Community College for the Kids!

[MrsK]

My very smart daughter is attending our local community college for three years before transferring to UC Davis.  Tuition + books for one year is about $1200.  We were able to give her $30K when she graduated from high school for college and she wisely said "that's a lot of money, but only 2 years of college."

I have been surprised by the strong (negative) reaction of friends and co-workers who feel we have cheated her out of the "college experience."  She is a straight A student and I guess many feel that community college is only for kids who didn't get good grades.  On the contrary, she feels the classes are quite good at this school and of course, you get out of them what you put into them. 

She got into several colleges and universities but has a goal of graduating school debt free.

I think she is a revolutionary for not buying into the idea that college has to be a four-year sleep away experience.  She bikes to school every day and works 30 hours a week so as not to touch her savings (and even add to it). 

[Northerly]

Awesome! You guys nailed it. Way to go :)

[Workinghard]

Ignore the comments from friends and co-workers. They're the same ones making car and house payments with little money in retirement accounts. Our son went to a local CC, and at 22, is making more than my husband or I ever earned.

Sounds like your dd is getting off to a great start!

[fartface]

Sigh - I dunno....I'm about as Mustachian as they come. No debt. Healthy Net Worth. Savings rate above 50%.

Anyway, my parents sent me to a state university away from home. BEST YEARS OF MY LIFE.

I graduated cum laude with no student loan debt.

Those years, those blissfully wonderful years...wow you never get that again...and I am not a sentimental fool. They just really ARE magical. The friends you meet, the things you learn about life, love, the world.

Well, good luck to your daughter, I'm sure she'll do great no matter what. My own girls have asked me the very same thing, "Mom, can't we just live at home and drive to the CC down the road?"

[MrsK]

I know.  My college years, 3 hours away from home were pretty awesome.  But that was when you could go to a great school for $6K a year, have loads of fun and graduate debt-free of almost.  So how do we give kids the awesome, stay-up-all-night-and-solve-the world's-problems kind of freedom and bliss on a budget?

[GardenFun]

I know.  My college years, 3 hours away from home were pretty awesome.  But that was when you could go to a great school for $6K a year, have loads of fun and graduate debt-free of almost.  So how do we give kids the awesome, stay-up-all-night-and-solve-the world's-problems kind of freedom and bliss on a budget?

If parents/friends quit knocking CC, more people would choose that route, thus giving kids more like-minded friends in their area.  Yes, some people who go to CC are on the "I don't know what to do with my life" path, but others use it to help cut down overall college costs.  DH went to CC and met quite a few friends.  Fortunately a few transferred with him to university and they are still friends.  All of them are successful engineers and all graduated with minimum to zero debt. 

[ToughMother]

Congrats on having such a wise daughter, MrsK!!! 

CC's typically have faculty that are teachers only, so the classroom is their focus. Also, class sizes are usually capped unlike the state universities (at least in our state) and that means, when you are taking your required courses, that you get personalized attention for a fraction of the price!  At our place, your Intro Psych class will max out at 32 students; at BIG STATE U down the road, 300!  and it costs about 6 times more!

NICELY DONE MrsK-Kiddo!

[juuustin]

Not everything in life should be measured in "monetary units."  My in-state tuition, housing, books, etc. etc. cost about 80K over four years and I would gladly have paid double.  I just can't even begin to imagine my life (social and professional) without going to my four-year state school.  It was an absolute blast and I could not even begin to put a price tag on those years.  Good for your daughter because she made the decision herself, but even if she never "realizes" it, she will be missing out on tons of experiences... regardless of how much money she saves.  You simply can't go on a 72-hour bender at home while in community college.  It's unfortunately considered alcoholism. :))

[chicagomeg]

I don't think there's anything wrong for it if the student made the decision for herself. My college experience sucked and was a huge waste of money. I was so busy trying to have the college experience I wanted that I didn't do as well as I should have in my classes. College is great for lots of people, but if she made the choice to do things differently, good for her!

My husband did CC for his junior and senior year of high school (free in Ohio and pretty common in our small town). Transferred to a (non-flagship) state school, took 21 credits his final year, graduated with a near 4.0 at 20 years old, and is now 26 and making $100k. I am....not making $100k. ;) Seriously though, it works great for some people, and financially, it's a no brainer.

[MrsK]

I posted this before I figured out how to respond to another's post.  I should be embarrassed by my lack of tech skills, but I am too old to worry about impressing people . . . and I just want to make sure Ross knows how awesome he is . . .   

Community College is great. I am a community college graduate and feel the debt-free nature of my life has enabled me to do a lot of really awesome things. If you are bored check out this speech I made at the commencement ceremony for the community college where I graduated. It addresses a lot of the things you are discussing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwWNhquQ4I0

Bravo Ross!  And also Wow!  I am so impressed.  You are such a great example and I can't wait to show this to my daughter.  She wants to go to medical school and eventually work at Planned Parenthood.  By graduating with no debt she will be able to take this kind of job.  Thank you for being an inspiration. 

[MrsK]

Community College is great. I am a community college graduate and feel the debt-free nature of my life has enabled me to do a lot of really awesome things. If you are bored check out this speech I made at the commencement ceremony for the community college where I graduated. It addresses a lot of the things you are discussing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwWNhquQ4I0

Thank you Rpsek6904!  You Rock.  And also Wow!  We need more people like you to inspire the next generation. 

[Neustache]

Best years of my pre-married life were spent living at home, working part-time, attending community college for two years and then our local state college for the remainder.  I had a great college experience, was in the top 10% of my class, but chose it because of the cost.  Due to scholarships, community college was free and I got paid each year to go there.  It was great experience.  Good for your daughter!

[Rpesek6904]

Thanks for the kind words. Like I said in the speech, I hope your daughter and your family can skip the "insecurity" phase of going to community college and skip straight to the pride. It sounds like your daughter is going to do great. Good luck!

[mbl]

My very smart daughter is attending our local community college for three years before transferring to UC Davis.  Tuition + books for one year is about $1200.  We were able to give her $30K when she graduated from high school for college and she wisely said "that's a lot of money, but only 2 years of college."

I have been surprised by the strong (negative) reaction of friends and co-workers who feel we have cheated her out of the "college experience."  She is a straight A student and I guess many feel that community college is only for kids who didn't get good grades.   On the contrary, she feels the classes are quite good at this school and of course, you get out of them what you put into them. 

She got into several colleges and universities but has a goal of graduating school debt free.

I think she is a revolutionary for not buying into the idea that college has to be a four-year sleep away experience.  She bikes to school every day and works 30 hours a week so as not to touch her savings (and even add to it).

I don't know about "revolutionary" ?  There are plenty of people who attend CC in this country and have for generations.  Many because of the financial aspect and due to that might not have been able to go to college without CCs.  Some people, particularly those just out of high school aren't certain as to what they want to study and CC helps with that.     Some aren't strong students and can get remedial course work in a CC setting which could help prepare them to go on.

Whether one goes away for all 4 years or starts out at CC and then transfers, there are benefits to each.  Every choice has it's pros and cons.  There are kids who attend 4 year schools who come out debt free or pay very little....yes it does occur.   It varies from person to person.

There are many 2 + 2 programs that bridge CC attendance to 4 years schools and make the transition into the different programs a lot easier.  These are of great value for those who are clear on what they want to do for their education as it makes the transfer seamless and efficient(not having to repeat or take extra courses at the 4 year school and having everything transfer).

[2ndTimer]

Your daughter has already learned to think outside the box.  This is bad for a cat but good for a human.  I predict she will have an interesting and successful life.

[Beric01]

Congrats! I did the same (as will my younger siblings). Transferred into a very good state university for my effort.

Ignore the BS about the "college experience". The college experience of being heavily in debt? Sounds like a great experience to me! Personally, I'll enjoy the tens of thousands of dollars I saved by being a junior transfer.

[tofuchampion]

Awesome!  I had a great college experience the first time around, and so did my husband.  Now we have the experience of paying off a shit-ton of debt while making... not a lot of money.

I'm going back to school next year to further my career, and will absolutely be starting at a community college.  Without that option, I wouldn't be able to go back to school without more debt, which means I'd be stuck in the same dead-end job for who knows how long.

I hope that when the time comes, my kids will want to start at community college.  I'm certainly going to be pushing them in that direction.

[forummm]

Do community college for a couple years, then go to a state school for a couple years, then grad school. There's plenty of time in there for the "college experience".

I went to universities for 9 years and I never had any great "college experience" like others. It's not my style and I didn't have time for partying anyway. What I enjoyed is getting to learn stuff and then having credentials so I could earn stuff.

[pipercat]

I confess, I've always been in the "get the college experience camp", but only because of the life-changing lessons I learned while I was away at college.  I know other people may not have had the same experience.

BUT, I 'm starting to come around to the CC idea.  If students are devoted and hard-working, I can totally see the benefit of saving the money and going that route for the first couple of year.

I guess my worry is that the kids won't stick with it.  When you are living at home and your friends are working, or they are simply wasting time in CC, it seems easy to quit.  Kids drop out of college so much these days, I would always wonder if sending them to a 4 year school would have made the difference.

DH, though, is firmly rooted in the "go away for 4 years" mindset. 

[Neustache]

I had friends who went away, partied too hard, and then had to drop out due to losing scholarships. 


Meanwhile I stayed at home, got married my Jr. year, worked full time and finished school in the evenings.   Anecdotal, to be sure, but I can see why going away could lead to dropping out, too. 

[mm1970]

We live about 2 miles from Santa Barbara City College, so that would be awesome if my kids did that.

But I'm a decade away from that.

She still gets the college experience, just in a few years.

[pipercat]

  Kids drop out of college so much these days, 

Dang, I can't believe I threw out a "kids these days".  I must really be old!

[ClaycordJCA]

I had a great community college experience (student newspaper, student government) then transferred to Berkeley and then UCDavis for grad school.  Your daughter will be fine. If she is a straight A student, I doubt she will stop at a Bachelor's degree but even 2 years at Davis will give her plenty of time to experience university life.