Unpopular opinion: I thought community college was a scam until I actually went for 1 semester

I dropped out of a 4 year university after 2 years and $18k in debt... everyone told me community college was for people who couldn't hack it. So I spent 6 months working at a diner in Austin, just hating my life. Then I signed up for a single computer science class at the local community college just to prove I was right about it being a waste. Turns out the professor actually worked in the industry for 15 years and knew way more than my university profs who just read from slides. That one class cost me $360 total and I got a job offer from a startup 3 weeks after finishing it. Has anyone else had their mind changed about something they were dead set against?

2 comments

2 Comments

noah4153d ago

Man, I totally get this. I had the same blind spot about community college for years. My high school guidance counselor basically told me it was a path to nowhere, so I bought into that lie hard. Then I took a night class at my local CC just to pick up a skill for my side hustle, and the instructor was a retired engineer who broke things down better than any textbook ever could. It was like $200 and I learned more in 8 weeks than I did in two semesters at my expensive university. It really opened my eyes to how much we overvalue the prestige of a big name school. Community colleges have some real hidden gems if you know what to look for.

the_kai3d ago

Exactly what I tell everyone who asks about college. Look up the transfer agreements between your local CC and the state universities. Most of them have guaranteed admission if you keep a certain GPA, and you save like 20 grand on gen eds. I skipped the whole "prestige" thing and went straight to a CC for two years, then transferred to a solid state school. Walked out with the same degree as the kid who paid six figures, just with way less debt and actually knew how to study. Plus, community college professors are usually there because they actually want to teach, not because they're forced to while doing research.