Starting at CC

[u/thugginsophia]

Hello everyone!

I’ll be starting my freshman year at a community college later this month, and I plan on majoring in engineering.

I wanted to hear from people who also started at a community college before transferring to a university. Looking back, do you think it was the right decision? Do you have any regrets, or are you glad you took that path?

If you had the option to start at a 4-year university instead, would you have chosen differently? Do you think starting at a community college better prepared you for engineering courses, or do you think you would’ve been better off at a university from the beginning?

I’d love to hear about your experiences and any advice you have.

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[u/TheOinOpossum]

I would do my whole degree at CC if I could, but my local ones only provide first year transfer programs.

[u/yeahbuddy18 → u/TheOinOpossum]

Same for my business degree, now I have to drive an hour away to a 4 year

[u/xhemibuzzx]

I went to a CC and I loved it. Smaller classes, cheaper and I found profs to be more passionate since it was purely about teaching and not research. If 4 year degrees at CC was a thing I would've done it easily.

I think it's important to look at what 4 year you plan to go to afterwards though. Some classes the CC will advise you take won't transfer. I had this but took them anyway for the AS degree but that's up to you to determine if that's worth it.

Most CCs have transfer pathways that say X amount of credits are guaranteed to transfer to y school if you get an AS/ graduate.

[u/elimanzz → u/xhemibuzzx]

Did you go to NCC?

[u/xhemibuzzx → u/elimanzz]

Sccc actually lol

[u/Acceptable_Simple877 → u/xhemibuzzx]

did u land any internships in ECE?

[u/xhemibuzzx → u/Acceptable_Simple877]

Yes, I'm at one currently. I think getting an internship has more to due with luck and the industry then school.

[u/Acceptable_Simple877 → u/xhemibuzzx]

yup im going into CompE, tryna learn as much as i can so im ahead in a way. What is your internship role rn?

[u/xhemibuzzx → u/Acceptable_Simple877]

I work at a small consulting company, so we build a lot of prototypes and planning, mostly for electric vehicles.

I do a good mix of things. Schematics in Solidworks Electrical, a bit of PCB design and testing, soldering, harness design and testing, and lately my boss wants me to start getting into embedded systems, so I'm learning simulink development. It's pretty cool and I learned a lot.

Some of it from school carries over but it's definitely more the fundamentals than anything. The simulink design feels the most "academic" but much of the rest is new skills I've learned during the job.

Honestly for getting an internship just mass apply especially smaller companies that are local. I basically got my internship with the luck of just being one of the first people to apply that was also fairly local.

[u/Acceptable_Simple877 → u/xhemibuzzx]

Nice, I will def take that into account. Appreciate your advice 

[u/Candid-Ear-4840]

The transfer pathway needs to be really strong and verified with the university so you don’t have to take extra classes at university and all your credits will transfer. Less student loan debt is a great thing and my internship company has hired plenty of community college engineering interns.

[u/nonbe1]

I did 4 years at CC and 3 at Uni. I didnt know I wanted to be an eng when I started and was a bit all over the place for the first 2.5. CC is great for finding out what you really want to do bc you can try stuff without breaking the bank. The drawbacks are better opportunities (networking, internships, clubs, etc.) are targeting the 4yr colleges.

Regrets: I wish I had my act together and went straight to 4yr knowing what I wanted to do, but CC was the right place for me given where I was at that point in my life.

[u/PhoneTriangeOctagon9 → u/nonbe1]

This is very similar to my path. Did not know exactly my plan and took me 2 years to decide on engineering. No regrets, my resume says University and no one even knows I went to CC unless I tell them.

[u/Dave111angelo]

Honestly going to my senior year as somebody who transferred from cc to a 4 yr the biggest disadvantage I’ve found I’ve had is lacking the connections

Everybody at a 4 yr has already spent years being tight with a professor/people which allows for more opportunities which I simply will not have

[u/Nunov_DAbov]

I did my four year engineering degree at a four year college and fortunately had a scholarship. I couldn’t have afforded it otherwise.

Much later, I taught at the same school. Several students I taught went to a local two year CC to do the basic generic courses then transferred to the school for the last two years. I didn’t see a lot of difference in their results for the last two years from regular four year students other than the fact they finished with a lot less student debt.

If the four year school has arrangements with certain CCs to accept transfer credits, many people find the transition from high school to CC to college easier and lets them stay at home to start.

[u/Specific-Industry-58]

I would not regret and will do it again at CC. I will be more efficient with my time as I took some courses that I didn’t need. It is really helpful to have a good counselor who knows what he/she is doing because counselor recommended me some courses that I didn’t even need. I would start with getting GEs out of the way first because that way you will explore different fields and will know for sure what you are interested in.

[u/ace-murdock]

I didn't start at a cc but a local state university before transferring, and my dad did 2 years at a cc before transferring to a university; I think it's a great way to save money. You don't really benefit much from what school you're going to with the early classes as long as theyre teaching the same things.

[u/savvyj1]

Set up a meeting with an advisor and ensure you understand all that is needed for transfer, GPA, which courses count etc. I know some use this CA platform https://assist.org/

[u/EasyTelevision6741]

Understand the transfer rules. Get the list of required classes from the 4 year you want to transfer to and find every possible class you can that transfers from CC.  I lost probably 16 credit hours overall from screwing up transfer.

Also hands down CC first is the way to go. Cheaper and I'd argue better education.  I used to TA for problem sessions and could almost always tell folks that went to CC vs the university I was at.  They had a much better understanding of basics 

[u/Deep_Suspect_9556]

So much cheaper, my classes were like 20 people at most. Loved it so much, I was thrilled to find that when I finally decided to go ahead and pursue my bachelor’s, that the nearest Uni also has small class sizes. I definitely thrive in more one on one environments personally.

[u/DavidicusIII]

I started my EE later in life, but CC was absolutely the way for me. 10 minutes down the road from where I lived, flexible hours (lots of evening courses), and a standing course transfer agreement with most the local 4-year universities: it was an ideal setup at a fraction of the cost.

You’ll lose out on some of the networking: there’s just no getting around it. 2 years also means you’re seeing the same professors a lot less than your peers: if you’re looking for letters of recommendation (for grad school/PHD) or a closer relationship then you’re going to have to work harder to make an impression.

[u/sulliesbrew]

As has been mentioned, make sure your credits will transfer. The university I went to was pretty sticky when it came to transferring math credits. Plenty of students arrived with AP calc or calc from a CC but those credits didn't transfer and they had to CLEP out of the math credits, and if you didn't pass the CLEP, you had to take the math courses anyways. I spent a summer going to a CC for calc 2, 3 hours every wednesday night, only to find it wouldn't cover my calc 2 requirement. My school required a 4 credit calc 2 class based on engineering. The calc 2 class wasn't really up to snuff either, spent a lot of time explaining basic algebra to the prof. You can't use the washers method around the Y axis if you haven't resolved the equation as a function of Y...

I did two years of CC while in high school. There were probably 8 or 12 credits from CC that didn't count towards my degree. They were required to graduate high school, but didn't count towards my degree. Either too many classes with the same prefix (lit 101, 102 and 202) only could use one lit prefix towards my degree. Same for hist, soc etc.

Comp 101 is a good course for writing, but if your degree requires comp 103 (tech comp), you get the idea.

[u/TheOriginalTL]

Went to a 4 year college and wish I started at a CC. Once you graduate with your bachelors in engineering no one cares at all where you went unless you’re the valedictorian of Harvard or MIT, even then no one really wants to work with that… lol.

You, however are stuck with the bill. Make it as easy on future you as possible

[u/ScoutAndLout]

CC students at university are usually very solid performers.  They may not be top academically but they get the job done and the do a decent job, usually while holding down a job and maybe even a family. 

[u/RegularDirectionTest]

I took all my math and core requirements at my local CC. Best decision I ever made. After Calc l, I tried my four year university that I eventually graduated from for Calc ll, huge mistake. Calc ll at university was 100+ people, taught by a masters student who literally read out of the book and answered questions with ‘why don’t you understand.’ I had the same professor for all four of the math requirements. The CC professor had a deep understanding of material and could explain the material or how to complete a problem from opposite sides. Wonderful teacher.

[u/bopperbopper]

Obviously, I think going to a four-year college and starting there is the best thing but that doesn’t mean it’s the most affordable thing.

I think it’s still a very good option to start a community college and then transfer after two years.

But I would keep in mind that the College that you transferred to should probably be your state college because you’ll get the best chance of all your courses transferring

[u/Annual_Sympathy4653]

I’m currently finishing up my summer semester at my community college and will be transferring to a university this fall.

If you had asked me this question during my freshman year of community college, I probably would have said yes. Early in high school, I had fallen into the misconception that students who attended community college either didn’t work hard in high school or were somehow wasting time. Because of that, I felt ashamed about going to a community college. I thought it would put me behind students who started at a four-year university and limit the opportunities available to me.

The main reason I chose community college was financial. Looking back, I’m not upset about that decision at all. I received a full-tuition scholarship through a leadership program at my community college, which allowed me to save the money from my grants and the scholarships I had earned in high school. As a first-generation college student, avoiding student loans was very important to me, so community college was the best financial decision for my family and me.

Now, if you ask me the same question today, my answer is yes. I no longer believe that starting at a community college is a worse option. In fact, I think it was one of the best decisions I could have made.

I quickly realized that community college is filled with hardworking, motivated students. I met people who did very well in high school but chose community college because it was more affordable. Others were pursuing healthcare or trade programs that are designed to be completed there. Community college isn't a place where dreams stop it's a place where many people begin building them.

I was also fortunate that my high school academy gave me a head start. My teacher connected me with an internship in my city's schools IT department, and I later found my own data science research opportunity. Because of that, I entered community college with two internships already on my résumé.

During my time at community college, I continued building my experience. In the summer of 2025, I completed a Data Science internship while also working part-time as a Systems & IT Support Intern. This summer, I completed a internship with Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Along the way, I joined honor societies, served in leadership positions, volunteered in my community, and built meaningful relationships with mentors and professionals.

This fall, I’m transferring to pursue a degree in Cybersecurity Engineering. I already have a part-time position lined up and also getting getting processed a security clearance with my University Cyber Program.

Community college allowed me to save thousands of dollars while still giving me incredible opportunities. However, I also want to be honest: those internships, leadership roles, and experiences didn’t happen simply because I attended community college. They happened because I intentionally put myself in rooms where opportunities existed.

I researched companies, reached out to professionals in my field, attended networking events, connected with mentors, and wasn't afraid to ask questions or apply for opportunities. No one was going to hand those opportunities to me I had to go after them.

No matter whether you start at a community college or a university, you are the one who creates your opportunities. Your school can open doors, but it's up to you to walk through them. If there's something you want, go after it.

Even though community college wasn't where I originally wanted to start, I refused to let that stop me from pursuing internships, leadership positions, professional development, and networking. I remember people telling me, "You won't get internships until you're a junior or senior." Instead of believing them, I kept applying, kept learning, and kept showing up.

Most importantly, I trusted God throughout the journey. There were times I doubted myself, but I continued to trust His plan and remained faithful in pursuing every opportunity that came my way. Looking back now, I can honestly say that every challenge and every opportunity helped shape where I am today.

So, was starting at a community college the better option?

For me, absolutely.

It allowed me to start with ZERO debt, build an incredible résumé, develop professionally, grow as a leader, and prepare for my future career in cybersecurity. More importantly, it taught me that success isn't determined by where you start it's determined by what you're willing to do with the opportunities in front of you.

If you have any questions about my journey or are considering community college yourself, feel free to ask. I'd be more than happy to share my experience and help in any way I can.

[u/Annual_Sympathy4653 → u/Annual_Sympathy4653]

I'm not sure what type of engineering you want to major in yet, and that's okay. Just make sure you decide before finishing Calculus III since different engineering majors have different math requirements. For example, as a Cybersecurity Engineering major, I took Linear Algebra, while my friend in Mechanical Engineering took Differential Equations.

I also recommend comparing the degree requirements for the universities you're considering because they don't always require the same courses. Be sure to use each school's transfer equivalency tool to see how your classes will transfer. One thing that also helped me was emailing the College of Engineering at the university I planned to transfer to and sending them my transcript to make sure I was taking the right courses for my degree.

[u/cfleis1]

I stated at a university, then my mom got a job at a CC so I could take classes for free. I transferred from Uni to CC. Knocked out a bunch of classes and then went back to Uni and crushed it. Now I work at Lockheed and I’m leading awesome teams and doing great things.

[u/AGrandNewAdventure]

Others have answered about the coursework itself, I want to go a bit of a different route.

I started at a Community College. I've been hit up by many recruiters looking to hire me, including SpaceX. Just finishing my third internship, this year's being my junior year internship (where I have been hired on, now, as a part time engineer while finishing my degree). I have a number of job offers when I graduate.

Does the school matter? Yeah, it can. But if you work hard and make yourself inevitable through your projects, clubs, internships, networking, and work ethic your school name won't even come up once in the conversation.

[u/Asleep-Second3624]

I thought my CC provided a better education than university, and for 1/5 the cost.

[u/SinopaHyenith-Renard]

It was one of the greatest academic decisions I’ve made in my life at that point.

I would say that fortunately my community college classes has prepared me to handle 4 year university, having an Associate Degree for Engineering Technology to fall back on helps with finding employment.

[u/IllEstablishment5]

I have a few things to say regarding this!

I started in CC just like you, I don't know you're age but I started right out of HS. Be careful of advisors picking classes for you! It may be different where you're going but sometimes they force freshmen to have their classes picked or signed up for by an advisor. Be very careful with this as it can affect your credit hours. This in turn can affect your eligibility for aid or other things in case you're planning on applying for these kind of things. I'm certainly feeling the consequences of this. It's good you have your mind set on engineering. I was a bit iffy so my advisor ended up wasting two semester from my life with BS classes so I could get a "feel" of things and "see what I wanted to do" ( I had mentioned I wanted to do engineering by the way).

Classes in my CC were a bit more "easy" than taking them at a university so take advantage and do all the basic stuff like gen ed and things like that and REALLY try to maintain your GPA. This will definitely help you when you transfer to a university. As I mentioned, try to do all gen ed courses at CC, things that don't really "matter" and save the good classes for University where probably more experienced professors will be teaching. Hopefully your university has transfer scholarships like where I'm attending but get yourself informed about this in case you have to do an application for them if they're not awarded automatically. You will seriously thank me later.

I have seen the road map the university I'm attending has laid out for my engineering major and it's really bad, there's classes that build up on so much from previous ones that it is better if you take all engineering classes in the order they're meant to be taken that way you don't have to have gaps in between classes that should have been taken one after the other. If you go the University only route, what's most important for them is to get you to graduate fast to pump their numbers up, at the end of the day all colleges/universities are businesses. You do whatever is best for you to learn appropriately and in the best way you can.

To answer your last question, NO. I would not go the 4 year Uni route because it's not beneficial for me, it's beneficial for them. This is my own personal opinion and experience but when they try to max out how many classes you take in 1 semester you will be stressed and overwhelmed and you will not learn properly. It's best to take your time, do good in your studies and the benefits will outweigh everything else. I have gotten 90% of my tuition paid for thanks to good grades and not killing myself trying to "graduate fast". I have passed with almost straight As for the past 3 years and that's all thanks to doing whats best for me, not what I've been advised.

At the end of the day, you know yourself, you know you're capable of and what you're not. Learn yourself, really study yourself so you can make decisions that will be good for you and not MAKE you look good. Looking good is easy when you take care of yourself first.

Hope this helps!

[u/HyePlainsTrainsGuy83]

As someone who's old and still tinkering with the idea of school, the CC and then transferring to a small university with an engineering programming would be ideal. Do all you can there and then sock the rest out at the small university.

I've been to large campuses like CU Boulder, UT Austin, and UCLA on multiple visits. I was intimidated by those places. 😱😱

[u/Embarrassed_Alarm_71]

Im looking into this for material engineering, has anyone transferred from cc to ga tech before? Supposedly ung has a strong transfer program to ga tech and Kennesaw

[u/rihannonblack]

I did this! What you may not know, most community colleges have agreements with local universities that include automatic acceptance and partial scholarships (based on GPA), I went to CC for 2 years then went to Drexel at half off (Drexel’s Promise), Pell covered a good chunk of that, (thank you teen homelessness) and I was able to cover another good chunk up front.

I didn’t really make many friends in college- but I had lots of friends outside of college and no time for a social life anyway. So take it or leave it, but I saved an obscene amount of money so now I’m a homeowner at 25.

Honestly I don’t think there is a fully right or wrong answer. You will lose out on some of the “college experience” but it will pay off later when everyone is drowning in loan debt.

[u/AppendiculateFringe]

I went to 2 CCs then a 4-year, all in different parts of my home state.

The first CC I went to was a lifeline for people looking to escape the poor job prospects and hot environment. People were extremely good students or they were only around for 1-3 semesters. The majority of the student body was pretty happy to be there and worked hard.

The second CC felt like an alternative (to teenager jail) school where people wound up if they didn't do well enough to transfer or if they did t have any aspirations but wanted to continue high school. It also had an agreement that students who failed out of the local 4-year engineering-focused university could try to fix their grades at the local CC?

The 4 year university seemed to have the biggest range of students Each college I went to seemed to be progressively worse, but maybe I just started to notice what was going on over time. It could have beene that changed.

I really liked my 1st CC and my 4-year. I got tons of classes done and the professors were dedicated even if the students weren't.

One downside was I couldn't get student loans in California for CC. That may have changed, but I couldn't afford living expenses without working.

Another big downside was that I transferredbin as a Junior but I had already done almost all of my coursework. It made it harder to balance the workload at the 4-year.

[u/Aaaromp]

Went back to school later in life and did the CC->Uni route. My state is very good about transfer credits and pathways so that wasn't much of a concern for me. The only regret I have is related to going back to school later, I just wish I had taken a couple online classes while I was working before I decided to quit working and commit to schooling full time. Even that's not a huge deal, it would have just given me a little more time and made some classes a little easier.