rest?

Answered

Honestly it depends on a lot of factors.

-If you are truly a high achieving HS student with a great GPA, ECs, test scores, recommendations, and intellectual curiosity, then I wouldn't waste an hour in a community college. Why? Because you can find schools either with great financial aid or merit scholarships that will take you right out of HS.

-If you are an average student who is thinking of applying to In-state colleges, I would be also on the fence with this because some State colleges do not cost that much more than community colleges and the teachers, coursework, prestige is better. Where I live Portland State University is closer than the community colleges and there isn't much difference in cost and some of my friends go there and live at home and commute.

-If you are not a very good student say a C student that struggled just have enough credits and grades to graduate on time, then yes, I might recommend attending a Community College then transferring.

The knee jerk reaction that most parents have is that they are sticker shocked at how much college costs and will say or do anything to get out of paying for your college. Where I live in Oregon, there are actually laws in place that state that your parents are legally responsible for participating in your college pursuits until you are 21 years of age. So they can't just back out of it. And if they do, you can technically legally emancipate yourself from your parents so you become legally independent and can apply for full financial aid as an independent person. I don't know what kind of relationship you have with your parents but I mention this because you and your parents are not aware of the laws in place to protect your interests as an aspiring college student.

What you need to do is some solid research. The first step since financial cost seems to be the #1 barrier for college for you is to curate a list of colleges. Then, figure out the NET PRICE of attending these schools using the FREE collegeboard NPC Net Price Calculator or by using the NPC on the college's financial aid portal. Almost every college in America has a NPC calculator. Some take 5 minutes some maybe 15 minutes depending on how much information is required. Some data inputs you are going to have to get by digging around your house. For example, NPCs require household income, and a list of basic assets like Cash in the bank, Savings, Investments, Home Value vs other assets like Trusts, Businesses, etc etc. So for most people, filling out the NPC is easy peasy, but if your family runs a business, or has ???? unknowns, get that information first before you run an NPC. Once you do this about 10 times with different schools, you will get a better idea of what attending private vs public college will cost you.

For some families, attending a prestigious private college is actually much less expensive because they have generous financial aid that you do not have to repay. So this will require some time and effort. Once you put your list of college together and format the results in a spreadsheet, you can have a sit down discussion with your parents and actively decide which direction to take.

The negative thing about attending a CC for 1 or 2 years, is that you will certainly miss out on the Freshman and/or Sophomore college experience. For some people, that is an extremely valuable time where they meet their new friends and go through various rights of passage, whether that is pledging Frats and Sororities or joining clubs or sports teams, etc etc. If you take that route, you will be considered a transfer student, not a first time applicant out of HS. So keep that in mind. Some CCs are feeder schools into better colleges. For instance, Santa Monica CC college has a special relationship with UCLA and perhaps even other LA colleges, that if you maintain a certain GPA and take all the core requirements, you are an auto-admit into UCLA after 2 years. Other CCs do not work this way, and if they are not reputable, you may find yourself taking college placement exams in order to determine whether you have to redo courses or get full credit at your new school.

Good luck.

I'm a homeschooler in 12th grade, I had to go get my GED. I'm attending community college for two years before because I really want to get my basic education done so my two years I can focus on my major! Also since I'm taking my GED through the same community college I plan to attend, I'm able to apply for more scholarships to make my education even more affordable. My parents and so many others have encouraged me to go to community college, and it makes sense! Community college really depends on the person, what they want to do for a career, and how much they want to spend on their education. For example, my community college provides a fantastic workforce/trade school so those in the program to jumpstart their career and make more money. For me, I think community college is the best option because it will be more affordable and a straightforward path to getting to my career, but it honestly depends on the person!

@littleo12 My parents told me the same thing. Everyone has told me to save as much money as I can. Rn, my plan is to take community college because my state pays for it, then go to a four-year college because it saves money. I'm not sure about applying for colleges because I am also a junior, but I think applying at the end of community would be better. Again, I am no expert, this is just what I think.