With a looming economy, many parents are pushing their kids to enter community college right after high school. Community college before university is an excellent option for most students these days thanks to the great prices and proximity to home that they often provide. However, just because a quality 2 year college is nearby and affordable doesn't mean that you're necessarily ready for the college path. Here are a few signs that you might want to take a year off before going to community college and hitting the books in college.
Am I Ready For College? Maybe You're Not Ready If...
You just want to party. Just because you spent your last summer of freedom hitting the town with your friends every night doesn't mean you can't still go back to school in the fall. But if you're not committed to going to classes on campus or online and setting aside time for homework, you will not succeed. So, if you'd rather take off a semester or even a year to party and get it out of your system before you return to school, it's a lot better than wasting the money on community college tuition and books only to drop the ball.
You want to travel. Many students opt to utilize study abroad programs offered by their schools as a way to explore the world. But if you'd rather get the full experience by backpacking and staying in hostels with your friends, then now is the time to do it, before you commit to several more years of schooling at community college first then university. If your head is in Amsterdam, Prague, or Hong Kong you're going to have a hard time focusing on your studies, so hit the bricks and see the sights so you can get back in the game when you return home.
No money. This is a problem for many students; and considering that tuition costs are on the rise and student loans are harder than ever to get (and best avoided, in any case), perhaps this is a good opportunity to take a year off to work and save some money. In truth, nothing will motivate you to do well in community college more than having to work at a minimum wage job for a year to pay off your education.
No diploma. According to a report released last year by the U.S. Department of Education ('Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972-2009'), the national dropout rate for students enrolled in high school was 3.4% as of 2009. And while this number is only about half of what it was when the study began in 1972 (the dropout rate then was 6.1%), still there are a lot of students who fail to complete their high school education and earn a diploma. If you are one of them, you have seriously limited your potential for both jobs and a livable wage. However, it's not too late to turn over a new leaf. You can either return to school to earn your diploma or study to test for a GED. And with one of these documents in hand you'll be a step closer to community college and eventually, a degree program.
You detest schedules. Sorry to say, community colleges run on a schedule just like every other institution of learning. And while you definitely have more control over your schedule than you did in high school, you're still on the hook for showing up on time. If you just can't muster the energy to be punctual, then perhaps it's time to start looking into community college online classes like the busy executives who enroll in online MBA programs where you can "attend" any time you like. However, you might eventually find that adhering to a structured schedule is a lot easier than trying to motivate yourself to learn from home.
