The community college advantage : your guide to a low-cost, high-reward college experience

117 Pages·2013·0.88 MB·English

by  Online resources: pages 229-230.

Copyright © 2013 by Diane Elizabeth Melville
Cover and internal design © 2013 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Cover design by William Riley/Sourcebooks, Inc. and Christopher Tobias
Cover images © shutterstock/Anton Todrov, shutterstock/vovan, istockphoto/A-Digit Sourcebooks and the
colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical
means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied
in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter
covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or
other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent
professional person should be sought.—From a Declaration of Principles Jointly Adopted by a Committee
of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations Published by
Sourcebooks, Inc.
P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410
[phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.sourcebooks.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Melville, Diane Elizabeth.
Community college advantage: your guide to a low-cost, high-reward college experience / Diane
Elizabeth Melville.
pages cm
Includes index.
1. Community colleges—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Community college students—
United States. I. Title.
LB2328.15.U6M46 2013
378.1’5430973—dc23
2012044248
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
VP 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
AUTHOR’S NOTE
GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME
SECTION 1. WELCOME TO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Chapter 1. Realities and Amazing Opportunities
Chapter 2. Secrets to Making the Most of Your Classes, Teachers, and Peers
Special Note: AA and AS—What’s the Big Difference?
SECTION 2. GETTING INTO YOUR DREAM SCHOOL
Chapter 3. What is Transferring and Who Transfers?
Special Note: Transferring for Developmental Students
Chapter 4. Knowing When and Where to Transfer
Chapter 5. Taking the Courses That Matter
Semester Checklist: The Ultimate Transfer Guide
SECTION 3. TRANSFERRING: IT’S ALL ABOUT THE
DETAILS
Chapter 6. Getting into the Top Schools
Chapter 7. The Transfer Resume: Looking Good on Paper
Chapter 8. Applying to Transfer: How to Outsmart the System
Cheat Sheet: The Transfer Application Worksheet
Chapter 9. The Super Simple Guide to Financial Aid
Special Note: How to Use a Scholarship Search Engine
Chapter 10. Financial Aid after Transfer
Chapter 11. Accepted! Now What?
SECTION 4. LANDING THE DREAM JOB
Chapter 12. Thinking about Employment during College
Chapter 13. Get Hired! Two Techniques to Increase Your Chances
Chapter 14. Preparing to Apply for the Job
Chapter 15. Being a Professional Is Easier Than You Think
Afterword
RESOURCES
FAQs
Financial Aid Glossary
Online Resources
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Thanks to the great Dr. E. Carter Burrus for convincing me to take a chance on
Miami Dade College and for supporting me the whole way through.
To Nerry Louis for giving me the space to write and succeed (or fail) on my own
terms.
To my mother, Beverly Melville (who had better read this book), for supporting
me through all of my crazy ideas!
And finally, to the Kuthy family (Dan, Allie, Tom, and Nancy)... You’ve helped
me to grow in more ways than I can count.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Dear Reader,
Before taking advice from anyone, I like to ask two questions:
Who are you?
Why should I listen to you?
It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t attempt to answer those questions for
you as well. So, here we go:
My name is Diane Melville, and I was born and raised in Miami,
Florida. I was absolutely thrilled when I was asked to write a
guidebook for community college students. Given the current state of
academia, I believe that there is no better decision a student can make
than to attend community college. However, making that decision isn’t
always an easy one.
I grew up in a fairly bad part of town, and my family’s income was
well below the poverty line. My father, who passed away recently, was
the sole breadwinner of our family. When he was diagnosed with
severe diabetes that resulted in a leg amputation, he could no longer
work. The responsibility of putting food on the table now rested with
my three brothers and sisters. College really wasn’t an option for them.
I, however, wanted to be the one who would earn a degree and change
the path that my family was on. I worked hard in high school, but I
was still denied admission to all but one university that I applied to,
and that university offered me little financial aid.
At the time, my decision to attend community college was a hard
blow. I listened to my friends gush about which colleges they were
going to and how excited they were to move away from home. Even
though I planned on transferring after two years of community college,
I didn’t quite believe in the process. After being denied by most of my
college choices, why would community college raise my odds of
acceptance in any way?
My life was profoundly changed by my experiences as a community
college student.
The people I met, the opportunities I received, and the confidence I
gained are irreplaceable. The schools that once flat-out denied me
admission (Cornell, Harvard, Tulane, and others) were now flooding
my mailbox with offers of acceptance. My peers, students from every
walk of life, were having similar experiences. Clearly, anyone with the
right guidance could do the same.
Attending community college didn’t just help me to get into good
schools. Having two years to reflect on my life and potential career
gave me the clarity and confidence I needed to pursue the things I was
passionate about. Shortly after transferring to Babson College, I
decided that I was going to start my own company. I had won
thousands of dollars in private scholarships to pay for my education,
and I wanted to give back. Thus I started ScholarPRO, a company to
help students apply for scholarships, right out of my dorm room (or
Office Suite 212 if you were a potential customer).
What initially began as me sitting in my Boston dorm room grew
into a small business with seven employees and a Chicago office.
We’ve worked with hundreds of scholarship providers to make the
scholarship application process easier. In 2010, the company was
accepted into a highly competitive business program in Chicago,
Excelerate Labs, where I met the most amazing mentors and advisors.
Even though I chose to transfer to Babson College over Cornell
University, I did eventually realize my Ivy League dreams when I
attended Harvard’s Summer Venture in Management program in 2010.
A counselor for the program told me that my community college
background would add the kind of diversity to the program that they
were looking for. Now that’s a community college advantage!
Today, I am still an entrepreneur, a consultant, a speaker, and an
author. I am currently working on a new startup specifically aimed at
helping community college transfer students, and I will be speaking to
thousands of students and college presidents this year alone about the
opportunities of community college. I can proudly say that, yes,
anything is possible coming from community college, even writing a
book!
The lessons that I’ve learned along the way and the opportunities
that I’ve uncovered wouldn’t mean much if I didn’t share them with
others. I hope that this book is truly a go-to resource for you, and that
it will give you a totally new perspective on the academic world
around you. I will offer a caveat to these promises by saying that I
worked hard and I worked smart. I was handed a phenomenal
opportunity and I persevered to seize it. I want to offer you that same
opportunity by showing you everything that is possible. Ultimately,
though, it is up to you to seize these chances and pursue your college
dreams.