Thinking about leaving university and starting at community college, if only for a while.?

Question

There are many factors contributing to my desire to go back home and start at community:

Starting with pros:

1. My mother is getting remarried to a man I hardly know and they'll be moving into a new house with my kid sister and new stepsister. I want to be there with them in this emotional time, as I'm predicting that it will be quite hard for everyone to adjust. You see, my father passed away in 2006 of cancer and since then my mother, sister and I have been very tightly knit. I want to be there for them and I want to establish myself as a technical member of the family, even if I don't quite agree with the marriage. It would be hard to do that if I were to stay here. Granted, I'm only an hour away, but going home often is killing me in terms of gas and I just don't think I'd be able to handle not going home as much. I know I probably should have stayed on campus more when I was first here, but I didn't and that's the way it goes.

2. I want to get a job to help with paying for school. I'm in the honours programme and have a minimum number of credit hours that's higher than normal students, so I have to take more classes here, which of course costs more money. I realise a minimum-wage job might not help much in terms of paying for school, but community is also much cheaper than university. I know there's such a thing as work study, but I haven't even got time to leave my room because of homework/projects/etc. so I don't see that getting a job on campus is going to be all that possible.

3. I honestly think I would be more focused and be able to get more work done in a more familiar environment. Most of the time, I feel as though I'm not all here, and I can't seem to make myself focus (thought I'm not failing or anything). I know that some of this is willpower-related, but I just haven't got the physical or emotional energy right now and I doubt I will anytime soon. I feel as though a lighter workload would give me more time to get out and work/be social.

Now for the cons:

1. I would feel as though I was quitting on 'real school'. I know community college isn't full of idiots or anything (well, at least not more than at a university), but I went straight from high school into an honours college and felt pretty accomplished, so something tells me I'd be a bit dissappointed with myself. Sort of like running home to mummy or something. Or at least that's probably how others would see it. Either way I'd feel sort of lame.

2. My roommate is desperate for me not to go. She is a sort of loner, and she clung to me immediately. Things have happened over the course of the semester that have made her dislike nearly everyone else in our programme, and she says rooming with anyone else would be 'disastrous'. All my life I've been a pleaser, doing what will make the most people happy, but this will be the first time that I'd be doing something for myself, and she is basically guilt tripping me into staying with her. I tried encouraging her to go and meet new people, but she refuses. I've no idea what to do about this, really.

3. I think everything would be really thrown off in regards to my education. I'm not sure what I'd be doing after my brief stint at community, but I suppose that would be on me to research more carefully this time. I'm not too sure how credit transfers/financial aid work, but I've got meetings with representatives of both in the works, so hopefully this bit will be cleared up soon. I'm majoring in Psychology and hoping to be a clinical psychologist one day, so I'm not sure what switching schools so early would be doing to the rest of my college career.

If I think of anything else I'll post, otherwise this mammoth thing is yours to trudge through and consider if you please. I also encourage serious, considerate answers. While these answers certainly won't be what makes me decide either way, I'm interested to know a few outside opinions.

Answer 1

How long have you been at your current university? If this is just your first term, you won't lose much in terms of credit transfer - you won't fall far behind, if at all. But if you've been at the uni for longer, this could be a real issue. It could set you back. If you've been at a uni for a while, you may actually keep more credits by transferring to another uni closer to home, rather than by transferring to a cc. But again, if this is only your first term at uni, then the transfer process may not be bad at all.



Your reasons for going home and switching to a cc are sound. I can understand your perspective. I'm not so worried about how others see your decision. You need to do what will make you happy, or at least give you some peace, as a whole person - and this issue with your family is important to you. That alone is a reasonable reason for wanting to be closer to home.



Your cc may, in fact, have an honors program. Ask. If they do, then join. My suggestion is that if you go to cc, you stay there and graduate, and then transfer to a strong university. If you do well at cc, you will get into a strong uni, and if you do well there, you will be on track toward your career goal in psych.



I'm not so worried about the job bit. Does your mom feel she can pay for your schooling? If so, then honor her by taking her feelings on that point into consideration. If she's obviously struggling, then you can push the issue, but otherwise... What I'm saying is don't let the money be your primary reason for leaving this uni, if it's not really a major motivation.



As for your roommate: your priority needs to be your family and yourself, not your roommate. She needs to find a way to deal with her issues. You can still be her friend, but you can NOT be her sole support. You need to prioritize - you need to be there for your sister, to be honest. If you know that you have a need to "make people happy", then focus on your sister, who is probably about to go through a pretty rough time.

Answer 2

Leaving University For Community College

Answer 3

Your question and details were quite lengthy, but I chose to read it because it flowed nicely and made sense. You are an excellent writer! Moving on, it looks like you've given serious thought to both sides of this decision, and I think you probably already know what your answer will be so, I am not going to suggest one or the other. Instead, I am going to give you a little more to consider, and in doing so, you'll probably figure out where I stand anyway.



If you were to postpone the remainder of your university education and go to community college next semester, not only would it be cheaper and possibly allow you time to work a part-time job, it may also allow you time to join on-campus organizations, volunteer opportunities, and maybe even internships, which you will need to be able to show graduate schools down the road.



There are always going to be "idiots" and "brains" at any type college you attend, with the exception of private colleges (maybe). Many bright students are now attending community college prior to going onto university simply due to cost. As long as you do well this semester at university, and are not just transferring because you cannot hack it, there should be no problem in transferring back in the future, if you so choose.



Top tier graduate schools do like to see students that attended top tier undergraduate programs, especially honor programs, and did well. These students usually have no problem getting accepted anywhere. However, many honor students start out at community colleges too. Graduate schools are really concerned most about your performance during the last two years of undergraduate schooling- when you take most of your required courses in your major.



As you've already discovered, there are pros and cons to each situation, and it is you and only you that can decide what is best. From one Psychology Student to the other, remember this: never put the key to your happiness in the hands of another, but instead, in your own, for it is only you that has the power to unlock this personal joy.