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Going to an american community college?

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p-oskier
Posts: 1407 - Karma: 58
I wanted to know if there are any Canadiens on here that have spend a year in the US while going to a community college there. I am asking this question cause I am from Quebec and I would like in a year or two to go spend a year in the US while still going to school. Going to a real college would cost way too much but from what i've seen, community college isn't that much even if you don't get the same level of education.
Dec 4 2010 11:16AM
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Proze
Posts: 1094 - Karma: 7
I go to Onondaga Community College... its pretty much in syracuse NY. Not a bad school, cheap as fuck for me but syracuse is a dying city
Dec 4 2010 12:01PM
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yojimbo
Posts: 3631 - Karma: 27
the level of education depends on what your taking and where, as well as heavily on the teachers. Same as any school really. College is all really just a name on a piece of paper that you payed 60 grand for anyways. I think its a cool idea, I want to go live in canada for a year and go to a community college, that would be dope.
Dec 4 2010 12:08PM
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Alex_G
Posts: 11902 - Karma: 1,019
salt lake community college isn't bad
Dec 4 2010 12:11PM
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five0
Posts: 11466 - Karma: 36
I went to Fulton-Montgomery CC in Johnstown,NY.  It's close to my home.  I played Onondaga in Soccer last year.  One kid at my school was from Ontario somewhere and played baseball for FMCC for two years then transferred to a bigger school.
Dec 4 2010 1:12PM
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p-oskier
Posts: 1407 - Karma: 58
Thats where I wanna go cause I would be able to ski some sick mountains compared to here in Quebec and I heard it is kinda cheap compared to other places in the US. Instead of taking a year off to ski, I would take some classes in a community college and still have time to ski, and because I would still be in school, my parents would help me financially. Does anyone know how much it would approximately cost per semester for an international student?
Dec 4 2010 2:09PM
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95romeo
Posts: 276 - Karma: -99
im pretty sure Canadian universities are far cheaper than american ones. I may be wrong though. Unless that's what your looking for
Dec 4 2010 3:32PM
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thugaim
Posts: 2181 - Karma: 33
>Education
>America
>ololol
Dec 4 2010 3:36PM
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p-oskier
Posts: 1407 - Karma: 58
Yes I know that our universities are cheap but I live in a French region so going to the US would give me a huge chance at improving my English and I wanna see some other places. Is community college cheap or is it still kinda expensive?
Dec 4 2010 4:47PM
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Mezmerize19
Posts: 6475 - Karma: 18
It honestly depends on the school. Some CC's are shit. Others are amazing. I go to Dutchess Community College in NY and its actually really good. The campus is really nice and as long as you ask, the teachers will do whatever they can to help you. Plus theres tons of resources to get you going.
Dec 4 2010 4:50PM
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skiminnesota
Posts: 9093 - Karma: 429
I go to a CC in Minnesota. I will be graduating in 2 weeks with a cumulative GPA of 3.7-8ish and honors.

lets just put it this way, being the pick of the litter is not hard.


but overall i really believe that with college you get out of it what you put in. its more about the student than it is the college.
Dec 4 2010 6:21PM
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Snowcase
Posts: 11456 - Karma: 634
OCC actually has a lot of former professors from ivy league schools and SU. It's one of the best community colleges in the U.S. And contrary to what this guy said, it's not a dying city. If you were connected in the community you would know of all the awesome things that are happening to build technology and keep young people here.
Dec 4 2010 6:45PM
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Dosh
Posts: 1818 - Karma: 14
i think this is a good idea. OP where in Quebec are you from? I go to school in Montreal.
Dec 4 2010 7:19PM
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Crack.
Posts: 6020 - Karma: 84
ha, why do you say Syracuse is a dying city. I prefer Rochester myself, but i'm curious.
Dec 4 2010 8:29PM
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Me0w_mix
Posts: 312 - Karma: 13
dont do monroe CC...people are so stupid there...but if you just want an easy grade and great GPA go for it. haven't heard much about FLCC though but i know some people that i graduated go there...
Dec 4 2010 8:34PM
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Crack.
Posts: 6020 - Karma: 84
hmm, well MCC was my last resort if I didn't get accepted to Oswego or Fredonia. And I'm not going to FLCC because I don't want a 5th episode of my high school.
Dec 4 2010 8:35PM
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five0
Posts: 11466 - Karma: 36
Are you trying to go to Oswego next year? I'm there now
Dec 4 2010 8:41PM
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Crack.
Posts: 6020 - Karma: 84
yup, it's my top choice right now. I like mostly everything about the college, i'm just uncertain about skiing because I have no idea what resorts are around there. where do you ski?
Dec 4 2010 8:43PM
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five0
Posts: 11466 - Karma: 36
I just transferred here and I'm having shoulder surgery so I haven't really looked too far into it.  I guess Holiday Valley and Labrador are probably the closest.  I hear the ski club is pretty legit though.
Dec 4 2010 8:51PM
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Snowcase
Posts: 11456 - Karma: 634
Oswego has a good ski club. I know a few members and my friend is involved with planning. The guy who said Labrador is and Holiday Valley are closest is just retarded. Oswego is almost an hour north of Syracuse. Labrador is 35 minutes south of Syracuse. Holiday Valley is even further. Snow Ridge is much closer or head over to the Adirondacks. Gore would be your best bet. My favorite place to ski in NY. If you're interested in park go to Toggenburg. Easily on par with any large mountain on the east coast. And always improving too. If you have any other questions send me a PM. I grew up in this area and know it very well.
Dec 4 2010 9:16PM
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five0
Posts: 11466 - Karma: 36
^ I'm just going by what people have told me.  And Gore Mountain isnt near Oswego or Syracuse, you're looking at 3+ hours from either place.
Dec 4 2010 9:34PM
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Snowcase
Posts: 11456 - Karma: 634
2.5 from where I live (and I would know since I'm there almost every weekend), which is south of Syracuse. Holiday Valley is even further. Go by what I'm saying. Gore or Togg. You're wasting your time driving anywhere else in NY.
Dec 4 2010 11:04PM
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Me0w_mix
Posts: 312 - Karma: 13
thats how i feel about mcc...almost half of the people that i graduated with go there...*sigh* but its honestly not that bad if you go to the nursing program there haha...its pretty good considering and also 2+2 is always nice.
Dec 4 2010 11:06PM
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geteducated
Posts: 6410 - Karma: 86
late night tv commercials tell me that only minorities go to community college.
Dec 4 2010 11:07PM
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585.
Posts: 4059 - Karma: 77
I go to MCC and i hate it. All of my professors are dumb as fuck and i just dont have that college feel. Just feels like 13th grade. As far as the easy grade goes, i wouldnt go so far as easy. It's definetly much less difficult than other colleges, but its no cake walk. You still have to put in time and do work. I thought that going to MCC for two years then transfering somewhere else would be the perfect option since my grades in highschool were terrible, but it was not. All of my friends are off to college having a great time and im stuck in my hometown with nothing ot do but work and ski. I am definetly working on transfering out next year and get out of my hometown.
Dec 4 2010 11:35PM
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five0
Posts: 11466 - Karma: 36
You're right as far as Gore goes, it's a top mountain in NY except their park is never good.  I've been skiing gore almost 30 times a year for the last 7-8 years.  And I'm pretty sure when I said Holiday Valley I was thinking of Togg, I google mapped it and it was twice as far as I was thinking.  I haven't been to either yet but I was thinking of HV bc of the Gatorade tour.  Does Togg or Labrador have night skiing?
Dec 4 2010 11:36PM
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Snowcase
Posts: 11456 - Karma: 634
No one should ever speak gore and park in the same sentence. Both lab and togg do. If you're going to make the trip down here, come to togg. Both are the same terrain, less than 10 miles apart but togg has a much better park and a lot of nsers so there's always someone to ride with. And if you're of age there's a very legit bar/restaurant.
Dec 4 2010 11:44PM
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five0
Posts: 11466 - Karma: 36
yeah i could have sued Gore for their feature that fucked up my arm.  It's been hit with snowcats so many times and my friends literally bent it back to normal with just their hands.  I thought night skiing would make a good date spot, but if one has a better park I could maybe show off a little bit before my surgery.
Dec 4 2010 11:51PM
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.jersey
Posts: 1925 - Karma: 9
alota people go to brookdale community college by me. its one of the best community colleges in the country and cheap as fuck. but i doubt you'd want to live in new jersey while going there...
Dec 4 2010 11:55PM
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EastCoast315
Posts: 3136 - Karma: 137
seriously, American education is a joke. We are ranked below Mexico in education. 33rd of OECD Nations. Murikka strong
Dec 4 2010 11:59PM
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Me0w_mix
Posts: 312 - Karma: 13
best of luck to you, i did my first semester there cause my highschool fucked up and didnt send any of my applications, first thing i did was get out of there...UB now cause the ski pass was decent and i wanted to ride something more than just bristol all day. $160 for 4 mountains on certain days? i'm not gunna complain. one thing to complain about is how holiday has yet to open...they say tuesday so fingers crossed!
Dec 5 2010 12:08AM
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Proze
Posts: 1094 - Karma: 7
Theres no jobs and alot of poverty and alot of heroin... there are small cool parts and ill llove it forever but its not a great place
Dec 5 2010 12:42AM
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p-oskier
Posts: 1407 - Karma: 58
Does anyone know more about the ones out west? Like in Utah or something? Cause if I go in a CC, going out west would be my first choice.
Dec 6 2010 9:10AM
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ECB
Posts: 6991 - Karma: 622
That's one step up from living in Ft Plain!
Dec 6 2010 10:31AM
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jdilla
Posts: 706 - Karma: 41
I didn't read too much of this thread, but I feel I should enlighten some wisdom as I've fucked up many of times with the whole college thing.

Remember it's called COMMUNITY college for a reason. People in the community benefit the most from it. Being not only out of county, but an international student will mean tuition is usually almost doubled for most CC's. Still usually winds up being a couple grand cheaper per semester.

Also most CC's don't really provide any of the benefits 4 year schools do, being an international student, you will want these. There's no on-campus housing, which means you will need to find your own place independently. Most people that go to a community college go there because it's close to their home, not a whole lot of people move halfway across the country to go to a community college.

Wherever you pick, make sure it's where you want to eventually transfer to. Most CC's offer a 2 year associates program which is pretty much worthless by itself. Usually people go to community for two years and then transfer into a 4 year school. CC's usually offer some type of transfer agreement with 4 year schools in the area, which is a great benefit, and I highly suggest you take advantage of it. That way every class you take at community will be guaranteed to transfer towards a 4 year bachelor's degree.

With all that out of the way, you need to also remember that you're not an US citizen, so you will need a student visa, which aren't that easy to get. You need to plan that shit out and apply like 6 months in advance. Also, with a student visa you're not allowed to work legally in the US unless you can get a work visa as well so you will need to be able to prove that you can financially support yourself while going to school in the country...again...another drawback.

Based off of everything...I'd say going through all that just to go to a mediocre community college in the US is not worth it. Why don't you just stay in the country? It'd be a lot easier for you to go to a CC or cheap school somewhere in B.C., mountains are just as good as the western US if not better.
Dec 6 2010 10:44AM
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ECB
Posts: 6991 - Karma: 622
Solid Post, really hits a lot of points on the head
Dec 6 2010 11:13AM
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five0
Posts: 11466 - Karma: 36
Except the part about on campus living, FMCC is like the smallest CC in the SUNY system and even they have a bunch of housing.  I know a lot of other SUNY CC's have housing as well, other than that though you pretty much nailed that post.
Dec 6 2010 12:48PM
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Snowcase
Posts: 11456 - Karma: 634
OCC has housing as well.
Dec 6 2010 12:53PM
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five0
Posts: 11466 - Karma: 36
^yeah and they look pretty sick too.  Better than FM and MV I'd say for sure
Dec 6 2010 1:04PM
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Snowcase
Posts: 11456 - Karma: 634
Just built in 08 I think
Dec 6 2010 1:08PM
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Gnarshred
Posts: 5670 - Karma: 18
http://www.coloradomtn.edu/
Colorado Mountain College would be perfect for you, I have friends that went and rode pretty much every day. Classes are so easy that you dont even really have to go... Only problem is they might not transfer, but thats a problem with any CC, I believe they are guaranteed to transfer to any CO state school so if you wanted to go to CU, or CSU or something after 2 years, you could go in as a junior.

Anyway, there are CMC campuses everywhere in CO, Breckenridge is the newest one, I think they just built dorms too. Steamboat is sick if you just like riding powder and don't care about being near a big city. Anyway, check it out, sounds right up your ally.
Dec 6 2010 1:17PM
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ECB
Posts: 6991 - Karma: 622
I know quite a few people at OCC
Dec 6 2010 2:51PM
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sethski
Posts: 331 - Karma: 10
This is true...Syracuse city high schools also have a very depressing graduation rate, I can't recall the actual statistic but it's nationally one of the worst graduation averages...I don't have the best sense of the city but it seems like most people rely on Carousel for entertainment. Armory Square has some cool shops/restaurants but most of Syracuse is not what I would call a glamourous city. It's nicknamed Scare-acuse for a reason.

As for Togg, not a huge fan but it's OK. I bought a pass there last year and the park was decent for being on a CNY drumlin, but not wonderful. Also, if you have a college ID it's only 15 bucks to ski for the day...straight up great deal. This year I bought a pass to Greek Peak. I figure I'll prob ski Greek some days and Togg the others.

From what I hear OCC isn't half bad. Housing and decent academics. My roommate's gf goes there and she seems to like it (I go to SU btw). Also, Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY has a pretty sick developing engineering program. I took Calc 3 there this summer and honestly I was shocked at how good the professor was. Blew my 1&2 profs at SU out of the water. This may have something to do with the smaller class size.
Dec 6 2010 3:10PM
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five0
Posts: 11466 - Karma: 36
OCC's housing looked sick from what I saw just going by them.  The full size turf field is fucking nice too, my high school has turf but FMCC's field is garbage.  Those fields cost at least a couple hundred thousand dollars, especially because its wide.  OCC def. looks good, anyone know about how many students go to OCC?
Dec 6 2010 3:37PM
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sethski
Posts: 331 - Karma: 10
i don't personally but my roommate is from Syracuse so he does...I just know of two girls
Dec 6 2010 5:22PM
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jdilla
Posts: 706 - Karma: 41
CMC is pretty horrible dude. They have decent AS programs with transfer agreements to a lot of good CO colleges, but their location is terrible. Also it's not a community college, it's pretty expensive for out of state students. The only campuses that have housing are leadville (deadville) and glenwood. Leadville is the biggest shit hole backwoods town on the planet, a good hour and a half from summit through some seriously shitty roads so sometimes it takes even longer. Glenwood isn't bad, right near beaver creek, but still it's not nearly as fun as you'd expect. If you can find a place in silvy, breck, dv, etc. then their dillon and breck campuses are fine, but no provided housing. I know A LOT of people that went/go to CMC and damn near all of them fucking hate or hated it and couldn't wait to leave...most of which dropped out. I'd avoid that place like the plague.
Dec 6 2010 8:03PM
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Snowcase
Posts: 11456 - Karma: 634
I would guess around 10,000.

To the guy above, Syracuse city schools are horrendous. The surrounding schools are excellent. The high school I went to was rated in the top 50 high schools in the country. Most people in this region live outside of the city. You said people rely on Carousel for fun. Well, I couldn't tell you the last time I went there. Get away from the inner city and this is a great place.

And we had to move park last year and we lost our groomers and had a breakdown of park crew. If you were there 2-4 years ago it was awesome. This year we've cut all the slackers, have 2 groomers (one from steamboat, one who's been here for 10+ years) who we can use to create features. Now we can do work on more than one night a week. Give it another try and make sure to find one of us out there and tell us what you like and don't like.
Dec 6 2010 8:49PM
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Gnarshred
Posts: 5670 - Karma: 18
There is so much wrong with this post I don't know where to start. Are you trying to keep people out or what?

Granted its a shitty school, but I got the impression OP cared more about skiing than academics. It is $256 per credit for out of state compared to $413 per credit at a community college on the front range. There is a residence hall at steamboat, I've slept in it. Glenwood is not about an hour to Beaver Creek, which I wouldn't really call close. Breck's campus is a 10 minute busride from the lifts. Sure they don't have a dining hall, but housing in summit is so fucking easy to get, I wouldnt even want to live in a residence hall.

Your friends probably hate it because all they want to do is go ride and get drunk, which is perfectly acceptable. Thats why I just took a year off from school and didn't lie to myself and pretend I was gonna study living in the mountains.

Bottom line OP, Don't bother, just take a year off and be a ski bum. Cause trying to focus on studying in the mountains is fucking hard.
Dec 6 2010 8:51PM
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Gnarshred
Posts: 5670 - Karma: 18
I take back this statement, but the rest still stands
Dec 6 2010 8:57PM
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jdilla
Posts: 706 - Karma: 41
I never went there, but I spent a good amount of time at leadville, steamboat, and glenwood. Pretty much all of them were boring as fuck. A lot of weirdos and of course no chicks. I've never actually drove to the beav from CMC, I was told an hour. I only skied at the beav maybe two times in my life? Who cares. All I know is you're cut off from civilization and not right next to the mountain.

I'm just saying I know a shitload of people that go to cmc and they all hated the shit out of it, im sure many of them are here on NS. Not really a good quality to have in a school. The mountains of colorado are just not a good environment for good college times.

Yes, I'm trying to keep people out. Going to CMC 8 times out of 10 is a fantastic way to waste money, just ski bum at work at the resort. Unless you actually take some legit classes, which very few people do, you'll get absolutely no benefit from it, and even then, who knows

Dec 6 2010 9:02PM
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sethski
Posts: 331 - Karma: 10
I don't know too much about the surrounding areas as most everything I need is right here on campus or on Marshall street. I wish I got around more and I probably will. I volunteered last year at some of the inner-city elementary schools...it was wildly different than the school I enjoyed as a kid.

As for Togg, I'm glad to hear that. I thought you guys had a decent setup last year but the jumps/landings often got ragged. I'll definitely be there at least a few times. My buddy I ski with mostly will probably want to go to Greek the majority of the time but I'm sure I'll be able to find a ride with someone else.

I met a kid named Nick last year...I forget his last name but I think it started with M. I was glad to meet a fellow NSer and I take it he puts a lot of work into the park.
Dec 6 2010 10:08PM
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