Since I run a test prep company, I am constantly bombarded with questions from parents, friends, colleagues and clients. One of the most interesting inquiries I get is whether community college is a good option for students. Like most things in life, the answer is not so simple. Let's take a look at the five factors to consider when deciding whether to go to community college.201108-w-college-campus-rice
Cost
One of the best reasons to go to a community college is the cost. Even if we only look at public schools, tuition at a UC school is over $13,000 per year, and at Cal State schools, it's over $5,000 per year. At community colleges, it's only about $1,000 per year. This is obviously a very big difference for students who come from lower income families. When you take in to account the high interest rates on student loans, the difference becomes even more extreme. If a student were to go to a UC school for the first two years of college, when including interest and fees on the loan, they would spend an additional $33,143 compared to if they went to a community college. If a student went to a Cal State, they would spend approximately $13,809 more. These are not amounts to scoff over.
Convenience
Another important factor to consider is convenience. There are 112 community colleges in California versus only 23 Cal States and 10 UC schools. The abundance of local community colleges allows many students to save on living expenses by not moving out of their parents' home. Further, many 17 or 18 year-old high school graduates do not yet feel comfortable leaving home and would like to have a smoother transition from high school to college. Allowing students the option to stay home, save money, and get used to the transition can make a big difference.
The College Experience
A lot of parents and students reflect on college not simply from an academic perspective, but also from an €experience€ perspective. Living in dorms, being a part of the Greek System, enjoying major sports on campus, and so on are all important parts of that experience. Unfortunately, at most community colleges, these things simply do not exist. A community college is much closer to high school than it is to a traditional university in terms of its social make-up.
Graduating
With the downturn in the economy came major cuts to all public colleges. Unfortunately, a lot of that money has never come back. Practically speaking, that means that many students have a difficult time getting the classes they need. This can sometimes lead to extended graduation dates. Whereas students used to count on finishing community college within two years, nowadays they often need to stay for three years. Although those problems exist at the university level as well, it is less substantial at the Cal States and still less at UC schools. Plus, since students are already in a university environment, they can pick up a minor or a second major as they wait for the classes they need.
Transferring
The next factor for consideration is one that is often misunderstood. To use a popular example, many people find it daunting to get accepted to a school like UCLA straight out of high school. The acceptance rate hovers at only about 20%! Over the years, somehow many families have come under the impression that a way around this difficulty is simply to go to a community college and transfer. However, there are two major issues with this. First, the acceptance rate for transfers is only 26% - still a low number. Second, you apply to university in November of your second year at community college. That means that you are applying when you only have two semesters of work completed. Most students take three or four classes per semester, which means they will apply having taken only seven or eight total classes. This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on a student to perform at a high level. What if one of those classes is particularly hard and you get a D? With only six other classes on your transcript, you very well may have eliminated yourself from contention if you hope to transfer to a top school.
Major
Finally there is the issue of major. About 80% of students change their major at least once in college and, on average, they change a full THREE times! Like we discussed above, students apply to transfer in the very beginning of their second year of college when they have only taken seven or eight courses. Oftentimes, students still do not feel confident that they know what they want to study. Unfortunately, unlike when applying as a freshman, students are forced to make a long term commitment to a particular major when applying as a transfer. Most majors (and basically all standard and popular ones) are considered €impacted.€ That means if a student is enrolled in university after transferring, they cannot change to any of these majors. So if you choose Sociology as your major in November of your second year and in the third year you decide you really want to study Accounting, you simply cannot change majors. You would need to finish your degree in Sociology and then go back and take additional classes in Accounting after graduation. This is a major problem for many students.
As you can see, the question of whether a student should go to community college is not such a simple one. There are many factors to consider and everyone should view it as a very personal decision.
Cost
One of the best reasons to go to a community college is the cost. Even if we only look at public schools, tuition at a UC school is over $13,000 per year, and at Cal State schools, it's over $5,000 per year. At community colleges, it's only about $1,000 per year. This is obviously a very big difference for students who come from lower income families. When you take in to account the high interest rates on student loans, the difference becomes even more extreme. If a student were to go to a UC school for the first two years of college, when including interest and fees on the loan, they would spend an additional $33,143 compared to if they went to a community college. If a student went to a Cal State, they would spend approximately $13,809 more. These are not amounts to scoff over.
Convenience
Another important factor to consider is convenience. There are 112 community colleges in California versus only 23 Cal States and 10 UC schools. The abundance of local community colleges allows many students to save on living expenses by not moving out of their parents' home. Further, many 17 or 18 year-old high school graduates do not yet feel comfortable leaving home and would like to have a smoother transition from high school to college. Allowing students the option to stay home, save money, and get used to the transition can make a big difference.
The College Experience
A lot of parents and students reflect on college not simply from an academic perspective, but also from an €experience€ perspective. Living in dorms, being a part of the Greek System, enjoying major sports on campus, and so on are all important parts of that experience. Unfortunately, at most community colleges, these things simply do not exist. A community college is much closer to high school than it is to a traditional university in terms of its social make-up.
Graduating
With the downturn in the economy came major cuts to all public colleges. Unfortunately, a lot of that money has never come back. Practically speaking, that means that many students have a difficult time getting the classes they need. This can sometimes lead to extended graduation dates. Whereas students used to count on finishing community college within two years, nowadays they often need to stay for three years. Although those problems exist at the university level as well, it is less substantial at the Cal States and still less at UC schools. Plus, since students are already in a university environment, they can pick up a minor or a second major as they wait for the classes they need.
Transferring
The next factor for consideration is one that is often misunderstood. To use a popular example, many people find it daunting to get accepted to a school like UCLA straight out of high school. The acceptance rate hovers at only about 20%! Over the years, somehow many families have come under the impression that a way around this difficulty is simply to go to a community college and transfer. However, there are two major issues with this. First, the acceptance rate for transfers is only 26% - still a low number. Second, you apply to university in November of your second year at community college. That means that you are applying when you only have two semesters of work completed. Most students take three or four classes per semester, which means they will apply having taken only seven or eight total classes. This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on a student to perform at a high level. What if one of those classes is particularly hard and you get a D? With only six other classes on your transcript, you very well may have eliminated yourself from contention if you hope to transfer to a top school.
Major
Finally there is the issue of major. About 80% of students change their major at least once in college and, on average, they change a full THREE times! Like we discussed above, students apply to transfer in the very beginning of their second year of college when they have only taken seven or eight courses. Oftentimes, students still do not feel confident that they know what they want to study. Unfortunately, unlike when applying as a freshman, students are forced to make a long term commitment to a particular major when applying as a transfer. Most majors (and basically all standard and popular ones) are considered €impacted.€ That means if a student is enrolled in university after transferring, they cannot change to any of these majors. So if you choose Sociology as your major in November of your second year and in the third year you decide you really want to study Accounting, you simply cannot change majors. You would need to finish your degree in Sociology and then go back and take additional classes in Accounting after graduation. This is a major problem for many students.
As you can see, the question of whether a student should go to community college is not such a simple one. There are many factors to consider and everyone should view it as a very personal decision.
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