Expert: Susie Watts - 12/14/2008

Question
QUESTION: hello,
im a 22-year old girl from sweden who really want to study in the us.
its so hard to find any information about how good the colleges really are, when all i can do is search for the info online from over here in sweden. i would like to know if there are any good community colleges (or other colleges in the same price range) in the boston area.
after the first 2 years i wanna transfer to a good univerity to get my bachelor.
if there arent any good ones in this particular area, do you have any other suggestions in other areas?
an answer from you would be very very helpful for me.
thanks a lot!!

ANSWER: Bunker Hill Community College and Roxbury Community College are two right in the Boston area.  Many students take their core classes at a community college because it is often less expensive.  Then they transfer to a four year university.  One thing you should do is check the tuition for international students.  Sometimes it is pretty expensive, especially when you need to consider housing which most community colleges don't offer.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks a lot for the reply.
i've been looking into Bunker Hill, and i've heard/read some bad things about it. im trying to figure out if thats true, or if its just the "usual" stuff people tend to say about community colleges. (that theyre not as good etc.) i know a community college never will be a super good school, but still. i think it might be worth it for me to go there the first two years, or basically i have to.
i spent a year in boston and i know roxbury isnt the best neighbourhood, i dont know how much that affects the quality of the school.
do you know anything about the reputation of these schools? which one is the better one? or should i just go look for some other community colleges in other cities that might be better?
thank you so much for your help!

Answer
I would suggest you email Boston University and tell them you are interested in a community college in Boston with the intention of transfering after two years.  Ask them their opinion of the community colleges in the area.  I work mostly with four year schools, but I'm sure they will give you an honest answer.  If you have lived in Boston and liked it, it probably is a good place to start.