5 ms·

> Where I live in Maryland, you can do two years at the local community college (which is excellent) for $8,000 in tuition and fees, before finishing up at a fo

> Where I live in Maryland, you can do two years at the local community college (which is excellent) for $8,000 in tuition and fees, before finishing up at a four year-college. This is true for the majority of students, but not generally true for the top ~1-10% of students who often need all 4 years to compete for slots at top law schools, med schools, phd programs, and employers. And getting into the top 4-5 of any of those things (except maybe phd programs, outside of a few fields like CS) will pay itself back in spades. I'd be curious to see a study that figures out who thinks they are in that 1%-10% vs. who actually is. I.e., are people just being idiots, or are they over-estimating the trajectory of their early career? Also, even for the other 90%, the same is true for lots of stuff. Including housing and vehicles. People aren't rational.

refurb 7y ago
Not sure doing the first two at community college impacts post-graduate admissions much? If an applicant begins his or her undergraduate education at a community college, excels academically, transfers to a four-year institution, and continues an upward trend by maintaining an excellent GPA, scoring well on the MCAT, and demonstrating a proclivity toward patient care and research, their educational path can be seen as an asset.
tptacek 7y ago
That explains why a small elite who likely don't need assistance with loans don't avail themselves of community college, but doesn't say much about the general case.
- throwawayjava 7y ago
  To reiterate, the question I'm asking is: how many people think they're the small elite but are actually the general case? I.e., how many people are acting irrationally vs. how many people are misjudging their own place in the world?
nullc 7y ago
> who often need all 4 years to compete for slots at top law schools, You can get into a highly ranked law-school with a high LSAT score and essentially nothing else.

refurb 7y ago

Not sure doing the first two at community college impacts post-graduate admissions much? If an applicant begins his or her undergraduate education at a community college, excels academically, transfers to a four-year institution, and continues an upward trend by maintaining an excellent GPA, scoring well on the MCAT, and demonstrating a proclivity toward patient care and research, their educational path can be seen as an asset.

tptacek 7y ago

That explains why a small elite who likely don't need assistance with loans don't avail themselves of community college, but doesn't say much about the general case.

throwawayjava 7y ago
To reiterate, the question I'm asking is: how many people think they're the small elite but are actually the general case? I.e., how many people are acting irrationally vs. how many people are misjudging their own place in the world?

nullc 7y ago

> who often need all 4 years to compete for slots at top law schools, You can get into a highly ranked law-school with a high LSAT score and essentially nothing else.