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Comment by drawnwren | Hacker News Reader

This comment is completely unfounded imo. I did 2 years at community college before 2 years at Harvard. It's possible to transfer to "high-tier" university if you perform at CC.

Further, some states in the US have great CC -> 4 year programs. California comes to mind. Graduate from a Cal CC and you're guaranteed admission to UC. A lot of kids in the bay go to Berkeley to finish their 4 year.

The excellent instructor thing isn't a joke either. You really don't need a top PhD student to teach you Calc 1 + 2 (assuming you're doing a STEM track). It's really just about getting the reps in. You're going to be a bit weak on proofs + theory, but you'll be solid on the basics.

The bright classmates thing is a bit real, but you have to find your motivation anywhere.

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When in the world was that? Harvard doesnt take transfers (any more?). If you've been to college 20/30 years ago, well, the scene has changed a bit.

If you come from a low income household and get accepted to an Ivy+, odds are you'll get a full ride (my own case), so calling OP's post "completely unfounded" is completely unfounded.

https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply/transfer-applic...

They're super picky about who they take, but they do take a few transfer students each year.

Taking a handful of students is hardly the basis to go around on the internet recommending people apply to transfer to Harvard.

On the contrary, being 1 of a handful of transfer students despite coming from a CC is a pretty high recommendation for CCs

I had a friend who went from CC->Berkeley(BS)->Stanford(JD). If you are really looking for credentials, you can spend 5-6 years and get amazing credentials by starting off at CC (this guy completed a lot of CC credits during high school and the summer so he completed his JD in 6 years).

I know, for example, many employers aren't exclusively looking for Ivys or even higher-end universities either.

In reality, though, a Stanford grad can skip the L+1 promo process at many tech companies and get in on a higher pay-scale.

Also look at the Harvard Extension school. You can get a bachelor's degree from them. Same Harvard name. Different Harvard price. Very slightly different latin on the sheepskin.

Stanford does the same thing too.

I explicitly said it wouldn’t necessarily harm your career.

I just said that going this unconventional path was more than often strictly inferior (in the sense: if you were able to transfer to Harvard you would have had also good opportunities anyway) than going the mainstream way.

This is such an excellent point. In my 4 year degree, the younger less experienced profs were the best. The highest tenured profs with the most papers, funding, and citations sucked at teaching.

Very few people are going to be able to follow in your path, which is why looking at statistical outcomes is a much better way to analyze features of a choice.

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