I want to go to a community college and my parents don't support me

[juliarmumford]

This is a good reason to choose a certain school. However does it cover books, fees, dorms, a food plan and other expenses? You may need to work and/or get some help from your parents. You nay also need to apply for other types of financial assistance. Why do they prefer something else, if this is more economical?

 

I do plan on getting a job if I go to the community college. The school pushes on-campus jobs because they save a lot of money that way, so it's practical and I don't believe I would have a hard time getting one.

 

I am sure my parents will help in any way they can but there's no way this help will be able to excede around a few hundred dollars, that's just our situation.

 

My dad runs his own book business that makes a better profit in the summer, but it's struggling right now. My mom works for a nonforprofit. I think since my brother was awarded a huge scholarship for his education they just planned on that happening to me too, but it hasn't, so I need to think more practically and apply to a cheaper school that will give me a scholarship and leave my tuition nearly paid for or at least almost there. There will be expenses my tuition doesn't pay for but all I can keep thinking about is how much more a university's costs will be, and it's really pushing me towards this school.

[abitbroken]

Why should she change what she wants to be?

 

Sorry, but this implies that being a nurse is not "good enough".

 

I agree!

Lots of people want to be nurses vs doctors because it is more interaction with patients, less or no liability insurance, etc.

There are a lot of growth opportunities in the field to also later become a nurse practitioner, nurse anesthetist, etc. or teach nursing

I have a doctor and a few nurses in my family and the ones who are nurses were definitely not "not good enough to be doctors"

I would say stopping at just an LPN would be limited oneself - being an RN is the standard now and unless you want to do home health aide

or clean bedpans while the RN handles more of the care -- you do what you can to be an RN - and you can work while going to school as an LPN

[juliarmumford]

I also wanted to thank all the additional replies, it's very reassuring to read and I appreciate hearing everyone's stories. Though I have talked to my counselors, part of me was so disappointed at my dad's reaction to my plan that I second-guessed myself and thought maybe a community college wouldn't be good enough after all. I wanted to hear other opinions about my plan, and your responses really do mean so much! I'm going to try and sit down and talk to my dad again. Ultimately, when we just can't afford a larger university even though I know I'll get accepted to it, I think they'll realize I'm making the best choice for me.

[juliarmumford]

I agree!

Lots of people want to be nurses vs doctors because it is more interaction with patients, less or no liability insurance, etc.

There are a lot of growth opportunities in the field to also later become a nurse practitioner, nurse anesthetist, etc. or teach nursing

I have a doctor and a few nurses in my family and the ones who are nurses were definitely not "not good enough to be doctors"

I would say stopping at just an LPN would be limited oneself - being an RN is the standard now and unless you want to do home health aide

or clean bedpans while the RN handles more of the care -- you do what you can to be an RN - and you can work while going to school as an LPN

 

I definitely plan on continuing to get my RN. The admissions advisor talked to me and said that after completing their associates, there have been nursing students at that school that transferred and actually had their last two years paid for by a hospital that wanted to employ them after earning their bachelor's.

 

I think part of my dad's apprehension is that he fears I'll stop at my associate's. I understand this, but that's just not the type of person I am. I want to earn my RN, I want to be a nurse, and I'm going to do it.

 

Before I considered this community college I was considering another university, Western Michigan. I learned about the community college through a random college trip and actually, the partner schools that will accept transfer students from the community college is Western Michigan, the school I was initially considering. This would mean I would still get to attend Western, a school I've wanted to go to for a while, just for less time and therefore saving much more money. I just think everything came together at that college trip and my plan just clicked.

[luminousone]

I think it is great that you spoke with an admissions counselor. If you have not spoken with one at Western or U of M, then make sure you do so - to make sure the coursework you do will count toward the bigger picture.

 

I know that at the very least, Washtenaw CC has a great relationship with U of Michigan - because one of my family members started out there and finished at UM. Both places were consulted first, the course was plotted out, and goals were achieved. I am sure that Western has a similar relationship.

 

When your dad expresses his fears, show him your plan on paper and your ultimate goals to reassure him.

 

It used to be that community college carried a stigma for those concerned with "status". Those times are changing now.

 

I think it is great that you are working on making wise financial decisions and thinking ahead. Ultimately you will be the one to pay off your loans. Families are realizing how staggering those loans have come to be and are making wiser choices - that may include prep work at a community college.

 

Times are changing, but your dad may be coming from an old perspective.

 

Just reassure him. Tell him you know he loves you and he wants the best for you, but you are at the age where you need to start to make your own decisions. And sometimes life might get a bit messy, but you will learn and grow. Thank him for his wisdom and for all he and your mom have done for you.

[luminousone]

I saw this show on PBS last week - it talks about the new role of community college:

 

https://roadtripnation.com/roadtrip/community-college

[catfeeder]

SHOW your Dad some recent articles about the new trend in starting with cc's and how much money it spares the average family in loans and other costs. SHOW him the advantages, then explain that you'll still have the cache' of a more prestigious college after 4 years.

 

If Dad won't cooperate, speak to the college financial aid dept. about what you can do to get in anyway.

[Wiseman2]

Nursing is a noble profession. It's also something you can expand on in the future if you choose. There is no need to convince anyone of anything and do not listen to people with unenlightened backhanded comments such as "why not become a physician?"

I want to earn my RN, I want to be a nurse, and I'm going to do it.

[Batya33]

Nursing is a noble profession. It's also something you can expand on in the future if you choose. There is no need to convince anyone of anything and do not listen to people with unenlightened backhanded comments such as "why not become a physician?"

 

I asked if she’d be interested in being a physician not that she should be. If she is then I might have a different response about starting out in community college. Or at least it would factor in. If she’d mentioned not wanting to go to medical school I wouldn’t haven mentioned it. But I personally like to get the whole picture about goals before I give advice on how to get there academically. I did ok for myself but the truth is the advice I got and took back then was flawed in certain respects and made my professional road more challenging. By contrast there were other adults who questioned me on my stated goals and made suggestions. I’m glad they did and didn’t take them as backhanded compliments. OP - talk to your guidance counselor or a counselor so specializes in this sort of thing. Maybe there are specific reasons to take one path rather than another. Your parents seem more broadly against it without specific reasons. Information is power if you get it from the right sources.

[Batya33]

I've dwelled on being a nurse a lot, initially I wanted to be a physical therapist and that interest grew into being a dentist, and after consisering my options and my skills I settled on nursing. I think the courses I have taken in high school, college credit bio and college credit anatomy, set me on the best track to become a nurse, and it's something I've thought about for a while. I haven't considered being a physician but I feel really content, at the moment, with studying for my RN.

Sorry I just went back and saw this after responding to Wisemans misreading and criticism of what I wrote. I’m glad you know yourself and now I also see you’ve spoken to s counselor already. Good for you! Thanks for answering so thoughtfully about my asking about medical school in addition to nursing. It’s so important to be open to options and suggestions as you clearly are. I remain impressed at how much initiative you’ve taken to figure out what is best for you academically and career wise. Maybe you’ll end up pursuing counseling!

[Snny]

Sorry for coming to the party so late. For the whole community college “is a better option” that some people are making it to be here... I don’t entirely agree. The real truth: College is what you make it to be. I started out at community college and currently hold a masters degree. My sister jumped right in a state university and graduated with only a bachelors degree. Here are some differences:

 

Pros of community college:

* Her student loans are $20k higher than mine, even with my loans from my master’s program combined. Community college saved me financially a lot.

 

* I felt more supported by my professors in community college. I socialized and made some friends (even found my husband there), but many of us usually went home after classes or stayed to socialize elsewhere. Because of the lack of a partying environment, I never ran into academic probation even though I did had to drop a couple classes. My sister was put on AP because she was easily caught up in the party scene on campus.

 

The CONS of community college:

* by the time you transfer to a state university, you have a more difficult time fitting in socially with other people. Everyone has their own cliques by the time freshman year is over, and when you are in the degree program classes you are an outsider. I didn’t make a single friend until the end of my junior year, which was my second year. Even when I joined clubs, I had trouble fitting in socially (I even caught one girl from one of the clubs I joined cyber bullying me because I was more attractive than her).

 

*There’s better internship/volunteering programs from 4 year universities than at community colleges. Sometimes, it entirely depends on what program you’re are in, but more higher level businesses tend to invest in students with four year degrees. In the medical field, nurses typically earn two year degrees, so it’s not as bad (it’s how my husband got his job when he finished nursing). My sister was well connected through her internship experiences throughout college, and she got a job before graduation because of it. She applied for one position that had over 1,500 applicants, and she got the job because she was in an excellent internship program where she networked with people. I got my masters from the same school where she graduated from, and instantly had a job before graduating because I was in an excellent internship program (and I went through a different degree program).

When I was looking into the IT field at a community college, the community college could not guarantee me a good IT internship or volunteer program, yet expected me to “find it on my own.” They weren’t connected with other businesses to send or recommend their students to. That was one of the deciding factors of what made me get my masters in mental health, because the school had better internship experiences and business connections.

[Batya33]

I had no college loans because I went to a public university and lived at home. And the last year I got a merits scholarship so it was free. My parents paid my tuition which was very low and didn’t charge me rent so that helped. So I wouldn’t go just by financial and partying. I went to a party school my first semester and I didn’t drink but it distracted me negatively and stressed me out. It wasnt for me. I agree that for certain careers and professions networking is key and a four year college might be better. Anecdotally I know of nurses who went to community college and whatever their path after that did just fine or better than fine. And it sounds like the OP has done her research about her chosen profession and what types of courses to take etc. Again I think that is the key here. The op is really committed to making good choices and is really open to researching and looking into all her options and ad listening to people so have good information and her best interests at heart. It sounds like she sees her parents reasoning as kind of arbitrary and that’s understandable. Her appproach sets her apart and makes me think she’ll succeed whether she starts out as four year or two .

[juliarmumford]

Just an update - had a longer, deeper talk with my dad and I made progress. He still hasn't flat-out said "I support your decision to go to community college," but he did recognize why I want to do it, and he researched the college and acknowledged that it is a good school, community college or not. Progress is progress! I am no longer worried that he won't support me financially in any way if I go to the community college, because even though I might not need it I was worried he was going to withhold a loan I might need for any reason because he didn't support my decision. Thanks everyone :)

[juliarmumford]

Sorry for coming to the party so late. For the whole community college “is a better option” that some people are making it to be here... I don’t entirely agree. The real truth: College is what you make it to be. I started out at community college and currently hold a masters degree. My sister jumped right in a state university and graduated with only a bachelors degree. Here are some differences:

 

Pros of community college:

* Her student loans are $20k higher than mine, even with my loans from my master’s program combined. Community college saved me financially a lot.

 

* I felt more supported by my professors in community college. I socialized and made some friends (even found my husband there), but many of us usually went home after classes or stayed to socialize elsewhere. Because of the lack of a partying environment, I never ran into academic probation even though I did had to drop a couple classes. My sister was put on AP because she was easily caught up in the party scene on campus.

 

The CONS of community college:

* by the time you transfer to a state university, you have a more difficult time fitting in socially with other people. Everyone has their own cliques by the time freshman year is over, and when you are in the degree program classes you are an outsider. I didn’t make a single friend until the end of my junior year, which was my second year. Even when I joined clubs, I had trouble fitting in socially (I even caught one girl from one of the clubs I joined cyber bullying me because I was more attractive than her).

 

*There’s better internship/volunteering programs from 4 year universities than at community colleges. Sometimes, it entirely depends on what program you’re are in, but more higher level businesses tend to invest in students with four year degrees. In the medical field, nurses typically earn two year degrees, so it’s not as bad (it’s how my husband got his job when he finished nursing). My sister was well connected through her internship experiences throughout college, and she got a job before graduation because of it. She applied for one position that had over 1,500 applicants, and she got the job because she was in an excellent internship program where she networked with people. I got my masters from the same school where she graduated from, and instantly had a job before graduating because I was in an excellent internship program (and I went through a different degree program).

When I was looking into the IT field at a community college, the community college could not guarantee me a good IT internship or volunteer program, yet expected me to “find it on my own.” They weren’t connected with other businesses to send or recommend their students to. That was one of the deciding factors of what made me get my masters in mental health, because the school had better internship experiences and business connections.

 

Thanks for this! I really appreciate this response! One worry I do have is that I'll have a hard time adjusting to the school I end up transferring to. I'm not worried about my credits transferring because the community college works with the university I would transfer to for my bachelor's (and that university is one I had wanted to go to before even thinking about community college) and I would easily be able to transfer and continue my education.

 

However I do worry about being able to find friends. I am a social person but I understand coming after some students have been there for two years will affect my ability to find relationships. In addition, the university I would transfer to is much bigger and the smaller class sizes is something I LOVE about the community college, so I figure it'll be hard getting used to being in larger classes. The dorms at the community college are also extremely nice, seriously, they are hotel-standard, and the university has dorms that are smaller, have community bathrooms, no central air, and are overall just a lot less pristine. Even though by then I might rent an apartment off-campus, the lower quality of living is something else I'll probably miss.

 

Even all those things combined, however, is still not enough to turn me away from a community college. I just see them as obstacles necessary to overcome. It's either going to be having a hard time adjusting to a different school or having a hard time with student loans after I graduate, and I will definitely take having to deal with those changes instead of worrying about an excess of loans!

 

I also love that you mentioned internship and volunteering. One thing that really turned me on to the community college was that they have excellent internship opportunities, at least in their nursing program. Every year a collection of some of their nursing students get the rest of their education after transferring paid for by a hospital that will employ them as soon as they graduate. I spoke with a nurse who went to that community college and transferred to get her bachelor's and she said she had a job waiting for her, and it was due to the amount of hands-on experience the community college offered.

 

One student in their IT program began a job with just his associate's, straight from graduating, and was earning 80,000 a year. He thanked it all to the school's connections, and how helpful they were with not just preparing him to graduate but with preparing him for a career after graduation.

[abitbroken]

However I do worry about being able to find friends. I am a social person but I understand coming after some students have been there for two years will affect my ability to find relationships. In addition, the university I would transfer to is much bigger and the smaller class sizes is something I LOVE about the community college, so I figure it'll be hard getting used to being in larger classes. The dorms at the community college are also extremely nice, seriously, they are hotel-standard, and the university has dorms that are smaller, have community bathrooms, no central air, and are overall just a lot less pristine. Even though by then I might rent an apartment off-campus, the lower quality of living is something else I'll probably miss.

 

Start a "transfer student" meetup. And look at meetup dot com - you may find people with common interests that are more diverse - students on campus, people who go to the university but live off campus and are not part of the normal dorm life, people in the community that share interests but don't go to university.

[jimthzz]

I went to a community college before transferring to a state school. It saved a lot of money.

 

The one thing I would caution you to do is to make sure you get your lower division requirements met and signed off before transferring. You can get burned for a unit here or there that makes you need to backfill 12 (me) units after the transfer.

 

So you need to get the list not just from your community college but, importantly, from the school you want to transfer to eventually.

 

BTW, it may be a waste of time to get the AA if you are positive you are getting a BA/BS. You can fulfill the lower division requirements at the community college regardless.

 

Good luck!

[abitbroken]

I went to a community college before transferring to a state school. It saved a lot of money.

 

The one thing I would caution you to do is to make sure you get your lower division requirements met and signed off before transferring. You can get burned for a unit here or there that makes you need to backfill 12 (me) units after the transfer.

 

So you need to get the list not just from your community college but, importantly, from the school you want to transfer to eventually.

 

BTW, it may be a waste of time to get the AA if you are positive you are getting a BA/BS. You can fulfill the lower division requirements at the community college regardless.

 

Good luck!

 

Its not a waste of time if the classes for the AA are all the basic classes you need for the BA/BS or will transfer. or even if its that or one or two more.

 

An associate's degree could get her a better summer job, a better "during the school year" job where she could actually work in nursing as an LPN, and once she gets her BS, the same hospital will pay her more as an RN or she can move up within. A cousin of mine did just that.

 

My brother had enough classes to get an associates in general studies or business before moving on to the 4 year university. He had the classes, he just didn't apply to graduate with the degree. stuff happened and he never finished his bachelor's. If he had only rolled classes into that associates in business, it would have bolstered the business experience he had and he could have gotten a better job or would have had an interview. he would have been a manager at particular job vs starting at the bottom. Would he be hired as a CEO with an associates with no track record? no, but he wouldn't start out on the bottom rung. Or at a big company, he might have started at the bottom, but without a degree at all, he wouldn't even have an interview.

[catfeeder]

Its not a waste of time if the classes for the AA are all the basic classes you need for the BA/BS or will transfer. or even if its that or one or two more.

 

An associate's degree could get her a better summer job, a better "during the school year" job where she could actually work in nursing as an LPN, and once she gets her BS, the same hospital will pay her more as an RN or she can move up within.

 

I was thinking along these lines, too. An AA when it comes to nursing is valuable and earns you a seat for exams. Check your location, because an LPN in my state only requires one year, and RN two, and then a BSN is four.

 

Sure beats working as a nurse's aid for all those years!