San Diego peeps...best community colleges?

[quark]

Instead of :svengo: :willy_nilly: :willy_nilly: :willy_nilly: :svengo: which is so tempting to do right now, I am going to take a deep breath and channel my energy towards research and Hive therapy (and then LOTS and LOTS of ice cream, coffee and cheese and crackers). Sometimes, the men in my life give me whiplash.

 

We might have to move again. All the well laid plans and all that...

 

Depending on the forums/ websites I am googling, there is some mixed info about the best CCs in the San Diego area. Could you kindly advice based on your local expertise?

 

Looking for:

1. good math/ sciences/ humanities departments if possible

2. higher transfer rates to UCs (whether or not DS takes the transfer route)

3. safe-ish area if possible in case DS (young teen) has to wait for a while for me to pick him up

4. Within 5 miles of a Trader Joe's would be like a triple scoop coffee ice cream sundae with lots of chocolate sprinkles and shavings on top.

 

Thanks so much!

[Luckymama]

You can't move until I visit my boy!

 

Sorry :grouphug: I wish I could help you but my info is decades out of date :lol:

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Are you looking for a high school graduate or for dual enrollment? Policies varied widely on allowing high school students to take classes.

 

DS took a class at Southwestern College when we lived in that area. It is south of I-8 in the Chula Vista area.

 

We generally liked Chula Vista and it was pretty safe. Ds rode his bike or walked to the college. However we also found that a lot of activities happened on the North side of the county in areas like Rancho Bernardo.

[quark]

You can't move until I visit my boy!

 

Sorry :grouphug: I wish I could help you but my info is decades out of date :lol:

 

:grouphug: Thank you! We have so many things to settle that not sure if we'll move in summer. Please PM me when you know about your visit! :laugh:

 

[quark]

Okay, looks like our options are Miramar and Mesa. Would love feedback!

[quark]

Thank you Sebastian! I missed your reply earlier. DS has the CHSPE and will be able to enjoy regular student status despite being enrolled in my homeschool. So he could actually enjoy priority enrollment but not sure if he'll have that the first quarter that he is there. I just looked at Miramar in more detail and looks like while it's a smaller school (we like that), their courses are not as varied as Mesa's. I'll look up Southwestern too!

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Thank you Sebastian! I missed your reply earlier. DS has the CHSPE and will be able to enjoy regular student status despite being enrolled in my homeschool. So he could actually enjoy priority enrollment but not sure if he'll have that the first quarter that he is there. I just looked at Miramar in more detail and looks like while it's a smaller school (we like that), their courses are not as varied as Mesa's. I'll look up Southwestern too!

 

DS liked the course he took at Southwestern.  His math instructor there is still one of his favorite instructors.  He also taught at a couple other schools in the area.

 

If you will be living in the Miramar area, getting down to Southwestern would be a lot of time in the car.  During heavy driving times (heavy, but not jammed) it would take me about an hour to get from Chula Vista to the Point Loma area.  

[quark]

Thank you Sebastian, that's very helpful to know!

[Mabelen]

I don't know much about community colleges in San Diego. Other than the ones mentioned, you also have Palomar College in San Marcos and San Diego City College downtown.

[SeaConquest]

The best would be Mira Costa. Look at transfer agreements to get a good idea. A lot of homeschoolers use Palomar, but it's far. Mesa is pretty good as well. For your DS, I would go to UCSD.

[Kinspired]

Mira Costa College has a San Elijo campus that is not too far from Miramar. You may want to join the SanDiegohomeducation yahoo group: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/SanDiegoHomeducation/info. Somebody there will probably have more info for you.

[quark]

Thank you so much for sharing thoughts and links!

 

Monique, we are looking into UCSD for math but CC for lab science & humanities (to help with cost)!

[sands31210]

The best would be Mira Costa. Look at transfer agreements to get a good idea. A lot of homeschoolers use Palomar, but it's far. Mesa is pretty good as well. For your DS, I would go to UCSD.

 

Had to like this post because these are the schools I went to over 20 years ago! I absolutely loved Mira Costa College. Started at there Oceanside campus and then went to the San Elijo campus when it opened up. It had caring teachers and small classes. I had a rude awakening when I transferred to UCSD and had one class in a huge lecture hall with 100 students in it. I learned to love that school as well. I go and wander around UCSD everytime I go back to San Diego. 

 

Good luck with your search.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Because of high demand for classes, some of the local CCs were not accepting high school students.  I don't know how having the CHSPE alters that.  

 

Be prepared to spend some time getting your paperwork for registration processed.  We ran into an outreach counselor who insisted, repeatedly and in the face of all logic, that homeschooled "high school special" students (the term for DE at Southwestern) had to have all three forms of paperwork that a homeschooler would have (Charter school registration, private school affidavit and certified teacher paperwork), unless they were in a charter school, in which case they only needed the one piece of paperwork.  At one point he told me that he would turn down the application and then it could be appealed to the Dean of Students.  Fortunately, the day we went to register, he was too busy to see ds and referred us to someone else, who looked at ds's paperwork for about 30 seconds and registered him.  

 

I don't know how familiar college staff will be with the CHSPE and what status it should confer.  If you can bring documentation from the state DOE or from the college's website, it may help.

 

Southwestern didn't use the Compass test for placement.  I think they used a UC specific placement test.  You might contact CC's you are interested in and find out what placement test they use.  It might be something you can get done at a school near you now before you move.

 

Also keep in mind that there will be health documentation to provide.  I think we had to have proof of MMR vaccination.  

[quark]

Because of high demand for classes, some of the local CCs were not accepting high school students.  I don't know how having the CHSPE alters that.  

 

Be prepared to spend some time getting your paperwork for registration processed.  We ran into an outreach counselor who insisted, repeatedly and in the face of all logic, that homeschooled "high school special" students (the term for DE at Southwestern) had to have all three forms of paperwork that a homeschooler would have (Charter school registration, private school affidavit and certified teacher paperwork), unless they were in a charter school, in which case they only needed the one piece of paperwork.  At one point he told me that he would turn down the application and then it could be appealed to the Dean of Students.  Fortunately, the day we went to register, he was too busy to see ds and referred us to someone else, who looked at ds's paperwork for about 30 seconds and registered him.  

 

I don't know how familiar college staff will be with the CHSPE and what status it should confer.  If you can bring documentation from the state DOE or from the college's website, it may help.

 

Southwestern didn't use the Compass test for placement.  I think they used a UC specific placement test.  You might contact CC's you are interested in and find out what placement test they use.  It might be something you can get done at a school near you now before you move.

 

Also keep in mind that there will be health documentation to provide.  I think we had to have proof of MMR vaccination.  

 

DS has taken placement here locally and it should be accepted within different CC districts but most likely it won't be a problem even if they don't.

 

He would like a lab science and Japanese more than any other courses but lab sciences can be difficult to get into as a new student even with the CHSPE so we'll have to plan for that. Our other option is to take the AP route for lab science next year but I think he prefers in person classes at CCs, and besides he will need the in person for Japanese...he really thrives in those types of classes.

 

Thank you Sebastian. I appreciate your thoughts very much!

 

(edited to remove personal details)

 

Edited March 1, 2016 by quark

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Your son sounds like he is further along than mine was when I was doing initial inquiries.  I hope things go smoothly.

 

 

FWIW, Southwestern College is one of the 2 year schools that is pioneering doing select 4 year degrees.  They have been working on getting a program in place to do 4 year nursing degrees on campus.  I lost track of the status of the program, but it looks like they have an agreement by which Point Loma Nazarene University teaches classes at the Southwestern campus.

 

We knew some students who were taking biology and anatomy courses (with labs) at Southwestern.  They spoke very highly of the courses.  At the time, the anatomy course was taught by a retired physician.  If medicine is something of interest, it might be worth the drive to be in these courses.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Sebastian (a lady)

[quark]

Thank you Sebastian!