Congratulations, you have made it past one of the biggest hurdles in order to successfully make it to college—you’ve graduated! Now that you are officially no longer a high schooler, it is time to carefully consider each of your options for your future education path. There are many different options and no particular one is necessarily the ‘correct’ choice, it’s just a matter of knowing what will work best for you.
Community college is a great alternative to a four-year university for a number of reasons. Here are a few to consider:
It’s a great way to save your TIME & MONEY. Besides the fact that the price of community college is much cheaper than a state school or private university, you will also be saving more than just your money. Often times students enter college with an idea of what they would like to study, then after taking a few general classes they realize that they are no longer interested in that particular subject due to any number of reasons—too difficult, not interesting enough, etc. By attending a community college you can take general education classes and save a considerable amount of money while you are deciding which major will work best for you. There are also many online resources such as mymajors.com that can help you find what major you will enjoy most, and show you the best schools that are offering it.
Easier Work Load. Community Colleges offer the same general education classes as any major university, however these classes are typically much easier than general education classes at say, Stanford or Yale. This gives students the opportunity to do extremely well in these introductory courses, which will be a huge GPA booster and can help you transfer to a better university. Also, community college is generally much smaller than state schools and private universities, therefore professors will have more time to spend with their students on a one-to-one basis. This is an awesome perk of attending community college because being able to connect with your professors can make all the difference in your grades.
Flexible Hours. If you are a person who is looking to get your degree, yet you also have a full-time job, community college is a great alternative to a four-year institution because it usually offers a wider range of class times. Due to the fact that the class size is much smaller, they are able to offer flexibility in their scheduling. This could be a great option for those who have a busy schedule outside of school.
Lots of Program Choices. When you attend a community college, you have a choice between going into a vocational program or an academic transfer program. Vocational programs are for those who would like to become a police officer or EMT for example, and community college is perfect to lead into those careers. There is also the option of an academic transfer program, which will prepare you to transfer to a university once the two years at community college are completed and you are ready to declare a degree.
Nothing is more important in college than being prepared, and that also includes when you are choosing which college to attend. Make sure to weigh your options ahead of time so you don’t become overwhelmed with any major decisions last minute. If you do in fact decide to attend a community college and would like to transfer to a university after all the general education courses are completed, make sure to meet with an advisor to ensure that all your classes will transfer to the university you would like to attend. Not all classes are transferable and you don’t want to waste your time and money on a class that will not count towards your higher education.
About the Author:
Trae Lewis is a recent graduate from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she majored in journalism. She is currently a staff writer for CollegeFocus and an active community blogger. You can find CollegeFocus on Facebook at www.fb.com/collegefocus.
