So, I'm honestly really nervous to start community college, but a little excited as well. I'm just going to a community college in my area because my grades were not ever get me into a university. My perspective on high school was awful, I hardly went, never did my work, until my senior year. I didn't realize how important school was until then, which is better late than never I guess in this case. I'm studying to get my Associates in Criminal Justice, and I want to work my way up to be a lawyer. So where are my college students at? Is there anyone in community college right now, or a university, or a transfer student? I would love to hear stories from you and learn ways to succeed in college.

- Not a current event.

- Community college is a great start! Much cheaper and easier. I got my general AA degree, but am going back for certificates in culinary arts.

My advice is go at your own pace. Don't force yourself to take too many classes if you can't handle it. And, don't worry if you end up not liking your major. Many people change their major in college.

I just started community college too. my HS teachers always says that making study groups, on whatever subject your studying, is a good way to get help from the people in your class, talk to the professor if something is confusing about the assignment or if you need help on something that other classmates cant help you with, and talk to the advisor about what you want to do and such and But yeah i agree with star_cherry go at your own pace and if possible try to get some community service in or get into a club

Community college is absolutely what you make it. I didn't enjoy mine at first due to being antisocial and not taking advantage of any of the programs and help. In my second year, I stumbled into the student council president, who convinced me to come on as well. I spent a lot of time helping plan and set-up and work events. For the most part, these weren't well attended but the people who were there REALLY made it worth it and fun to do. It made my year significantly better to be a part of something :>

Good for you! I went to a community college for several years before I transferred to a 4 year private college. I got a lot of my gen ed classes done there and it made it easier for me. I'm graduating next May.

And honestly, I'm moving to Virginia Beach next summer and there's a community college I may go to to earn my EMT-Paramedic licence.

I had a couple friends who started off in community college and transferred. It's a great way to start. It gets you ready for college, and if you end up transferring you transfer in as a junior and not a freshman since your general GEs are usually done with the first two years. So, in essence you end up actually graduating a bit quicker than the traditional high school entering college.

Plus, with an AA it also gives you a new set of skills to work with as well.

I knew it wasn't in the right spot, I'm sorry! Thank you for telling staff to move it (: And yeah, I'm going to make sure I take it extremely serious, so I can get into a good university.

I want to try to get into the government club, or something like that, because it'd look good for when I get into law school! Study groups honestly don't even work for me, because I get too distracted. I usually have to fly solo if I wanna do good.

Good for you! See I'm not exactly anti-social, just a little shy when it comes to new people. I would love to join a club or a group, but I'm kind of nervous ):

Good for you as well! Lots of hard working finally paying off, huh? I just hope I can stay focused and dedicated to working hard.

That's true, I didn't think of it that way. I just hope I can also stick to my major, so I can graduate on time c:

I graduated from a private university in 2008 with my Bachelor's in Art, focusing in Graphic Design. I'm not working in the field, never have, and honestly wish I had taken more time to figure out what I should have done. I think art was the easy way out for me. I think I would have liked to have taken criminal justice, maybe to have become a profiler or CSI. Community college is the best way to go I think though and I wish I had done that at first because private uni is stupidly expensive, ugh. I'm paying my loans now and it feels like I'm just throwing money away on what is basically an expensive piece of paper hanging on the wall. So definitely stick with CC and decide what you want to do there before you transfer to something more expensive if you decide to do that. I wish I had joined more clubs and did more social things, but it's difficult both because I didn't live on campus and because I'm not really good at the whole social thing. Hopefully you'll do better than I did in that respect. Good luck!

wow I'm envious, i have to work in a group, that actually works, to get anything done if I'm by myself i get distracted so easily that nothing gets done.... until the last second

I'm sure you'll do fine. :) Someone I knew in high school did that route as well and just graduated recently with his art history degree from UCLA. I went straight from HS to college( My parents didn't want me to do the community college route) and it took me 6 years to graduate simply because I kept switching my major because I didn't know what I wanted to actually major in. Coming in from community college actually means you have somewhat of an advantage because you're going straight into your major knowing exactly what you want to do as opposed to the typical high school senior entering college that might not even know until the sophomore or junior year.

I'm actually currently back in school, but for a masters though.

as a Sophomore in college myself, I would say find what you're really interested in. If you're not sure, try out different organizations. Hang out with different groups of people (if you have high school friends at your college too)

Indeed it is. I'll be so happy to be done. I'm sure you'll do great!

Thank you so much! Yeah, I'm going to try really hard to be as social as I can do I can join groups, but I highly doubt I will. But thank you for the luck, I hope I'll be able to work in the field while going to school. As for interning, and whatnot.

I usually do things last minute if I don't really care about the class, so I'm hoping I'll like the classes I'll be going too!

That's what I was thinking as well. I'm technically starting a semester late ): And good luck with your masters!

I mean I suppose I'm interested in law. I just really want to get a case that makes history, you know?

yeah! I would definitely make as many connections as possible, whether it's with fellow students of professors. You never know who might help you in the future~

community college is great!! i've been in college for 5 years, because i transferred a couple of times and ended up having to retake almost all of my credits. i moved out of state and then came back. i started as a psych major then a year and a half into it i changed to nursing. life happens, don't stress if it takes you longer than normal. not everyone graduates in 2-4 years, especially if you're going into medical or law fields.

ok i wrote a BOOK, so i'm going to rewrite it in bullets. here's some advice:

1. NEVER BLINDLY SIGN UP FOR CLASSES! use ratemyprofessor.com every semester!! majority of the professors i've had were fun and they loved their jobs. stupidly, i've signed up blindly for a few classes in the past and i ended up with the WORST professors imaginable. they made my life hell, they made exams impossible.

2. general ed classes (history, math, art, gov, writing, economics, etc.) are a waste of time imo. it's like retaking high school all over again. use ratemyprofessor to find EASY profs with good ratings. earn easy As in those classes!! the material doesn't really matter. they're filler credits for your degree. not every gen ed will be effortless, but it'll reduce stress levels if you choose reputable, easy-going profs.

3. as for classes that DO apply to your major, TAKE THOSE SERIOUSLY! choose professors who have positive ratings, but will still teach you. you gotta learn and know that stuff. for example, i'm going into nursing. i chose easy profs for gen eds, but i purposely sought difficult (but good) ones for anatomy and physiology I and II.

4. you're gunna get shitty professors. it's bound to happen. you can either push through it or drop the class. never be afraid to drop any class. my sociology prof told us that the first week of every semester is like a blind date. you meet the prof, they tell you how they teach, you get a feel for the upcoming few months. if you don't feel it, drop!! make sure you drop right away. there are consequences for dropping too late (no refund, W/F on your transcript). your college should have a withdraw schedule available.

5. pay attention to the academic calendar. mark off days when the college is closed.

6. CHECK YOUR E-MAIL AT LEAST ONCE OR TWICE A DAY. i learned that the hard way. usually when your prof cancels class or postpones/changes a due date, they send out a mass e-mail. you don't wanna miss those.

7. communicate!! communicate with your professors. communicate with advisors. professors have a harder time failing you if they view you beyond a person sitting at a desk 2-3 times a week. talk to them, treat them like humans, because they're people too. ask how they are, be perceptive of their feelings!! there's nothing "teacher pet"-y about it. one of my anatomy profs was super chill. i found out he loved dragons and video games and all that stuff. i drew for him on my exams and worksheets. i'd write biology puns on homework. he kept my final and hung it up in his office. i didn't know the answer to one of the questions, so i drew a litter of baby dragons and wrote, "the correct answer is hidden under these dragons, sry." i didn't get points, but he appreciated the humor lmao

8. most professors understand that life gets in the way. that's another good reason to communicate. don't be afraid to skip class if weather conditions are dangerous, if you're feeling mentally drained, if personal issues are flooding your life, etc. depending on the prof, they'll usually understand. there was a semester where a LOT of things were happening all at once and i felt like i was about to fall apart. i wrote my prof and straight up told her i was beyond depressed and anxious, and i wasn't going to be there for the rest of the wk bc i needed time to realign things in my life. she understood 100% and sent me all the work i needed.

9. i am the QUEEN!!! of procrastination and cramming, but... try to not do that. spread your work out. even if the due date for hw is a week away, spend at LEAST 10-20 mins on it every day. tiny work sessions add up and you'll thank yourself later. same goes for studying. rewrite your notes a couple hours after lecture. retype them. do SOMETHING SMALL every day. it'll really help!!

uhhhhh yeah i could honestly keep going and going. if you have any other questions or want me to write some more advice, lemme know n_n ♥

i'm just about to start community college as well!! january 4th. i've been waiting to go to college since i was in fourth grade haha, i'm only going to community college to start with because it's a good solution cost-wise. the university i'm planning on transferring to is a big university (university of washington) and it's very expensive so community college is where i have to start. Dx that's awesome that you kicked it into gear and decided to go to college though, if you weren't really thinking about it at all until your senior year. that's a lot of stress on yourself to start worrying about it your last year of high school so right on! that's awesome for you. i hope you enjoy itt!!