College for all - right?

[Kevy Baby]

On a separate note, I have always been an advocate of getting GE (General Education) requirements out of the way (possibly getting an AA) at a community college and then transferring in to your four-year institution for your major stuff.

1. It is much less expensive
2. It (usually) makes it much easier to get into your preferred university (I know at Cal Poly, they put a higher priority on CC transfers)
3. Generally speaking, GE classes are the ones that always give people trouble at the University level.
4. You (often) transfer in as a Junior or close to it. This sometimes gives you a little priority in class selection, etc. (see #3).
5. You sometimes meet your wife (or husband)*

I am not sure what the downside would be - if someone has feedback on this, I am curious to know.





* Susan and I met at Fullerton College

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

I am not sure what the downside would be - if someone has feedback on this, I am curious to know.

Whether some of these are "down sides" remains subjective, but they are things to consider

1. Not getting away from home
2. Missing the social aspect of dorm living
3. Depending on your chosen major, delaying the start may put you at a disadvantage. e.g., for my major, had I come in as a Jr. with ONLY G.E. classes taken, it still would have taken nearly 4 years from that point because I still would have needed to complete the in-major courses in the order they were offered.
4. Occasional headaches when you find out stuff doesn't transfer.

Those would be my main concerns.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Depending on your chosen major, delaying the start may put you at a disadvantage. e.g., for my major, had I come in as a Jr. with ONLY G.E. classes taken, it still would have taken nearly 4 years from that point because I still would have needed to complete the in-major courses in the order they were offered.

Again, only speaking from personal experience, this was easily addressed with the department by being allowed to take classes concurrently that otherwise would have required to be sequential. I also had the unique experience of having industry experience coming into the department.

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Occasional headaches when you find out stuff doesn't transfer

One thing I was VERY careful about was making sure that the classes I took at Fullerton College were transferable. I was even smart enough to get documented verification (from Cal Poly) on one questionable course.

And on the other two, I mostly agree, except I still lived in the dorm for a year when I went up there.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

Again, only speaking from personal experience, this was easily addressed with the department by being allowed to take classes concurrently that otherwise would have required to be sequential. I also had the unique experience of having industry experience coming into the department.

Like I said, depends on the major. My major had the highest unit requirement at my school. Some shuffling could have saved some time, but the reality was that there were just too many classes and not enough time. I got out of sequence in 1 quarter due to faulty advice from a counselor. The result was an extra full year to get my degree.

Hell, I came in as a sophomore thanks to AP credits, still took me 5 years because of the major's requirements.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Hell, I came in as a sophomore thanks to AP credits, still took me 5 years because of the major's requirements.

That's another interesting question: how long did your "4-year degree" take to get? Mine was 4.75 years and that included Summer School three years.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

That's another interesting question: how long did your "4-year degree" take to get? Mine was 4.75 years and that included Summer School three years.

I took between 16 and 18 credit hours per semester, so reasonably I should have been able to complete in 4. But my two degrees were from two different colleges within my university, so I had to do an additional 25 credits more than if I got 2 degrees from 1 college. A hearty thanks to the auditing adviser who didn't realize this until the winter semester my senior year.

All in all, the two took 4 years plus one spring and one summer semester (during which I had to get permission to take more than the permitted amount of credit hours.)

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

That's another interesting question: how long did your "4-year degree" take to get? Mine was 4.75 years and that included Summer School three years.

3.5 thanks to AP credit and a couple UCI classes I took while in High School

[tracilicious]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

I am not sure what the downside would be - if someone has feedback on this, I am curious to know.

I totally agree with all your pros (except the husband/wife part, though I suppose anything could happen). The only con I've discovered with my major is that not very many Eng/writing classes are offered. Next year I'll have to do part time at the ASU so that I can start as a junior when I fully transfer.