WSJ: Top Schools Establish Links With Community Colleges
Abe Kohen
By ANNE MARIE CHAKER
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Suzanne Miller had good grades at her all-girls high school in Los Angeles,
but knew they wouldn't be enough to get her into a top University of
California campus. So, she made an unusual strategic move, leaving high
school a year early and enrolling at a local two-year college. The payoff?
Next fall, she'll be transferring to UCLA.
As the fight to get into a top university intensifies, community colleges
are emerging as a surprising backdoor route to admission. Long maligned as
places for students who can't cut it at a more-rigorous campus, two-year
colleges in a number of states are becoming official feeder schools to
highly competitive public universities. Others are raising their academic
standards, making it less of a leap for elite universities to consider their
graduates when they apply for transfers.
Miami-Dade College in Florida, for instance, last year started an honors
program for high-school seniors with SAT scores of at least 1,200 or a grade
point average of at least 3.7. A couple graduates have already been accepted
to Columbia, and one each to Yale and Georgetown.
A number of community colleges are striking agreements with top universities
to make transferring easier. At Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, some
students are guaranteed admission to Texas A&M University if they meet
certain grades. Some universities promise to give transfer applications
extra attention. The University of Virginia says it gives less weight to the
high-school transcripts of applicants who complete two years at a community
college.
These ties serve the needs of both schools. For community colleges, getting
more students into brand-name universities raises their profile. For
universities, transfers help fill enrollment and revenue gaps left by
students who drop out or take a year abroad.
In some cases, applications from local community-college students are
actually accepted at a higher rate than those from high schoolers. Some 33%
of applicants to UC Berkeley from California community colleges were
accepted last fall, compared with only 26% of in-state high-school
applicants.
In Virginia, Piedmont Virginia Community College is becoming known as a
destination for students who didn't get accepted to the University of
Virginia the first time around. In the past two academic years, over 60% of
Piedmont applicants were accepted -- higher than the approximately 50% of
applicants who get in as freshmen from in-state, and the about 20% of
out-of-state applicants who are accepted.
Admissions Guidance
The community colleges also provide admissions guidance. Last year, as Molly
Reed was getting her applications together, her counselor at Piedmont
Virginia Community College called in a UVA dean to talk Ms. Reed and other
students through the process. Ms. Reed, who didn't apply to UVA from high
school (she feared that her SAT scores were too low) will be attending UVA
in the fall.
All of this comes at a time when it is trickier than ever to get into a top
university out of high school, mostly because of a huge spike in
applications. While the Ivies have always been extremely competitive -- and
are getting even more so -- flagship state schools such as Ohio State
University and UCLA are also getting much more selective. At the same time,
enrollments at community colleges have bulged in recent years as families
have been drawn by the lower tuition.
Some universities explicitly tell students who didn't make the admissions
cut to try again after attending a community college. Texas A&M in College
Station, for instance, has begun offering an alternative to waitlisted
students who don't end up getting in: Attend Blinn College, a two-year
school, while also taking classes at A&M. Students on the "Blinn Team" are
automatically admitted to A&M if they have a B average in their classes at
both institutions at the end of two years. This year, 1,200 students asked
to be on the team, 71% more than requests from last year.
Higher Targets
Some states -- California, for instance -- have long had such arrangements
in place. But to accommodate a growing number of high-school graduates, it
is now setting even higher targets. The University of California system is
hoping to increase by 50% the number of transfer students from California
community colleges by the 2005-06 school year.
In some states, the backdoor route also includes second-tier campuses of
flagship universities. Ohio State University, for instance, now asks
students what their second-choice campus would be if they didn't get into
the main campus in Columbus. Students who finish a full-courseload year on a
regional campus with at least a C average are then guaranteed admission to
the main campus. That has contributed to the increase in campus changes to
Columbus -- 1,266 students made the switch in 2002-03, up 18% from the year
before.
Still, the perceived stigma of going to a community college can sometimes
get in the way. "It's a hard sell at first, to convince parents that their
kids won't be walking around with a big B on their heads," says Frank
Ashley, director of admissions at Texas A&M. Indeed, the student experience
is often very different between a two- and four-year schools. Virtually all
students at community colleges are commuters, leaving campus life short on
clubs, sports and other extracurricular activities. And many of the students
are more interested in getting enough credits for a particular license or
job.
But at the very least, the growing clout of community colleges gives some
students a new way to approach application season. Now, instead of settling
for a more obscure four-year school or taking a year off to reapply, they
may be able to take the community-college detour. Students interested in the
community-college option should ask for statistics on how easy it is to
transfer, and find out how well community-college transfers do compared with
students already enrolled.
"The truth is, there are a lot of people who really want to be Buckeyes,"
says Martha Garland, vice provost at Ohio State. "If they're doing well, we
want them here."
Copyright 2003 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Hank Murphy
the print edition?
There's a whole raft of statistics on community college admissions to the
UCs, which I came across once and can't remember now. And a *whole lot* of
factors determine if this is a good idea for someone or not.
For those considering this route, some of the factors include:
- How transfer-friendly is the college you really want to attend? Some
colleges are very long shots, I'm thinking of Cal Tech as an example.
- How effective is the articulation between a community college and a target
university? We are fortunate in California that it's pretty effective
across the board. Other states may not be as fortunate. Check it out with
the target universities.
- What kind of resources does the target university put into recruiting at
the CC? UCLA had monthly transfer couselor visits to several CCs in our
area. OTOH, I think Pepperdine and USC only came once a year.
- What kind of special programs exist for transfer students?
- What opportunities exist to display your talents? Honors programs?
Major-related extracurriculars? Student chapters of professional societies?
Dean's list? If you don't get into your first choice as a transfer, what
can you do to position yourself as a more attractive applicant for other
colleges when attending a particular CC?
I could ramble on, but I hope the idea is clear: if you aren't able to get
into the college of your choice from high school, you can often still
accomplish that from a community college. But you need to plan which CC is
best for that move.
OK, and both of my daughters attended CC and have been successful in
transferring to UCLA. I'm sold on this approach.
I'll flesh out the statistics a little. The companion piece had the
following snippet:
==============
IF YOU COULDN'T GET INTO ... University of California Los
Angeles, $3,800*
TRY ... Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, Calif, $400*
WHY Santa Monica College transferred 557 students to UCLA in
2001-02, 31% more than the year before.
==============
I think the tuition numbers above are flawed, but they are both still dirt
cheap.
#2 daughter, biochem, was unable to complete 3rd quarter of organic
chemistry at UCLA, not offered in the summer, and she needed to get it
completed before going abroad for a year. So she got permission to take it
at Santa Monica College, about three miles from UCLA.
It turns out the instructor was post-doctoral at UCLA. The pace of the
class is not like UCLA, but she's enjoying it. Her class also includes
another girl from Berkeley, and two young men from USC in a class of about
30.. And she anticipates that she's going to learn about as much as she
would have at UCLA. And, in fact, has more time in the lab to experiment
and practice.
Now...YMMV may vary big time. And #2 daughter has become an astoundingly
dedicated student. But, if you check out the CCs you're considering, you
may get some interesting answers.
Hank Murphy
speaking only for myself
zeno
> Top Schools Establish Links With Community Colleges
>
> By ANNE MARIE CHAKER
> Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
>
>
> Suzanne Miller had good grades at her all-girls high school in Los Angeles,
> but knew they wouldn't be enough to get her into a top University of
> California campus. So, she made an unusual strategic move, leaving high
> school a year early and enrolling at a local two-year college. The payoff?
> Next fall, she'll be transferring to UCLA.
>
> As the fight to get into a top university intensifies, community colleges
> are emerging as a surprising backdoor route to admission. Long maligned as
> places for students who can't cut it at a more-rigorous campus, two-year
> colleges in a number of states are becoming official feeder schools to
> highly competitive public universities. Others are raising their academic
> standards, making it less of a leap for elite universities to consider their
> graduates when they apply for transfers.
>
> Miami-Dade College in Florida, for instance, last year started an honors
> program for high-school seniors with SAT scores of at least 1,200 or a grade
> point average of at least 3.7. A couple graduates have already been accepted
> to Columbia, and one each to Yale and Georgetown.
Seems to me that there was a discussion in this group recently where
one respected (former) participant insisted that admissions offices
consoidered transfers as "damaged goods." I guess this puts the kibosh
on that.
>
Karin
> > Miami-Dade College in Florida, for instance, last year started an honors
> > program for high-school seniors with SAT scores of at least 1,200 or a grade
> > point average of at least 3.7. A couple graduates have already been accepted
> > to Columbia, and one each to Yale and Georgetown.
>
> Seems to me that there was a discussion in this group recently where
> one respected (former) participant insisted that admissions offices
> consoidered transfers as "damaged goods." I guess this puts the kibosh
> on that.
> >
In our state, community college instate transfers have a space before
any other transfer. Which is a good deal for the students who have
saved money by completing their first two years at a CC and a good
deal for the university who didn't have to find space for them in the
freshman class. However, there is a flip side to that argument. The
universities, don't have enough spaces for all the transfers, and are
leaving many good students out in the cold. Students are also finding
that CCs are offering some classes only online, which may not be the
best way for many students to learn, additionally, course selection is
often really limited.
While instate schools may be required to offer admissions to CC
graduates through their transfer agreement, other schools either out
of state or private are not.
Running start students have also found community colleges to be an
inexpensive way to get college credits while still in high school.
While some schools like University of Chicago will accept those
credits, other schools like Brown and Mt Holyoke will not.
Schools are really not all on the same page regarding community
colleges.
hormesis3
California's community college landscape, long regarded as the most
advanced community college system in the US. Cheap tuition in
California may no longer be the norm (especially with a possible 50
percent increase). At least in 4-year schools you wouldn't have
"thousands of students" dropping out because of cutbacks. This article
is ironic since the WSJ features Suzanne Miller, who probably attends
one of the embattled Los Angeles district Community Colleges. Excerpts
from today's Washington Post:
Calif. Near Financial Disaster
Hours Remain to Solve $38 Billion Shortfall
By Rene Sanchez
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 30, 2003; Page A01
LOS ANGELES -- Any day now, community colleges here may begin telling
faculty members that they cannot be paid and students that summer
classes are canceled.
...
The Los Angeles Community College District, which enrolls 130,000
students, has been forced to eliminate classes and lay off some of its
faculty, and is on the verge of raising tuition by more than 50
percent because of the budget crisis. Thousands of students have
dropped out because of cutbacks this year, college officials say, and
more are likely to leave if additional classes are canceled.
Mark Drummond, the chancellor of the district, said that its network
of colleges has enough money to operate until August, but would not be
able to pay its vendors or its faculty if the state is still engulfed
in deficits by then.
"We could have to turn off the lights and tell everybody to go home,"
Drummond said.
Elsewhere in the Post article explaining California's financial
crisis:
...
The nation's most populous state, home to one of the world's largest
economies, has been staring in disbelief at the same dire predicament
for months: a $38 billion deficit, the largest shortfall in its
history and an extreme example of the budget woes afflicting many
states. But now it has only hours left to solve the problem.
State lawmakers have until midnight to reach a compromise with Gov.
Gray Davis (D) on a budget that would wipe out the enormous deficit,
but the odds of that happening appear slim. And without a deal, the
state will be bound by law to begin cutting off billions of dollars in
payments to its agencies and its contractors in July -- and could run
out of money by August.
...
For weeks, the state's budget has been hostage to an intensely
partisan political war over taxes and spending that is now getting
even more bitter and complicated because of a Republican-led campaign
to recall Davis from office. Organizers of that movement have
collected nearly 400,000 voter petitions in favor of ousting the
governor, and political strategists in both parties say a recall
election, which would be unprecedented, is looking ever more likely.
Davis and the Democrats who control both houses of California's
legislature cannot get their way on the budget because state law
requires a two-thirds majority vote for it to be approved. They need a
few Republican lawmakers to support their plan, which they say must
include new taxes in order to save public schools and other vital
programs from ruin.
But Republicans are refusing to consider any tax increase, which they
say would harm California's already weak economy, and are demanding
deeper cuts in government spending.
...
There is no end in sight to the impasse, which California voters are
watching with increasing exasperation. Polls show that public support
for Davis has plummeted below 25 percent, and that two-thirds of
voters are dismayed with the legislature.
...
California's $38 billion deficit is larger than the entire annual
budget of any other state except New York. It represents about
one-third of the state's annual spending.
As in many other states, the shortfall is largely the result of the
national economic downturn -- which has been especially severe in
Silicon Valley, an engine of California's $1.3 trillion economy.
Soaring health care costs for the poor and new expenses for homeland
security are other contributing factors. Republicans here also contend
that Davis, who was narrowly elected to a second term in November, has
spent recklessly while in office and relied on accounting gimmicks to
balance the budget last year.
California, which had a $9 billion budget surplus three years ago, is
constantly caught in boom-or-bust economic cycles. In the early 1990s,
Republican Gov. Pete Wilson had to raise taxes and cut spending to
erase a $14 billion deficit. Escaping this crisis will be far more
difficult and painful.
...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48925-2003Jun29.html
"Abe Kohen" <ako...@xenon.stanford.edu> wrote in message news:<bdnpm7$v9u6v$1...@ID-102750.news.dfncis.de>...
> Top Schools Establish Links With Community Colleges
>
> By ANNE MARIE CHAKER
> Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
>
>
> Suzanne Miller had good grades at her all-girls high school in Los Angeles,
> but knew they wouldn't be enough to get her into a top University of
> California campus. So, she made an unusual strategic move, leaving high
> school a year early and enrolling at a local two-year college. The payoff?
> Next fall, she'll be transferring to UCLA.
>...
> ...enrollments at community colleges have bulged in recent years as families
Abe Kohen
"Hank Murphy" <hmu...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:oENLa.71321$Io.66...@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
> Abe, thanks very much for posting this. Do you know what date this was in
> the print edition?
Sorry, but we threw it out. IIRC, it was most probably 6/26/03.
Abe
Hank Murphy
response.
hormesis3 wrote in message
<5fb17fec.0306...@posting.google.com>...
>Unfortunately, the looming financial disaster of California may change
>California's community college landscape, long regarded as the most
>advanced community college system in the US. Cheap tuition in
>California may no longer be the norm (especially with a possible 50
>percent increase).
Let's put this possible 50 percent increase into perspective by comparing
tuition at some metropolitan area and near-metro community colleges, leaving
it at in-state, in-district residents only:
Arizona:
Scottsdale CC - $46/credit hour
Colorado:
CC of Denver - $909.45/12 units, sliding scale
Illinois:
Truman College - $52/credit hour
New York:
Laguardia - $1400/semester or $120/credit hour part-time
Suffolk County - $1300/semester
Ohio:
Columbus State Community College - $69/credit hour
Oregon:
Portland CC - $58/credit hour
Pennsylvania
Community College of Philadelphia - $83/credit hour
Texas:
North Lake College (Dallas CCD) - $30/credit hour
Blinn - $19/credit hour
(mentioned in article)
Utah:
Salt Lake CC - $1017.50 for 12 to 18 credit hours, sliding scale below and
above
Virginia:
Piedmont Virginia CC - $52.71/credit hour
(Mentioned in the WSJ article which started the thread)
Washington:
North Seattle CC - $578.10 for 12 credits, sliding scale
Wisconsin:
UW-Manitowoc - $122.50/credit hour, $1432.85 full-time/semester
- states guaranteed transfer to UW-Madison with 2.6 GPA
Not so metro:
North Dakota:
Fort Berthold Community College - $110/credit hour, $80 for American Indians
Now, for comparison, ALL public California CCs charge the same tuition -
$11/credit hour.
The technical term for this, with a statewide articulation program and
extensive transfer support, is - a steal.
Now let's say they double the tuition. It's still a steal (although Blinn
is now cheaper).
>At least in 4-year schools you wouldn't have
>"thousands of students" dropping out because of cutbacks.
This is out of proportion. Some students are so penurious that they cannot
attend full-time, or have work or family commitments that prevent full-time
study. So, some of these will skip a semester. Some will cut back to one
class from two. The end result will be thousands statewide, but
percentage-wise not as large as it implies.
>This article
>is ironic since the WSJ features Suzanne Miller, who probably attends
>one of the embattled Los Angeles district Community Colleges. Excerpts
>from today's Washington Post.
>
>Calif. Near Financial Disaster
>Hours Remain to Solve $38 Billion Shortfall
>
>By Rene Sanchez
>Washington Post Staff Writer
>Monday, June 30, 2003; Page A01
>
>
>LOS ANGELES -- Any day now, community colleges here may begin telling
>faculty members that they cannot be paid and students that summer
>classes are canceled.
>...
>The Los Angeles Community College District, which enrolls 130,000
>students, has been forced to eliminate classes and lay off some of its
>faculty, and is on the verge of raising tuition by more than 50
>percent because of the budget crisis. Thousands of students have
>dropped out because of cutbacks this year, college officials say, and
>more are likely to leave if additional classes are canceled.
>
>Mark Drummond, the chancellor of the district, said that its network
>of colleges has enough money to operate until August, but would not be
>able to pay its vendors or its faculty if the state is still engulfed
>in deficits by then.
>
>"We could have to turn off the lights and tell everybody to go home,"
>Drummond said.
This is a bit alarmist, but you don't survive budget crunches by saying
we'll get by, cut our budget and give the money to the DMV instead.
>
>Elsewhere in the Post article explaining California's financial
>crisis:
>
>...
>The nation's most populous state, home to one of the world's largest
>economies, has been staring in disbelief at the same dire predicament
>for months: a $38 billion deficit, the largest shortfall in its
>history and an extreme example of the budget woes afflicting many
>states. But now it has only hours left to solve the problem.
Oh brother! Hours left? Wait, it's July 1, and the state hasn't fallen
into the Pacific. Could it be that the writer might be exaggerating a
little?
>State lawmakers have until midnight to reach a compromise with Gov.
>Gray Davis (D) on a budget that would wipe out the enormous deficit,
>but the odds of that happening appear slim. And without a deal, the
>state will be bound by law to begin cutting off billions of dollars in
>payments to its agencies and its contractors in July -- and could run
>out of money by August.
For those of you who remember the Johnny Carson Karnak the Prophet bit:
The envelope, please.
[Holds envelope to turban] Days of Our Lives, As The World Turns, and the
California budget crisis.
[Opens envelope] The question: Name the three longest-running soap operas.
The legislature didn't make the July deadline for the last three years, and
I have no idea how many times before that. Suffice it to say that it's a
regular occurrence. Suppliers are well aware that the state may have
payment issues again this year. And the legislature has been known to pass
emergency legislation.
Not a non-issue, but we've dealt with this before. There will be cuts and
tuition increases. It won't be the first time. And I believe I read in
cnn.com earlier today that six other states missed their deadlines as well.
>For weeks, the state's budget has been hostage to an intensely
>partisan political war over taxes and spending that is now getting
>even more bitter and complicated because of a Republican-led campaign
>to recall Davis from office. Organizers of that movement have
>collected nearly 400,000 voter petitions in favor of ousting the
>governor, and political strategists in both parties say a recall
>election, which would be unprecedented, is looking ever more likely.
Recalls in California are hardly unprecedented, although I don't think a
Governor has faced one in my lifetime. But a recall movement started for a
prior insurance commisioner before his resignation, and two members of the
legislature have been recalled in the last ten years or so.
The recall, though, is sadly more a sign of increasing Republican
desperation in California than anything else. Republicans hold no statewide
offices at all, and don't have any leading candidates to run for governor in
two years. Richard Riordan was their best candidate, but wasn't
conservative enough for some of the party faithful. So they're hoping to
smear Davis, and sneak in a candidate if the recall is successful.
Unfortunately, it was disclosed that Darryl Issa, the millionaire
Congressman who's fronting the money for most of the recall signature
collection effort, plead guilty to auto theft and fraud in the early
1980s...another soap opera.
<snip>
>California's $38 billion deficit is larger than the entire annual
>budget of any other state except New York. It represents about
>one-third of the state's annual spending.
>
>As in many other states, the shortfall is largely the result of the
>national economic downturn -- which has been especially severe in
>Silicon Valley, an engine of California's $1.3 trillion economy.
>Soaring health care costs for the poor and new expenses for homeland
>security are other contributing factors. Republicans here also contend
>that Davis, who was narrowly elected to a second term in November, has
>spent recklessly while in office and relied on accounting gimmicks to
>balance the budget last year.
The real solution would be to repudiate the energy contracts that California
signed when faced with market manipulation of electricity prices. A more
rigorous investigation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
and the Department of Justice would make this feasible. But with a Texas
oil man in the White House, it's not likely.
Enough with the side tracks. While community colleges vary greatly, and
some states are much better for transfers than others, they are generally a
good buy and a useful option for a lot of students. There are some good
students for whom CCs are a waste of time, and some for whom enlistment in
the Marines will be better for their personal development, but it's a good
choice for a lot of people, including my daughters,.
Karin
comparing
> tuition at some metropolitan area and near-metro community colleges, leaving
> it at in-state, in-district residents only:
>
North Seattle CC - $578.10 for 12 credits, sliding scale
Community colleges in Seattle are actually $639 for 12 credits.
three full time classes would be 15 credits if you are on financial
aid/work study they require you to have 18 credits. Per credit hour is
$62.75 to 10 credits, then $6.05 surcharge per credit up to 18.
Not a bad deal when you consider that the UW is about twice the cost.
Of course the UW has more offerings.
No sliding scale that I see though, they do have reduced rates for
veterans however.
All kinds of taxes and fees are added too, it's kind of like your
phone bill.
My daughter began her geology class at Seattle Central community
college ( rated tops by newsweek last year & they are quite proud)last
night and was bemused to find in her class a student who was
currently studying neurobiology at the UW who was expelled from Reed a
few years ago.
Hank Murphy
>Community colleges in Seattle are actually $639 for 12 credits.
>three full time classes would be 15 credits if you are on financial
>aid/work study they require you to have 18 credits.
Karin, you are observant. I looked at the tuition chart for the Washington
CC and didn't see the exact relationship. Since I was trying to provide a
cost without fees, i.e. tuition only, the number I quoted was what I found
under the Tuition column for twelve units.
As you correctly point out, the $639 figure would represent the actual cost
to the student. But, since I was able to get the figures for most other CCs
expressed in dollars per credit hour, I was attempting to normalize it to
something like a comparable figure.
When I looked at the tuition chart, it seemed like the cost for a one-unit
class was not 1/12th the cost for 12 units, which is why I thought it was a
sliding scale.
In any event, fees seemed to be roughly proportionate to tuition at the
schools I reviewed.
The point I was trying to make was that a fifty percent hike in tuition is
less onerous when one is paying $11/unit rather than $120/unit. And the
story had a little bit of a Chicken Little aspect to it.
I've read that one wrinkle this time is that a court has ruled interim
financing bills are not constitutional in California under the wording of
our balanced budget amendment, and that all workers cannot be paid more than
minimum wage until the budget is passed. One hopes that will stir some
action, creativity, and compromise in our highly partisan legislature. But
I think the CCs will pull through...they've been through the wringer before
in budget crises.
In any event, I hope your daughter finds the class enjoyable and
challenging!
Karin
> >three full time classes would be 15 credits if you are on financial
> >aid/work study they require you to have 18 credits.
>
> Karin, you are observant. I looked at the tuition chart for the Washington
> CC and didn't see the exact relationship. Since I was trying to provide a
> cost without fees, i.e. tuition only, the number I quoted was what I found
> under the Tuition column for twelve units.
No prob. I just know cause I know what full time and financial aid
require. Since most classes are 15 credits, it can be hard to find a 3
credit class to make fin aid happy. about the only things that are 3
credits are PE or music performance classes, and after you have one of
those you don't need another. To take more than 18 credits you have to
overload and they really don't like you doing that.
>>
> The point I was trying to make was that a fifty percent hike in tuition is
> less onerous when one is paying $11/unit rather than $120/unit. And the
> story had a little bit of a Chicken Little aspect to it.
>
Now does CA have more money wrapped up in fees or is total cost about
the same?
My daughter was complaining about spending money on her CC class, but
I pointed out that taking 6 credits at the CC would cost about $389,
but taking a comparable class at her college which would be just one
credit cause they are on semester system, would be more like $5000.
Hank Murphy
>My daughter began her geology class at Seattle Central community
>college ( rated tops by newsweek last year & they are quite proud)
I missed this. Was there a community college ranking system? Has the
USNews blight spread?
Karin
> >college ( rated tops by newsweek last year & they are quite proud)
>
> I missed this. Was there a community college ranking system? Has the
> USNews blight spread?
>
>
Time),
http://www.time.com/time/2001/coy/community.html but an article on
colleges of the year. They profiled schools that you don't usually
hear about. I think soon every major magazine will have some sort of
article on colleges as it has shown if nothing else it sells
magazines. Seventeen had one last year remember? Now I suppose Cosmo
teen, and Rolling Stone will have to get in on the act.