Attending a community college after high school presents many advantages to a student who is eager to acquire skills and further their education but who just might not be ready for a big 4-year university, for whatever reason.
One of the biggest advantages of a community college is that they usually have open admission. That means that you don’t have to apply and wait to see if you’re admitted like you do at a traditional 4-year college or university. However, open admission does not guarantee that you’ll be admitted to the program within the community college that you want or that there won’t be remediation in areas you prove to be weak in.
Another upside of community colleges is proximity. They are so named because they tend to be more numerous and located in the community in which they serve. In Florida, where I live, for example there are 28 traditional community colleges compared to 12 state universities. Thus, students typically attend the community college closest to where they live rather than “going away to college” like one might at a university.
That is not to say, though, that there isn’t a growing trend of high school graduates who choose to leave home to attend a community college in another town. This is most typical of community colleges that are located in the same town as a major university. These universities often have close relationships with their “feeder” community college and might do a better job of aligning programs with each other than a community college outside of the area of the university. Sometimes, community colleges and universities might even share some on-campus housing, athletic facilities, and community college students might even be able to participate in things like the university’s fraternities and sororities. These types of policies can vary greatly from school to school so it’s important to do your homework.
Another big difference, and advantage, of a community college over a university is cost. Tuition at a university can be more than double the cost of that a community college. The opportunity to live at home can also present savings that can make college much more affordable to families. Students are given the same opportunity for financial aid at a community college than they are at a university and scholarships are offered as well.
Beyond the financial savings, living at home while attending a community college can help to ease the transition between high school and college. Students are able to adjust to college life while still under their parents’ watch. The flexible class scheduling community colleges usually have means students can work, sometimes full time, while they move through college and perhaps at the same job they’ve held for a number of years through high school. This continuity might not be a bad thing.
Next month, I’ll take a look at the various programs and options available to a community college students including the transition from community college to university.
