[quote=squat250]honors program. community college.
he can live in this nice house i spent so much money on.
we can enjoy his company for one more year.
transfer to uc riverside or san diego
he is more likely to fall in love with some local girl…
that’s my primary argument against going too far away. it increases the chances that you never come back…
i do not want anyone to go too far away.
in other words, remain in southern cal.[/quote]
My vote is for the JC route. Maybe my experience is different from that of other posters, but my whole family went the JC route. My dad got an MBA from a state college, mom graduated with honors from UCLA, and I got a teaching credential (two years post-grad) from a state college. I also have many, many friends and former co-workers who did the same thing. Nowhere on any of these degrees does it state that we did the first ~2 years at JCs. All of these people were successful, even though many didn’t pursue careers that matched their degrees.
I’ve asked high school counselors about this very topic, just to make sure I wasn’t missing anything, and they told stories about the ultra-competitive 4-year college/university application process and the stressed-out parents who are desperate to (unnecessarily) pay tens of thousands of dollars extra just so that little Johnny and Susie can enjoy “the dorm experience.” Not worth it, in most of their opinions.
Like a couple other posters have mentioned, if your child is going to apply to graduate schools or programs where it actually matters where they finished their first two years (very rare), and where there is a very high likelihood that they will be able to easily pay of any student loans in a short period of time, then go ahead and send them directly to a 4-year university.
All that being said, I do think it’s important to go to specific universities for some graduate/professional programs, and this is where the money should be spent…after they already have their 4-year degree from a local JC->UC/CSU. Just my 2 cents.
