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Add to FavoritesThere are many benefits for starting your college experience at a Community college. As one who started my college life at a Community college, I have a biased, but experienced, opinion. Here are what some would consider the most important benefits:
1. Expense A local Community college will always be less expensive than a University. In addition to the lower cost for tuition and fees, Community colleges are usually closer to home, eliminating the need for room and board and reducing transportation costs.
2. Easier Choices As a student first entering college, you may know exactly the field you want a career in. Or, you may have a few in mind. At a Community college, students can take some introductory classes in a variety of fields. The classes will not be wasted because they will go towards your general credits. For example, a class in Astronomy will count towards the number of credits of science needed, no matter what degree you decide to pursue.
Many students who attend a University jump right into courses that are specific to the degree they want to pursue only to find they are not as enchanted with that career choice the following year. Time and money were lost taking a class that will not qualify as a general credit. This is one of the reasons why so many students need 5 years to earn a degree.
3. Smaller Classes You will find fewer classes with stadium seating at a Community college. As a student, you will feel more like an individual and less like a number. You will know your teachers and they will be able to give you the attention you need to be successful in their classes.
4. Ability to Transfer Credits Advisors at Community colleges are aware that students may want to transfer class credits to local Universities. As long as they know that this is the intention, they will make suggestions for course selection knowing which credits will or will not transfer.
5. From Experience to Expertise Many Universities will accept a completed Associates degree (2-year degree) as a student's general credits. That means that years 3 and 4 can be devoted to taking classes specific to your degree. After having two years of college experience, students have a better chance at success in these classes and they are less likely to switch degrees.
In addition, this makes years 3 and 4 easier, in some respects. You will be immersed in a subject you enjoy. What is being taught in one class you will immediately be able to apply to another. You may even be able to do one project that can be used in more than one class, significantly cutting your work load.
6. Expense I know I included this as the first benefit, but I have to include it again because it is so important. It shows up in all of the other benefits. Your costs go down when you don't loose credits because you took a specific course that does not apply to your final degree choice. Your costs go down when every single credit you earn at a Community college counts at a University. You have almost cut your costs in half when you earn half of your degree at a Community college.
Of course, a University education has many benefits, but most of those benefits occur once student starts taking classes specific to a degree. Save your money and still reap that benefit by attending a University once all of the general credits have been earned and a decision on a career path is more definite.
Learn more about this author, Ashley Shea.
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Regular
WHICH IS A BETTER FIRST STEP INTO COLLEGE: COMMUNITY COLLEGE OR REGULAR
For the person who enjoys school and plans to complete a four year degree , attending a four year college from the start provides a more stable atmosphere and more opportunities by the end of the college experience than attending a community college and transferring to a traditional college after two years. Students at a traditional college live in an atmosphere where there is an expectation that they will complete a four year degree. They also experience stability and have the opportunity to develop relationships with professors and classmates that are much harder to forge when transferring in after completing two years of school and only working in the regular college environment for two years.
Community colleges fill an important place in the education system, but they focus on two year degrees, certificate programs and short term educational goals. That environment can negatively impact the drive of some students who get discouraged by friends who are completing their studies while they are faced with the challenge of transferring to a new school, learning a new environment and developing new relationships with professors and students. In a regular college setting these pressures do not exist and the same student might thrive rather than get discouraged by the transitions they face half way through their college career.
The stability that four year colleges offer not only reduces the stress from having to transition between schools, it allows the student more of an opportunity to develop their educational and social niche. Living the traditional college experience allows the student to grow and learn how to take care of themselves while all of their peers are experiencing the same thing. While this may turn into a sink or swim scenario for some people, most students survive and eventually thrive on their own because they live through it with friends who are facing the same challenges at the same time. This helps them forge friendships and take responsibility for their own actions. Many students who go to community colleges continue to live at home and are not faced with the challenge of growing up and taking care of themselves until they transfer out two years later. When they transfer into the new school most of their peers have already lived on their own for several years so the transfer student is behind the curve in learning how to take care of themselves and does not have the opportunity to share the experience with their peers.
From an educational standpoint, students who attend the same school for all four years are more likely to feel comfortable by their junior or senior year and take advantage of opportunities outside the classroom. In a science setting this can be particularly important, where the student can benefit from additional research and laboratory experiences. Students in a traditional setting are also more likely to forge relationships with professors when they have an additional two years in the system. When entering the work force or applying to graduate schools letters of recommendation and encouragement from professors are very important. Careers can be made or destroyed based on the strength of recommendations and guidance that students receive from their professors. While professors at community colleges are equally capable of filling this role, by the nature of the system they are not present for the final two years of the college education when students are in higher level courses and solidify their career paths.
For the student who plans to earn a four year degree, the educational and social advantages to attending a traditional college are important considerations when deciding whether to apply to community college or a traditional college.
Learn more about this author, Margaret Gaines.
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