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" &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m not sure what college I want to go to, and I&amp;#039;m considering going to community college first, and transferring when I know what I want to do. Is this smart?&amp;quot; Linda, 15, Berlin, MD It&amp;#039;s totally normal not to know where you want to go to college at 15! You still have a lot of time to research schools and visit campuses. But deciding to go to community college is a big decision that you should think through carefully because it&amp;#039;s not the best choice for every student. These are some major things to consider before your senior year:  Grades: What kind of grades are you getting and what classes are you taking \u2014 regular, honors, college prep? If you have decent grades and you&amp;#039;re meeting the requirements to get into a four-year college, then applying while you&amp;#039;re still in high school may give you the most options once you graduate. If you slacked off in high school, then community college may be the place to study harder and pull up your grades to transfer into a four-year. Finances: College is actually more affordable than you probably realize. There are a ton of scholarships out there, and private colleges often are handing out the most money to attract students. So, if finances are a factor, don&amp;#039;t just assume you won&amp;#039;t be able to afford a four-year college without doing some research and applying for financial aid first. You can always apply to schools, and then if the finances don&amp;#039;t pan out, enroll in community college at the end of senior year after you&amp;#039;ve received all your acceptance letters. Your future: Transferring to a four-year university may seem far-off, but it&amp;#039;s important to think about how your choices now will affect your opportunities later. Sometimes students start off community college with hopes of transferring, but they find it hard to stay motivated because the classes aren&amp;#039;t as challenging as high school or there isn&amp;#039;t as much of a campus social scene. Of course, that&amp;#039;s not always the case, but keep in mind that you&amp;#039;ll need to be self-motivated to keep up your grades and stick with your goal of transferring to a four-year, especially since other students may not have those same aspirations. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/life/school/advice/a27516/community-college-cqa-080108/>