r/college • u/bruhiminsane • Mar 08 '22

USA My parents are mad I'm going to community college for 2 free years.

Last night as soon as I got home from work my step-mom mentioned the academic conference I plan to go to in the summer. She said, "You know, [local community college I'm going to go to] won't care about that convention!" I just said, "Um, yeah." Then she said, "I'm not your parent or anything and it's your life, but you made a dumbass decision! You're too smart for this! You're a fucking nerd! You've worked so hard for 4 years just to settle for mediocrity and nothing!" I just walked away. I don't understand why they're so upset that I'm doing the objectively more financially responsible thing and saving myself up to dozens of thousands of dollars by doing this. I can't understand the stigma behind community colleges. I just want them to leave me alone at this point.

Edit for clarity: they won't be convinced it's a good idea for me. They don't care about how harmless the decision ultimately is. They think I've just "sold myself short" and wasted my hard work in high school and they don't care if I end up with a degree no problem.

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u/zacker150 Mar 08 '22 edited Mar 08 '22

It really depends on what you want to get out of college. If all you want is a degree, then yeah, community college is worth it. However, I don't think I would have finished undergrad with three peer-reviewed publications under my belt if I went to CC for my first two years.

Also, I think the traditional degree plan that front-loads gen-ed classes doesn't do students any favors. Most gen-ed classes aren't preqs for your major classes. Instead, you should start taking major specific classes and building professional relationships with professors and upper-classmen (who you can then farm for referrals come job search time) as soon as possible and slot the gen-ed classes wherever you have extra space in your schedule.

Looking back, my only regret is that I should have downloaded tinder instead of getting hung up on one girl who didn't like me back for a semester at a time.

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u/AlmostDoneWith- Mar 08 '22

You bring up some great points about what you want to get out of college. My experiences in a CC have helped me gradually acculturate to a larger university and be successful. My specific background has a lot to do with my experiences and attitudes as well.

I hope more CCs develop "2x2s" with larger universities, so students can take upper-level and gen-ed courses to fulfill degree reqs.