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Bookswithtea
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I was chatting with a dear friend today about how we are both going to be homeschooling high school this fall. We are both scared. 
Anyway, I mentioned the option of community college for 11th and 12th grade for some courses. She told me that her impression of community college is that Universities perceive them as "college lite" and are not likely to accept those credits for transfer. She only wants her children to take college courses in high school through 4 yr universities.
This is a new one for me. I thought community college was a viable option for undergraduate general coursework. Am I clueless, or is she being overly cautious?
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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hylabrook1
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I have not had that impression at all. My oldest dd did not go to college right out of high school, then got an AA from community college at age 23. She is now enrolled full-time at our state university, which is actually quite competitive as far as admissions. She is taking pre-med courses and has a 3.9 GPA after 3 semesters at university (this GPA is from her university courses only, not including her course work from community college). DD 3 is about to start her 4th semester at community college. DD 2, who is a graduate student, had completed 15 credits at community college as a high school student. Actually, some of the colleges she applied to were reassured that she had done well in "non-homeschooled" courses, taking that as an indication that she had good potential for success at a 4-year college.
Maybe it depends on the state you live in or on which colleges you apply to, but in Maryland, if you complete an AA at community college, any college or univeristy in the state system is required to take your 60 credits in transfer. I don't think that sounds like anyone looking down on community college.
While it is true that dds 1 & 3 have looked at state universities, dd 2 graduated from Catholic University and was accepted at 2 other private colleges that have tougher admissions standards than Catholic (where she went came down to financial aid considerations).
Anyway, from my experience, I would disagree with what your friend said. Of course, I don't know what basis she has for saying what she said; she may have experience that contradicts mine.
My intention is not to *brag on* my children, but their experience seems to indicate that many community colleges are of pretty high caliber and that 4-year institutions recognize this.
Peace,
Nancy
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Elizabeth
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Books,
I don't have the site handy and my big guy is out for the evening but there is a site that lists which credits are universally accepted at 4 year schools. I can't say enough good things about community college as a bridge bewteen home school and college. Michael will go college with 19 college credits, all of which will be accepted at every single school we've considered (including a couple highly selective schools). The trick is in course selection...I'll get you that link. Far from "college lite," when a highschool student has taken a college course, it's big plus.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Elizabeth
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hylabrook1 wrote:
Maybe it depends on the state you live in or on which colleges you apply to, but in Maryland, if you complete an AA at community college, any college or univeristy in the state system is required to take your 60 credits in transfer. I don't think that sounds like anyone looking down on community college.
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In Virginia, if you graduate from a Virginia CC with 60 credits and a 3.8 and you've taken the courses prescribed, the University of Virginia (which has a 38% undergraduate acceptance rate) is GUARANTEED to accept you as a junior.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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momwise
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Phew...this is great to know Nancy. Dd is planning to begin CC classes next year. I would check with any private college to make sure.
As far as I know all of our state U's accept credits from CC.
The only thing you'll want to be careful of is if you want to transfer to a private, Catholic college because some of them (like the new one in WY) have a 4-yr liberal arts degree program that is specialized and outside credits won't transfer (from anywhere!). St. Thomas Aquinas is another one that I think you must begin with their freshman year, because the Great Books program builds year upon year.
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"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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momwise
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Oops..I posted the exact moment as Elizabeth; I'd like to see that link also so we can pick the right courses. We're most interested in the art courses for building a portfolio that we can take to a 4yr. school like DU, etc.
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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Willa
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momwise wrote:
| St. Thomas Aquinas is another one that I think you must begin with their freshman year, because the Great Books program builds year upon year. |
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Yep, that's right. It is non-elective and cumulative and so everyone that attends starts as a freshman. However, the community college credits would still count as high school credits, of course, and I imagine would look nice on a transcript.
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AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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Bookswithtea
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I'm so relieved! Elizabeth, I would love to have that link when you have a chance.
Thank you all so much for sharing.
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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ALmom
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There is some difference within a system in terms of reputation but our state university system is also required to accept credits. The community college here is set up for people who either got a rough start in high school and dropped out or are coming back after time away. It is also, interestingly enough, more difficult for homeschoolers to gain admittance to the Jr. Colleges than to the state Universities. But we have no trouble duel enrolling with either.
There is a site that lists which courses in our state community colleges are part of the program and will be guaranteed to transfer - don't know if it is nationwide or not but is called the star program. When you are trying to knock out basic core requirements not in your major, this works well. I would caution about using them for coursework in your major field particularly if it is likely to be math and science, as they are sometimes a bit less rigorous. Taking these courses at a junior college/community college in high school are not likely to cause problems for college admissions with a wise selection of courses, but if you do have a University close at hand, I'd chose the one with a better reputation in your community if possible but not sweat it if I needed to utilize the community college due to cost, course time offerings or location.
Our state has duel enrollment options that require high school students taking university or cc college courses for college credit to only be given 1/2 of a high school credit for a full college course. This makes it a bit tougher if you are trying to get in all your math or foreign language at the colleges. From what I have heard here, the better schools, private and public, only allow duel enrollment at the University and not at the Community College so there is something to the reputation. They are reasonable high school courses, however, and you might as well have them done in high school rather than take the same silly stuff again at University as these freshman core courses tend to be repeats of high school anyways.
Janet
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LH
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In my state community college is very well respected.
Perhaps your state has site such as ours
http://www.assist.org/web-assist/welcome.html
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4Real Forums : High School Years and Beyond
Topic: community college question
