– Does your bright son have a plan, a major, an area of interest yet?
I would not go the 4 year route, right out of the gate, if he doesn’t even know his course of study… what if he goes to a school that isn’t strong in that field.
I broke my parents hearts by NOT going to UC Berkeley straight out of high school. I was accepted – but had no clue what I wanted to major in. Instead I got a job, moved out, and started taking courses at the community college. I ended up, a few years later, transferring to SDSU and getting a BSEE. I’ve been happy as an enginerd… and who knows how much time/money would have been spent for something else at UCB.
But – if your son is the type he’s know exactly what he wants to do – then facilitate that. A nephew of ours knew he wanted to go to Wharton. The family couldn’t afford it – but knew he should go – and he was accepted with a partial scholarship. He was driven, and there was little risk he’d flounder.
If your son has a plan and you’re confident he has the wherewithal to follow through with his plan – go for the 4 year school (if that’s his plan).
If your son is still figuring out his plan – the JC is the perfect place to figure it out.
Keep your powder dry (money) for when the plan forms.[/quote]
This makes a lot of sense. And it was exactly how both my kids made their decisions. Daughter knew since she was 7 she wanted to be a doctor. She went straight to UCSD, graduated in 4 years and continued on with her dream. Son had no clue. Took 7 years to finally graduate (with 3 majors), but more than half of that was at a JC. (They kicked him out when he’d taken just about every class they offer.) As it turns out, they both ended up costing about the same.
