Mainland Community/Junior Colleges
These are excellent choices for many Hawai'i students! These colleges have open door policies so if you were even a marginal student in high school, you can still go to college on the Mainland! You can have a fresh start (you better be ready to work hard this time), you can have that Mainland experience which is an education in itself and, for you student-atheletes, you can continue your sports career! And you won't have the worry of eligibility rules, GPA and SAT test score concerns. (This is not to say that these things are unimportant, just that if they are major obstacles for you, community colleges are still there for you!)
Mainland community colleges which you should give extra attention to are those with on-campus housing. For example, in California, the list of junior colleges with dormitories is not long, but there are some very nice, usually Northern Califonia, colleges that fill the bill. Other states is much the same, many community colleges, but few with on campus housing. You have to go hunting, but can find!
So particularly for those students with a yen to get out and see the world and/or want to continue their athletic careers, look into Mainland junior colleges. Check Hannah Bennett's story on the "Victorious Vikings" page. It could be you!
California Community Colleges
While Califonia has probably the most robust community college system in the country, sadly, it does not make them available to out of state students through the WUE program. So one can expect to pay the full out of state tuition. But, remember that these are community colleges so even the out of state tuition is not as bad as one might expect.
Here's a link to the Chancellor of California Community Colleges website. It will take you to a page where you can select to see the colleges by alpha, region or housing. This is great! Also, check the "System Map" link at the bottom. Talk about a system!
WUE Community Colleges
The following states offer two year colleges under the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) program: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
What makes Arizona Community Colleges great is that they are part of the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) program. This program allows undergraduate students, including community college students for certain states, attend college in other states and pay only 50% more in tuition than in-state students have to pay. This is a huge savings.
In recent times, the State of Arizona has been a hot ticket for Hawai'i students. Arizona community colleges have become popular for their athletic programs as well the huge tuition break WUE colleges offer.. Arizona Western, in particular, has been mentioned as having a strong baseball program.
Here's a link to the WUE "List of Two Year Institutions" webpage. All of the College names are links to a WUE page about those schools. And if you scroll to the bottom of that page, you will find a link to the college's own webpage. Check them out!
Of course there are hundreds of other community colleges in America. And they virtually all have "open door" policies. So if your high school career wasn't all you feel it should have been and you just don't have the GPA and test scores to go immediately to a four year college, have no fear! Community colleges are there for you! Besides offering a great education at a great price, there are many of the extra-curricular activites that you may think can only be found at a four year university.
You can get a great education and have a great time at a community college! And they are there for everyone! But like all schools, to do well, you have to be ready to work! You ready?
Here's some webpages that talk about junior colleges that excel in a sport or sports:
Copyright 2009-2010© by mrcarpenters.com. All rights reserved. | 
Mainland Junior Colleges