Is attending a community college a waste of time for an exceptional acadmic student?

Not if they transfer.

I have a very close friend who tried to do this, and he ended up spending about the same amount of money because he had to spend a long longer in school after he transferred because most of the best universities don’t accept transfer credit from community colleges, either flat out, or they just require different classes. For example, my university requires 48 credit hours above the 300 level, which is a lot of clases, and community colleges by definition do not offer classes above the 300 level.

The student would be best advised to apply to the best schools he believes he can get into, as well as midlevel and “safe” schools, apply for financial aid, and wait until receiving financial aid packages from all schools before making any decisions. A truly exceptional student will be recruited with a very attractive package, even during this economy.

If in the end money concerns outweighed I would highly suggest an in-state public university with an honors program to a community college for the reasons outlined above, as well as to give the student a lot more academic options. It’s hard to shoot for the stars when everyone around you is kicking dirt. In a state university honors program, he would be exposed to a lot more opportunities than at a community college.

Where has he been denied admission, if you don’t mind me asking? And are you talking about him attending a cc for the two semesters of his freshman year and entering University as a sophomore? Many families of bright students are feeling a severe financial pinch now. He will not be alone.

He could choose the toughest courses the cc offers in the academic areas that interest him.

I was in the business of counselling high school students re; their college plans and I had a close relationship with the U. Penn admissions office. They loved kids who transferred from cc.

I did this, I am doing this- it kind of sucks but my fiance and I are doing it to save money
we weren’t all too keen on assuming a bunch of debt right off the bat.
I’m not sure if it was the best idea but we couldn’t have afforded to get married.
If he’s exceptional, why did he get denied?

Absolutely not. It’s a great place for him to work out the next step in his education. It’s cheaper than sending him to a 4 year college and him finding out in his junior year that he despises the major he’s selected. He could even learn **GASP!** a TRADE while he figures himself out!

I may add that I admire the fact that you care enough to want to direct your son. Perhaps the long way is the best way to his success. It’s not the quickest way, but it could be the way in which he learns the most. So don’t be afraid to let him take a few detours.

No opportunity to learn is a waste of time. Community college is like any other endeavor, if you put in your best effort, you will get value out of the experience.

He can approach this in a couple of ways.
1. He can take the gen ed classes that he is not particularly interested in and get them out of the way.
2. If he is deciding among 2 or 3 majors, he can take an introductory class in each and see if he prefers 1.

Either way he will gain something. Be sure that all the class credits are transferable

I should have said he was accepted, but the program or particular school within the state university was already full and denied him enrollment in the school and suggest he attend a cc. They said their U accepts course work from most cc’s (need that in writing). I went there 30 years before, and they pulled similar BS with me, but that was rooming space. I preferred he look elsewhere, but this is his choice.

It would be worse to waste time in a program that didn’t interest the student.
Community college can be a good place to learn about other career possibilities that aren’t so apparent in High school.

Take this opportunity as a blessing to let them learn more and stay in the school mode. it is much harder to take time off and go back, but that happens too.

Community colleges tend to be geared towards people who need additional remedial work before they can take on college-level classes. Someone who is capable of doing college-level work already is likely to find the coursework insufficiently challenging.

It’s probably preferable to taking a year off, but it’s not likely to be as rewarding or fulfilling as college-level work.

no

@Garebo – I don’t understand, did he only apply to one college? That’s not very many options. Perhaps you should council him to apply to more schools? If he’s been accepted to one school, I’m guessing he’s he a high school senior?

I don’t understand why the university would suggest a community college if he’s an “exceptional academic student”. I kind of feel like you’re asking us for advice, but you’re not telling us the whole story.

He is a HS senior, he wants to go into the engineering program at the U. of Mn in Duluth, they have accepted him for Spring Semester 2010 because the Fall semester is full.
They recommended he take cc classes in the Fall since they would be transferable. But this would put him out of sync. in class availability.
He has been accepted at two other schools and one he is considering.
My wife abhors the idea of him going to a cc, he hasn’t really objected; I personaly feel it is economical and for base classes who cares if you take it at a cc or Princeton-calc is calc. She went to cc and feels it was a waste. So, there you have it.

Get those stupid requirements out of the way cheaper. Why not?
Just be sure that you double check with the college to be sure that all courses he takes will transfer.

Either that, or make him go out and get a job, he’ll need the money when he gets to college.

I don’t know if @Garebo is from California (he said he’s lived in Paradise and that is actually a town in California) but his predicament is common. The state schools are taking fewer freshmen each year and referring applicants to community college for lower division classes. Of course the cc’s are overwhelmed.

@fireside: Seconded, on the “make sure they’ll transfer.” One of the people I knew in college found himself on the six-year plan, because he believed the popular wisdom that the first two years are the same everywhere. They aren’t, and none of his credits transferred. So if you decide that you’ll do the first two years elsewhere, make certain that you research things first.

(When I was in graduate school, one of the students I taught had had a rough senior year, and so went to a state school for his freshman year. After pulling down a 4.0, he transferred to Dartmouth, and all his credits transferred. So I’m not claiming that you can’t plan on transferring halfway through—only that if you intend to transfer halfway through, you need to do some research first.)

@Garebo: calculus is calculus, but there are good calculus teachers and poor calculus teachers, and the teachers of Calc I in a particular curriculum are aware of what the students need to know for Calc II in that particular curriculum.

Is there anything he wants to do that he can accomplish in a semester’s time that will make his life richer? Being an exchange student in Japan? Backpacking across Europe on $10 a day? This might be the perfect time to do that.

@cwilbur: He’s not the adventerous sort-rather shy, but he has his share of friends. See I like your answer because that is exactly what I would do in a heartbeat if I was him-where did he get his genes. It’s her fault-just kidding.