F-1 Visa and Junior/Community College

[titkhra]

I'm thinking about getting an F-1 visa to study in the US and I was looking for anyone with experience to lend their ear for a moment - I'm a few years removed from second level and hence pretty rusty on my academic basics. Coupling that with significantly lower costs and easier entry I was looking at the possibility of applying to a junior college, doing a two-year degree and gathering together about half the credits needed for a bachelor's degree. Now I know that your are limited in the universities that will honour your credits from a junior college but I'd likely want to stay 'local' and with enough information I'm sure I'd be able to find a junior college course and a university course that sync up well for me.

My questions - has anyone you know took this course of education and if so, what were their take-aways from it?

On a funding level I'm aware I'd need enough to cover at least one year's tuition and living expenses independently, but what tends to be the situation when it comes to on-campus work that's allowed under the F-1 visa? Are we talking about exclusively minimum wage jobs (whatever that happens to be in the given state) and how likely is it that you'd be able to get such a job in the first place?


On a related note, what are realistic wait times for an F-1 visa to be cleared and ready to go if your interview and funding are all a-ok?

Thanks for any and all help!