How to make community colleges work for you

Thinking of starting out at a community college? You’ve come to the right place!

Students attend community colleges for a number of reasons: affordable cost; distance from home; they want to improve their grades before applying to a four-year college; they’re unsure of their career path and want to get a feel for it by starting off at a smaller college; or maybe they want to get their general requirements out of the way before transferring somewhere else.

One of the main reasons why students choose to start off at a community college is the cost. Alison Hayes, college relations officer at Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC), says, “A student should choose a community college over a four-year college particularly if the student is interested in a lower cost for the education.”

The average cost of a community college is significantly lower than the average cost of a four-year school. FLCC, for example, charges approximately $1,465 per semester for tuition, plus fees for lab, parking and health services. That’s compared to the average $8,655 it costs for tuition, room and board at a four-year state school, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Hayes says the education you’ll receive at a two-year college is comparable to the education you’d receive during your first two years at a four-year college. That means that you won’t be missing out on any educational quality. Which means that studying is just as important at a two-year school than it is at a four-year college. You can’t go through two years of college without doing your work and expect to pull off a decent GPA.

Some community colleges offer dual-credit programs that allow you to earn transferable college credit while you’re still in high school. Those classes can count toward high school graduation and for college credit. The costs for these classes are the same as you would be paying if you were taking them at college.

FLCC charges about $36 per credit hour, which means a traditional three-credit hour course will cost around $108. The credits would show up on a community college transcript, stating that you took the course there. This is a major help because you can work for some of those college requirements while still in high school, so it’ll take less time to get your degree! And you don’t have to go to that community college after high school. Those credits can transfer to a four-year school or another community college.

A community college typically only offers an associate’s degree. If you transfer to a four-year school for a bachelor’s degree, you’ll have two degrees after four years.

If you decide that you want to earn a bachelor’s degree, you’ll have to plan to transfer from your community college. Many community colleges offer partnerships with local four-year colleges that allow you to apply to a community college and a four-year school at the same time. Once you’ve successfully completed the community college’s requirements, you’re guaranteed admission to that specific four-year school. If you’ve planned carefully, your credits should transfer without a problem. You’ll already have a plan for where you’re going next!

If you don’t take advantage of these partnership programs, you’ll have to start applying to colleges again in your third or fourth semester. These colleges will look closely at your overall GPA, your course load and extracurricular activities to determine their admission decision.

Don’t want to go on for a bachelor’s degree? A two-year associate’s degree could be all you need. Tom Proietti, a professor of communication at Monroe Community College in Rochester, N.Y., says, “An associate’s degree is highly valuable in many fields. This is especially true in nursing, dental hygiene, auto tech, machining, criminal justice and even the media.”

Some community colleges offer credit-granting extracurricular activities. At MCC, you can join the student newspaper or radio station and receive credits. The activity advisors assign you a grade based on how much effort you put forth, and the grade is factored into your GPA.

“Students who participate in activities such as the college newspaper, radio station, internships, international courses, athletics, etc., not only do better in life, they also do better in school,” Proietti says. Just make sure you stay focused on the reason why you’re in college in the first place—your classes.

When it comes down to making your final college choice, you should consider all that a community college has to offer. Good luck!

Article provided by