$49K debt for daughters education...

[dfrecore]

I'm a big believer in community college as a way to keep costs down (assuming that they ARE affordable in your area). Most of them offer online options, if that's desired. It's a lot cheaper to change your major when you are concentrating mostly on Gen Eds the first two years. Also, your classes are taught by the Profs instead of a tag team of grad students.

The one daughter did two years at CC (spread out over more than two), then went on to Berkeley, a school she would not have likely gotten into out of high school. CC saved us a pretty penny or five.

Depending on the state system, community college doesn't help at all. I graduated with honors with an AAS from a state community college and transferred to a state university. I was guaranteed acceptance into the university because of my AAS. I was not guaranteed admission into my major though. I also wasn't transferred as a junior. I was transferred as a second semester freshman. I had to repeat most of my business courses. I ended up leaving after 1 semester. It wasn't worth it. I had 60 credits. Made Dean's List. Graduated with honors. And I was still still only a freshman! I was going to transfer to a local private school who made me a junior and didn't make me repeat all of my business courses, but it was too expensive. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

In CA, they are better.  If you go through the process correctly, not only are you guaranteed acceptance into certain universities in your major, you also get in as a junior with only major and UL courses to complete.  There are agreements between all of the 113 CC's, the 23 CSU's, and 9 UC's.

It must be an AA/AS, in your major, from the CC, and then you have to be "certified" that you completed everything correctly (easy to do as there are lists and the rules are printed on your forms as to what will work to fulfill which requirements).  It's just about the only thing CA does right.

The one thing you can't do - get an AAS and then have that work.  It won't. Although courses may transfer individually, as long as you take them from the approved list.