S/o- Starting at CC (or local U) to save on costs

[Hilltopmom]

After reading the current (& past) "how to pay for college" threads, I started running NPCs.

Which leads me to...

 

Let's do another round of "pros/ cons of starting at the local CC, then transferring, to save on costs". (Mainly to knock out gen eds not yet taken while DEing & that DE is full pay here)

 

(Let's assume student is not going into medicine or engineering for this one. I know the cons of CC or transferring for those fields as far as GPA & STEM sequence. And that student doesn't quite meet the cut off for freshman merit scholarship at the away State U he wants to attend, so missing out on freshman merit isn't an issue to consider)

 

If your child started at CC (or a local state U) & lived at home before transferring to a 4 year, I'd love to hear from you! (Not necessarily on the social & family logistics of a college kid living at home, I've already started that thread in the past)

 

For this one, I'm thinking more about academics, but mostly COST savings of CC (or local state U, we have both in our town, but local U doesn't have program kid wants).

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Interestingly enough- NPC shows our highest oop cost at away State U (that makes sense cause room & board) then CC, then local U as cheapest. CC came out more expensive.

But, our cC has a free tuition scholarship for tech areas, so if he could get that, free & in walking distance to house, is good :)

[...................]

I would say our biggest problem with our plan to have our 16 yo start (early) at CC is logistics. We unfortunately live in an area where it'll take him 2.5 hours by public bus or, I have to drive him. In rush hour that would be a 45 minute drive one way. And I have to come home so that would be 60 minutes of driving him per day, assuming he took the bus home.

 

Obviously we would hope for classes between 11amd 3 (non rush hour) but he will

Need certain classes regardless of what time they are.

 

Other than that I can't see any negatives. We are lucky in that our state has a website which outlines all classes needed, for all majors, for all transfers to any public uni ans 80% of private one too. So we can see up front exactly which classes he needs. So even engineering and math students can transfer seamlessly here.

[Hilltopmom]

I can see the CC from our new house, so distance is not a drawback for us, at least :)

I used to have to drive him 30 min to get there.

[Guest]

The cost savings is rent. You will still be paying utilities at the apt or dorm.

 

You will still be paying food, you may save there if the college makes freshmen take a meal plan.

 

You can save on transportation if the student is sharing a car with a family member to get to work.

 

in my area,there isn't much savings on tuition but there is a little on fees

 

Internships and ROTC may be more available

thru the four year school

 

The gpa drop is not confined to eng and pre med.

[katilac]

While I am wildly envious of anyone with DE in walking distance, I will say that I am in my 3rd year as DE taxi driver, and it has been well worth it. It's about 45 minutes each way to the local university, no matter what time of day, BECAUSE OUR TRAFFIC SUCKS,  but it's been great for my kids to have that experience before going away to college full-time (I have one freshman in college, one junior in high school). 

 

It won't save money for oldest dd, due to her mix of majors and minors, but it makes that mix possible in four years. She definitely could have shaved off a full year if needed. Youngest should also have that possibility. 

 

To figure out if DE will save a year of college, you have to look at a few factors. What will transfer? How many DE hours will I have? How many hours are required for my degree? Are my required classes routinely offered every semester, or on a regular schedule? 

 

If your degree requires 124 hours, and you transfer in 24 credits, you can graduate in 3 years if you take 4 semesters of 15 hours and 2 semesters of 18 hours. That's fairly tight, so you'd want more DE credits if possible. 

 

In our case, DE is very affordable, cheaper than many online classes, so it makes sense even if the credits don't transfer. It's been great for classes that are tough to do at home, like foreign languages - oldest had 4 semesters of French and 3 of Spanish, youngest will have 4 semesters of French and may try a science next semester.  

[JanetC]

1. Social aspects of transition to a new school. Do the freshmen all dorm together and make buddies? Is the junior coming in later in the game is in classes with people he or she never met, or does the CC send lots of transfers to this school? If Greek life is a big thing on campus, the junior is older than all the other people trying to rush. Are there programs to help incoming juniors transition?

 

2. Research and letters of recommendation. CC's don't tend to offer research, and when transferring in as a junior, you have fewer chances to take multiple courses from the same professor to get a good letter.

 

3. Junior year abroad. One of my DD's really wants to do this. That would be harder if she wasn't planning to spend her four years at the same school.

[Pegasus]

We saved about $40,000 by DD attending community college before transferring to the state flagship as a junior, only considering direct costs. She is in computer science so don't assume that STEM students can't successfully transfer. Her CC and university had a transfer agreement.

[wapiti]

And that student doesn't quite meet the cut off for freshman merit scholarship at the away State U he wants to attend, so missing out on freshman merit isn't an issue to consider

 

Before closing the door on this consideration, for the student who would prefer to attend away if possible for the full 4-year experience, I would at least take a peek at:

 

(1) universities in other states that give substantial merit to out-of-state students with certain scores/grades, and

 

(2) whether it might be possible for the student to get the test scores up a smitch with more prep vs whether the student has likely reached maximum potential scores.  Being near a scholarship margin is exactly where effort at test prep may be a wise investment, though you have to know your student; YMMV.  There is plenty of time for a current junior to seriously prep and test one more time.  (e.g. there is an August SAT date and Sept ACT)

Edited March 17, 2017 by wapiti

[Hilltopmom]

Before closing the door on this consideration, for the student who would prefer to attend away if possible for the full 4-year experience, I would at least take a peek at:

 

(1) universities in other states that give substantial merit to out-of-state students with certain scores/grades, and

 

(2) whether it might be possible for the student to get the test scores up a smitch with more prep vs whether the student has likely reached maximum potential scores. Being near a scholarship margin is exactly where effort at test prep may be a wise investment, though you have to know your student; YMMV. There is plenty of time for a current junior to seriously prep and test one more time. (e.g. there is an August SAT date and Sept ACT)

Unfortunately, it's his GPA from his first few years, not his SAT scores that stand in the way of state U merit aid. DE is bringing it up, but not enough.

[teachermom2834]

I don't have experience for you but I did want to thank you for starting this. There are plenty of kids who will be successful in college and life but just aren't going to get scholarships. Much of the advice and suggestions we throw out around here include admission to top needs met schools and merit aid to other schools. That advice is just not helpful if your kid isn't in position to take advantage.

 

But CC transfer to 4 year is an option. People have been

doing it for years.

[Ellie]

After reading the current (& past) "how to pay for college" threads, I started running NPCs.

Which leads me to...

 

Let's do another round of "pros/ cons of starting at the local CC, then transferring, to save on costs". (Mainly to knock out gen eds not yet taken while DEing & that DE is full pay here)

 

(Let's assume student is not going into medicine or engineering for this one. I know the cons of CC or transferring for those fields as far as GPA & STEM sequence. And that student doesn't quite meet the cut off for freshman merit scholarship at the away State U he wants to attend, so missing out on freshman merit isn't an issue to consider)

 

If your child started at CC (or a local state U) & lived at home before transferring to a 4 year, I'd love to hear from you! (Not necessarily on the social & family logistics of a college kid living at home, I've already started that thread in the past)

 

For this one, I'm thinking more about academics, but mostly COST savings of CC (or local state U, we have both in our town, but local U doesn't have program kid wants).

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Interestingly enough- NPC shows our highest oop cost at away State U (that makes sense cause room & board) then CC, then local U as cheapest. CC came out more expensive.

But, our cC has a free tuition scholarship for tech areas, so if he could get that, free & in walking distance to house, is good :)

 

My dds both began taking classes at the community college when they were 14. It was not dual-enrollment; this particular c.c. had the option for students to be enrolled as "student under 18 not enrolled in high school." We paid tuition, and our children earned college credit, not high school credit (because dual-enrolled students didn't earn college credit; they earned high school credit. When they graduated from high school, they did not have to retake those classes, but they had to take other classes to equal the high school credit they had earned. In California, every c.c. can make up its own rules.)

 

Older dd did about half of her AA course, then decided to attend the cosmetology school (still part of c.c.). She did, and graduated, and began working. After awhile (I forget how long, but not more than a year or so), she went back to the c.c. and got her AA; then transferred to San Jose State, where she graduated with a BA in English Lit. She worked her way through and graduated debt-free. (Some years later she took the LSAT, because she was thinking about law school, but she decided to continue as a stylist, because she makes good money and she has flexible hours.)

 

Younger dd graduated with multiple AA degrees (who knew you could have multiple AA degrees??). She decided not to go on to San Jose State (long story). She did apply to a private college, but tuition was $35,000 per year, with scholarships, and even though $70,000 was less than $140,000, we still couldn't swing that. Perhaps today we could have found more scholarships or something, but 20 years ago, we just didn't know.

[MerryAtHope]

The savings for us is at least $15,000 per year, plus there's definitely more of a feeling of freedom to explore classes for a student who doesn't know what to major in yet (and less worry about getting done in a certain amount of time because of costs those first years). I also think it was good for my oldest to do things a bit more incrementally (ie, still living at home while adjusting to college classes, then later adding on the adjustment to living away from home.)

[foxbridgeacademy]

For us starting at CC (20-30 minute drive) is a no-brainer, it's free.  Then pretty much all the credits transfer (they have a "pathway") to our local University(5-10 minute drive or take a bus) and they get more than 50% off tuition for the next 2 years.  Or they can transfer to a slightly more prestigious state Univ. still receive the same deal, except the grant is only about 1/3 of tuition.  This is the number one reason we wanted to move to TN.  We have 4 kids we need to get through College and it's going to cost about $8000 total per kid for tuition (so 32k for all 4 kids). Back home that 32K would pay for 1 student who did a 2+2 (tuition only). 

[Lori D.]

DS#1 went this route: 3 years at the CC to earn an AAS and finish knocking out his gen. ed. credits, then transferred to an in-state but out-of-town university to finish his BA. He did so well that he earned scholarships all 3 years at the CC, and earned a renewal half-tuition transfer scholarship to the university. Attending the CC for 2 years and transferring saved at least $35,000.

 

However, every family situation, and every CC and university are unique, so what are "pros" and "cons" for each family and each CC will be different. But based on our experience with our particular CC, here are pros and cons we saw:

 

pros

- much cheaper tuition & fees (the CC is 1/4 the cost of the in-town university)

- CC offers scholarships, both to attend the CC and also for transferring to the in-town university

- CC has a program of free specific vo-tech courses for high school students and grads to 20yo

- credits transfer to all in-state universities and many out-of-state universities

- smaller class sizes

- classes taught by experienced instructors, rather than grad student TAs

- offers a number of certificates and AAS degrees (degree-to-work) and AA degrees (degree-to-university)

- DS lived at home, saving on dorm or apt. rent and food costs

 

cons

- core concentration courses only offered at the main campus, a 50-minute one-way bus trip away

- the CC stopped selling cheaper student semester bus passes

- a large part of the student body is returning adult learners, so not much on-campus student life or interactions

 

 

Questions to consider to decide if the CC to Univ. is a good route for your family:

- Does the student really NEED a Bachelor's degree?

- Would the student's career needs be addressed through a CC Associate's degree, or the military, or on-the-job training and work their way up?

- Are the classes/teachers at the CC of good quality and genuine college level?

- How transferable are the credits from the CC?

- And do transferrable credits count towards a degree program, or just as electives?

- Would CLEP or AP be cheaper or more transferable options?

- If really needing to save $$, how does Lumerit (former College Plus) or other degree-at-home option fit?

- Will money lost on freshman scholarships (the largest sums and the renewable aid) be more than made up for by the lower tuition cost?

- What do transfer scholarships look like? (amount? renewable?)

- Will starting mid-program help/hurt chances for honors courses or special programs and research opportunities?

- Does this student need a campus-life experience?

- And if so, what kind of campus-life would the CC provide?

- Is the student's desired degree program scheduled so that knocking out courses in advance really doesn't reduce overall number of semesters?

 

 

BEST of luck as you think through all the post-high school options! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[G5052]

My oldest is graduating from the local CC in May. He's had multiple merit scholarships, so our out-of-pocket total for two years is about $5,500. He was offered merit aid at several selective schools and got into several selective state schools, but our out-of-pocket would have been $15,000-30,000 a year. He wanted to explore and continue his local activities. It's 15 minutes away and just 5 minutes from the gym where he works.

 

I could list scads of reasons why that was the right choice. We're waiting to hear on admission to his choice of 4-year, which is in the top 20 for his major. He has a 4.0, so I'm not concerned.

 

This particular CC is very good at preparing them for a 4-year. I taught there myself for over a decade and have students that I keep in touch with who are doctors, lawyers, went to Ivy League schools for graduate school, etc. etc.

 

My younger one didn't even apply anywhere else. Her brother has had such a positive experience that she wants to do the same. There is also a clear track for her to go to a specialized program at a 4-year.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I don't know the pros and cons (other than it probably saves money), but that's the plan here. 

[MarkT]

We saved about $40,000 by DD attending community college before transferring to the state flagship as a junior, only considering direct costs. She is in computer science so don't assume that STEM students can't successfully transfer. Her CC and university had a transfer agreement.

I think this is key for STEM.  OR some states have master transfer course lists for CC to state Us.

 

Some CC even have transfer agreements with private colleges.

 

A colleague at work did this for his BSEE  (Pima CC then Arizona) and saved a bunch of money.

[Haiku]

My dd wants to go to the same uber-expensive private Catholic university that my dh went to. She had pretty much crossed it off her list because it would cost > $200,000 to go there. She's a smart lass; she knows that's unaffordable. She recently went to an informational meeting at the CC about DE and discovered that this university has a special program that allows students to apply to the university as HS seniors but take their first two years at the CC (only available for certain majors). While studying at the CC, they are considered students of the university, have a student ID, and have access to all events and services that the university offers.

 

Luckily, the major she is interested in is part of this program.

 

This is what she is currently planning to do, and I think it is brilliant. If she is accepted to the program, she will also get a huge and guaranteed tuition rebate when she transfers to the university as a junior. The university also has a vibrant co-op program, making the choice even more affordable.

 

I have to say that I basically stopped reading on TWTM because I got so tired of the unrealistic skew toward ultra-high achieving students and, frankly, the utter snobbery toward CC and anything that's not an elite university or a state flagship. I started at the CC, as did my mother when she got a nursing degree when I was a teen. It's an excellent school, and I have absolutely no qualms about my kids going there. I realize that not everyone is lucky enough to have a good CC nearby, but the constant disparagement of CC pretty much drove me off. There are numerous ways to receive a college education, and looking down your nose at people who don't go the elite route doesn't help anyone.

 

And in the immortal words of Forrest Gump, "that's all I have to say about that."

[...................]

I can see the CC from our new house, so distance is not a drawback for us, at least :)

I used to have to drive him 30 min to get there.

One more thing, have you given your student hte practice SAT at Khan academy?  

 

I was saying in the other thread a student shouldn't plan on doing **early** CC until he or she has taken an SAT practice test.  You never know.  

 

In CA, the big question is fulfiling UC.  If your student scores high, then the SAT can get them in without fulfilling AG

 

Outside CA, if your student scores high, you could consider that they might get tons of merit aid and scholarships!  

 

So I am super glad I went against my thought of "Well my son just isn't that kind of genius to score very high" and had him take it because honestly you never know!  I guess there are so many factors I don't understand about what makes a kid score high, or maybe we have given him a better education than we thought, or maybe God just has a plan for him...whatever it is I am glad I looked at all sides of the coin before deciding.

 

(But again for us, I also have a kid who'd rather go in as a freshman to get into research if he can, and also because our CC is a 1.25 hour commute both ways if I drive and 5 hours both ways if he takes public transportation) 

 

I am so glad I listened to Regentrude and waited before rushing into it. (again that was for early CC, not regular CC after 12th grade)

[Hilltopmom]

Yes, he has taken the SATs & scored high enough for merit aid to our state school, but his GPA is too low for their cut off.

 

He's getting all As in his DE classes at the CC & will continue there for grade 12 (we too debated the "start early at the CC" thing)

[Crimson Wife]

 

In our case, DE is very affordable, cheaper than many online classes, so it makes sense even if the credits don't transfer.

 

This is us, as well. Though we are planning on the associate's-and-transfer-as-a-junior path since CC is so much more affordable than the UC's (we make too much on paper to qualify for the "Middle Class Scholarship", if that even still exists when DD is finished with her associate's).

[ocelotmom]

Younger dd graduated with multiple AA degrees (who knew you could have multiple AA degrees??). 

 

It's actually super easy. At least at the CC I went to, many AA degrees had fairly low unit requirements, with a lot of potential overlap between degrees. I've got three of them, and have several more that I either qualify for but haven't bothered to apply for, or would qualify for with one more class.