Trade school and then college?

Question

Currently I am a 16 year old sophomore, and like many, are wondering about their futures regarding college and such.  I am interested in Computers/Information Technology. My high school has a partnership with a trade school, Butler Tech (http://www.butlertech.org/programs/teen_ed_it_tech_prep.html) and I am wondering if it would be better to go to Butler Tech AND then college, as opposed to my high school now and then college.  I would still be getting the same degree either way, however Butler Tech I would obviously have more prior knowledge for my associates/bachelors.  Butler Tech has partnerships with many colleges in the area, some are just community colleges such as : Sinclair and Southern State Community.
The "actual" colleges are:Cincinnati State, Miami University,  University of Cincinnati, Wright State, University of Dayton, and Shawnee State. What I am concerned with is that future employers will not be likely to hire me because of community colleges or sub-par colleges...

Now what I am asking is, is if I stayed at my original high school and applied at colleges for a Computer Science major, or I went to Butler Tech and applied for a Computer Science major, which school would colleges want to accept more?  Logic tells me to believe that a student at Butler Tech would be more likely to be accepted (experience, etc), however many people I have talked to say that people that go to trade school "aren't the type of people that go to college".

I must mention that through Butler Tech, the school will pay for certain computer certifications as well (CompTIA, Microsoft, Cisco, etc)

I have pretty good grades, a 3.9 GPA.  So, which path should I take? Thanks!

Prof. Cochise · Accepted Answer

Only consider CS programs that are ABET-accredited. That includes [from your list] Miami, U of Cincinnati, and Wright State.

Here is the ABET search site: http://main.abet.org/aps/Accreditedprogramsearch.aspx

With your GPA, I encourage you to consider Computer Engineering as well. They offer ABET-accredited programs at: Miami, U of Cincinnati, U of Dayton, and Wright State.

Obtaining those certifications from Butler Tech is intriguing and definitely will help you with your career. 
If you came before my admissions committee that would be a definite enhancement.
The "people that go to trade school "aren't the type of people that go to college"" claim is total nonsense and you can safely ignore it.  
The only question is whether you want to spend the time, effort, and energy to go that route.

This is worth a college visit. Call the Computer Engineering department at the closest of the schools you listed [the ABET ones] and ask to visit in person with the Department Chair. Get his/her advice. Then make your decisions.

FWIW - U of Cincinnati has a superb Computer Engineering program

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Trade school and then college?

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