Having experienced a great community college education, I can tell you first hand about transferring from there to Ivy League & Tier One universities. The following tips include 5 ways that will help you get the most out of your 2 year community college education and the tuition you're paying for it. Plus, you'll see how to save big bucks on your bachelors degree.
Read on for my best 5 ways to make sure your community college education pays off. When you're done reading, don't forget to leave a comment about what you think below!
Have Passion for Your Major
You have probably heard this advice a thousand times: “Do what you love." You might think it's cliché and overused, but it is one of the best pieces of advice you will ever receive. The key to having a successful career is to have passion for what you do.
Too many students these days choose majors that they have no interest in because they think they will have a better chance of finding a job when they graduate. While their concerns are not unreasonable, it is important to understand that if you truly have passion for what you do, you will make it work and should have no trouble finding jobs and making money. Plus, you will be a lot happier.
Transfer To Ivy League
You might not believe it, but many students transfer from community college to Ivy League and other tier 1 universities every year. Transferring to Ivy League is the best value you can get for your money as your community college credits transfer from community college to a highly prestigious institution.
Before saying it's not for you, read about our community college transfer guide.
Do Internships
Internships are an excellent way for students to “get their feet wet” in the corporate world. Not only do internships provide valuable work experience to students, but they can also be used to obtain community college education credits, or even pay for your community college education. Some internships also simply give the student a salary instead, which is not too bad either!
They will also be very helpful when you set out to look for a job after graduation. There is a typical conundrum- before getting hired somewhere, you need work experience, but in order to gain work experience, you need to be hired somewhere. Fortunately, internships allow young professionals to gain this work experience through internships. After completing an internship, you'll be one step ahead when starting out.
Make Connections
You have probably heard the quote “It's not what you know, it's who you know.” There is some truth behind this and the people you know or have connections with could have a huge influence on your career. When applying for a job, referrals or recommendations can give a huge boost to your chances of getting hired, especially if the referral is coming from someone who is already an employee with the company.
So be sure to go to as many job fairs as possible and introduce yourself to the employers so they can get to know you and hopefully call you when they have a job opening.
Interact With Professors
As a student, it is important to get to know your community college professors at a personal level so you can stand out from all the other students in the class. Make sure you find time to talk to your professors during their office hours to get advice or assistance on the subject of the class.
The more you interact with your professor, the better you will get to know them and you will have a better chance at getting a letter of recommendation from the professor.
*Bonus* - Have Entrepreneurial Spirit
There is one thing that separates the 99% of the people in society and the top 1%, and that's entrepreneurial spirit. Entrepreneurs are critical to the success of the American economy as they are the risk-takers who invest in and start up businesses and as a result, create hundreds of jobs. Without them, economic growth would come to a standstill.
When in community college, don't be afraid to contemplate business ideas and have big dreams. It is often said that if your dreams don't intimidate you, you're not dreaming big enough. So dream big, work hard, and be ready to take on whatever your community college education throws your way.
Ready to dream big and transfer to top universities? click here.
About The Author
This is a guest post was written by Alfred Johnson, a Journalism graduate and an expert on finance who has been writing for over 5 years. He can currently be seen writing about unsecured bad credit loans on his blog to help people learn more about borrowing loans and interest rates.
