Tidewater Community College was the focus of a front page article in Monday’s Virginian-Pilot. The school has a successful transfer program, whereby a student completes their first two years of college there and then transfers to a four-year institution.
One of the biggest advantages to such a move is that it saves money:
Two years of schooling can cost twice as much at a four-year public institution as they would at TCC.
Most agree that higher education is part of the equation for success. That TCC and other community colleges are offering an easy transfer solution is a win-win for everybody.
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The other advantage of going to a two year school is the GPA transfer. The first two years of school you usually end up taking a lot of required courses outside of you degree interest. Those classes can pull your GPA down as they are one of those things students have to take but would not otherwise. The last two years are usually in your degree which hopefully is an interest to you . (If not you should switch degrees). So when you transfer and get your bachelors after two years a lot of students GPA is actually higher as the required classes are not included. This can be very important if you ever end up applying to go on to graduate school.
Didn’t realize grades didn’t transfer. That is indeed a bonus.
I have also found that the teachers at both TCC and NVCC are really top-notch. They may not have the abbreviations after their names, but often have been in the industry for many years and have been USING the stuff they are teaching. One Ada professor I had was on one of the Ada design teams, and had been using the language since BEFORE its standardization as Ada 83. My Japanese teacher was a native speaker.
One is also less likely to be in theater-style classes with hundreds of students.
Sometimes, the practical experience is worth more than the letters after the name. It can make it easier to relate.