In the past, community college has been seen as a back-up plan for students who couldn’t get into a four-year university, giving it a bad reputation. However, with budget cuts to education and rising tuition fees, community college is now the economical way to start your college education. Retweet, email, facebook, and share this with everyone you know who is graduating from high school or has a kid who is graduating from high school and is looking for an affordable way to start their college education.
In part one of this series, I discussed the rising cost of a college education. Recall:
“With new fee hikes approved by UC regents, UC students will face fee increases of 32% over the next couple years. Currently, tuition fees for California residents attending UC schools are close to $10,000.00 per year.”
This reality was highlighted last week by protests across California, made up of teachers and students not only in college but also in grades k-12. Many teachers and students (myself included) walked out of their classrooms to protest budget cuts. Everyone throughout the state is feeling the pain of budget cuts to education.
For college students, the budget cuts mean higher tuition fees. This has sparked a debate as to whether or not a college education is actually worth the insane amount of money it now costs. To me, this is a logical debate to have, as rising tuition fees will increase the amount of debt many students will face after graduation. More debt means a harder time getting your feet under you and being financially successful after graduation.
My take on the college is this: if you plan right, a college degree is well worth its price. While tuition fees cannot be avoided, a big part of doing college right involves doing whatever you can to cut back on tuition fees.
This is where community college comes in. Most high school students scoff at the idea of spending two years at a community college instead of going straight to a four-year university. However, this is by far one of the smartest, most economical choices any future college student can make.
What is community college? It is where students can complete their general education requirements that ALL colleges mandate students complete before graduation then transfer to a four year university to complete the requirements for their chosen major. Some community colleges have Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) agreements with four-year universities so if you complete the requirements to get into the major you hope to pursue with a pre-determined GPA, you get an automatic acceptance to that college.
Let’s take a look at the financial picture. Each year, community college students spend at least 50% LESS on tuition than students at four-year universities. With such substantial savings on tuition alone, it seems completely idiotic to go straight to a four year to take the same courses you would take at a community college. If you knew that Best Buy was offering a TV at half the price as Circuit City, wouldn’t you buy the TV from Best Buy? This same logic should apply to college courses as well.
Another financial perk to community college? You can find one close to home so you don’t have to pay for rent or food. You can still live at home and eat home cooked meals on a nightly basis. Two years of free food and free rent is something NO student should pass up.
An additional, non-financial perk is that community college gives students time to become more mature, learn to manage their independence, and figure out what they want to do with their lives. We have all heard of freshmen going crazy at college and focusing on partying and their new found independence instead their studies. This ends up being a HUGE waste of money as many students end up failing a class and having to retake it. Community college is a fantastic stepping stone for kids to prepare for the independence attending a four year university bestows upon them as well as allow them to gain insight into what they want to do with their life and what major they should pursue. Let’s face it, most 18 year-olds have no idea what they want to do with their life after they graduate high school and even if they think they know, chances are they will change their mind about 100 times before their college career ends. Because of this, Harvard even encourages their admitted students to defer acceptance for a year to travel or pursue their interests. Instead of taking a year off from school, utilizing community college gives kids an extra couple years to figure out what they hope to do with their lives while continuing their education.
One thing to keep in mind: when enrolling at a community college, be sure to choose a school that has a good reputation for sending its students to prestigious four-year universities after they have completed their general education requirements. Find a school with TAG agreements so that while you are finishing your general education requirements, you can rest easy knowing that your college career will continue at a fantastic four-year university.
When done right and planned for, the cost of a college education is well worth the value. Avoid the rising tuition fees at four-year universities for as long as you can by utilizing the cheaper alternative of community college for a couple years.
