5 Lessons I Learned When I Transferred from Community College to a University
Both are valuable experiences.
My love for education blossomed during my three years at community college. After my “super sophomore” year, I finally attended a four-year university: University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Before starting here, I always wondered why people went straight to a four-year university. I watched my friends go into debt right out of high school, meanwhile, I benefited academically from the affordable education at my community colleges: Nashua Community College and Santa Barbara City College. After attending UCSD for almost a year now, my opinion hasn’t changed.
Here are five lessons I learned when I transferred:
1.) Class Size is very different.
At community college, I only took one lecture hall sized course of 200 students, and the rest of my courses consisted of around 30 students in a classroom. Comparatively, all of my university classes have been around 200–400 people. The sense of community I felt at community college is lost here.
There is almost no discussion directly between professors and students anymore. Instead, we have an hour each week for a smaller section of 30 people, but I miss those discussions being led by a professor at community college rather than a graduate student here at UCSD.
2.) Teaching Assistants often lead class discussions rather than professors.
At community college, we just went to lectures where we had our discussion, but at university, we have our discussion in sections once a week for fifty minutes. The problem is, is that this is usually the graduate student’s first experience teaching, yet their job is to help breakdown the course material and lead a discussion. Understandably, they often struggle to help students understand the material when they’re still learning it themselves and don’t always feel comfortable leading people.
3.) You have to keep up with deadlines.
With 400 people in a classroom, the professors don’t tend to give leeway to anyone falling behind. Strict deadlines are set for assignments, and if they’re not met, it’s not the professor’s problem. At community college, since I frequently spoke with my professor during class, they treated me with more understanding, and if I was late on something I could still do well in the course.
4.) The peer classroom support is easier to find.
At community college, I found some people lacked the same passion for the material we were learning as I did. With such large classrooms here at University, I sit in the first few rows and can immediately find study buddies that match my goals. I made more social bonds at community college in my smaller classes, but sometimes the most meaningful interactions I have with other people is a product of a solid study session.
5.) Everyone’s best learning environment is unique to them.
I prospered in the one-on-one setting community college offered and for that, I’m grateful I’m a transfer student. The grandeur of a University is hard to pass up, but it doesn’t outweigh the education I received at community college.
