Which is better, a Community College or University? This is and important question when a high school graduate is looking to further there education and start a new chapter in their life. Although Universities and Community Colleges serve the same purpose, they both have their differences and similarities. Some of the differences are coast, admission requirements, size, and student life. A Community College is a two-year school where students can receive a certificate or an associates degree to either transfer to a four-year college or begin their career, were Universities offer bachelors, masters, a doctorate degrees. The benefits of a Community College outweigh those of a university for a student to start the possess of furthering …show more content…
However, this is wrong, community colleges give students the option to receive an associates degree or certificate at a lower coast than universities. The tuition coast at a community college is much lower than at a university, after receiving an associate’s degree from a two-year college, students can than transfer to a four-year college to work towards a bachelor’s degree. The coast of receiving an associate’s degree at a Community College is a major perk for choosing the two-year college route. Richard Fonte the author of “The Community College Alternative” states that the price of higher education provided by four-year universities and colleges has increased to a point that the benefit or lifelong economic return is not worth the coast of attending college. He argues that a great way to avoid this problem is to start your college experience at a cheap and more realistic school, Community College. Fonte himself …show more content…
Well those four years go by a lot faster than one can imagine and many of students do not prepare nor get their GPA to a level that is accepted by universalities. Most community colleges are open enrollment, which means that any high school graduate or GED holder is eligible to attend them. Students looking to attend a two-year college may have to take a placement test. This test does not determine if a person is eligible to attend the college or not, but determines if the individual may need additional developmental courses pier to attending college-level courses (Why Community College, 2014). The Admission requirements for four-year colleges vary, however universities are not open enrollment. There are many of factors that are reviewed when enrolling into a University, such as a high school GPA, ACT scores, and SAT scores. The ACT is a multiple-choice test that consists of English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science. This test is designed to measure a student’s achievements related to high school curricula (Description of the ACT, 2014). The purpose of the SAT is to test a persons reading, writing, and math skills to show colleges what a student knows and how well they can apply there knowledge (About The Test). The enrollment process at a
Universities can be expensive, especially if the school is out of state of current residency. Attending a community college to save up money is a smart option for students. Being able to c...
One major decision one must make after exiting high school is whether to go to a university or go to community college. In the article “Two Year Are Better Than Four,” written by Liz Addison. She expressed her opinion on the significance of community colleges in comparison with the university. She stated that community college do not receive the acknowledgment and appreciation that they deserve. “what’s the matter with colleges?,” (Addison 255). although, there is a lot to agree with within the article there are some faulty statements that two year colleges don’t offer the best education possible and that community college are more engaging and individualized for a student and the price is also much less expensive than a university education.
“The Benefits Of Attending Community College: A Review Of The Evidence.” Community College Review 39.1 (2011): 46. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 30 Sept. 2016. This article’s primary focus is on the benefit of attending a community college for two years. The information presented in this article supports that a college degree affects much more than we might think. People with only a high school degree have changes in health, criminal activity, well-being, and welfare reliance. These benefits are just as important as economic earning gains. These findings make the concept of college even more appealing to one’s
Community college is the next step for higher education. Sara E. Keene explains the path she took to achieve the american dream in Keene’s article “Higher education and ‘The American Dream,’”. Keene quickly becomes disappointed with community colleges because instead of helping break down down social classes, ethnicity, and other social barriers and opportunities they are encouraging them. Keene wants all students to be equally challenged to reach their full potential. Just like her professors Ted Hamilton and Paula Clarke challenged her to reach their full potential. Keene believes that remedial courses do not help challenge students to become successful. I agree that all students should
Attendance at a technical college or local 2-year school was deplorably referenced to as “loser’s territory” and if you dared to enroll in one anyway and followed through to graduation, well you were congratulated but to a lackluster fanfare. Some community college graduates still receive this reception upon exit of a community college but attitudes are definitely changing. Today more than ever, degree-seeking individuals are paving the path to their careers through the entrance and exit doors of community colleges. These well-informed leaders of the new school have realized a smarter way to education; that a bachelor’s degree or taking a traditional route to obtain one is not necessarily the best or right way to be a successful and employable member of society.
Going to college and getting a degree is a very important factor in succeeding in the 21st century competitive world. Nonetheless, many people do not go to college because of how expensive col-lege has become and the fear of being in debt. Sometimes college does not work out for every-one. President Barack Obama has proposed a plan to make the first two years of community col-lege free to encourage people to go to college, get a degree, and make the United States the most educated country or at least catch up to the rest of the countries like Russia and Canada. Howev-er, Obama 's action of reducing the costs of community college will not significantly increase the number of students who will graduate with degrees. Instead of making college
In the article “Two Years Are Better Than Four,” Liz Addison argues against another article that implies that college isn’t important to students anymore. Addison feeds off of her own community college experience as the base of her argument. Addison believes that community colleges give people an unconditional chance to succeed. Addison implies that community colleges allow students to gain initial confidence in college criteria at an affordable price. She argues that more emphasis should be put on the importance of community colleges in America as they cover the country community by community (Addison). Community college students, according to Addison, then end up seeking further
Although they are both a lot alike, there are many differentials of the two. Universities are known for having large campuses; consequently, resulting in large number of students in each class. While Universities can range from having 20-1000 participants at a time, community colleges usually have no more than 50 participants in a class. As a result of such a large class size, it is harder for a professor to be able to develop the one-on-one time with a student. Due to most co...
College is incredibly expensive for students who are paying out of pocket and for students taking out loans. Financial stability has gradually become an issue with college students and families; General Education classes have taken up a great role. Taking General Education courses means that students will be spending far more money than necessary. According to finAid.org, students would be saving a lot more money by completing General Education Requirements at a community college. In other words, General Education courses amount to higher tuition. Higher tuition will then become loans, which will soon become college dept. Also mentioned on FniAid.org,
With tuition rising every year, students face the challenge paying the debt achieving a college degree comes with. “Student debt surpassed credit-card debt in June 2010 for the first time in history, rising to about $830 billion — or nearly 6 percent of the nation 's annual economic output”(Clemmitt, Marcia). Not everyone has a ton of money just laying around. Being that financial trouble is the biggest problem for students, they begin to question whether college is worth it or not. In recent years, students have taken out loans to help with expenses. Most students choose to attend a community and junior college to help minimize the debt. Even after graduating with a degree, students still face the struggle of finding a job in this economic time. For higher class families this may not be a problem to them. But for the middle class and low income families, they face tougher times being that they don 't have the financial help like higher class families do. For the middle class and low income families, it makes more sense attending a community and junior college rather than a four year university.
Society puts too much pressure on high school students to attend a 4-year college right after graduation. Though this is an attainable goal for some, a great majority of students are not fully prepared for the demands of college. 4-year schools require an incredible amount of maturity and preparation, leaving very little room for mistakes. Schools often overlook this aspect because their main goal is to get as many students into 4-year college as possible. This is a great goal to have however they send students off to college who aren’t ready to be handle the difficult of their courses while being away from home. My senior year of high school, my family and I came to the conclusion that we were not going to be able to afford four-year college tuition. This upset me at first because I felt like all my hard work and good grades went to waste. I dreaded the thought of going to community college because my who...
In comparison to a 4-year university a 2-year community college is much more affordable option. Even if a student ultimately transfers to a university, those first two years at a community college can still save a student ten-of-thousands, and some cases hundreds-of-thousands, of dollars, “In 2011-2012, after accounting for grant aid from all sources, net tuition and fees… at public two-year public colleges was effectively zero for students from the two lowest income quartiles.”(Jenkins). Along with saving students money overall, community colleges allow students to work while going to school, so it gives students the pros of both not going to college, and going to college. The one downside of community college is the lack of degree options, but there is still a large selection of degrees that can be acquired at community college, just not as many as a 4-year university. When comparing all three of these options, the community college option seems like the only option where the pros heavily outweigh the cons while with the other options, the cons can easily overpower the
What do people think when the words community college get brought up? How about, two-year college, more likely to drop out, or even a way for uninspired students to say they have a plan. When I think of community college, I think about how I get to stay close to home, I get to attend for free, anyone is welcome, and I am still getting an good education. Community college is underappreciated, many people believe that students will not get the college experience if they attend a community college, but I disagree. There are countless benefits to attending a two-year college. In the story, "Two Years Are Better than Four," the author and Southern Maine Community College graduate wrote an essay about the importance of community college and explains that college does still matter and she also expresses the benefits. Community college is a blessing in disguise, people need to understand and begin to take advantage of its benefits.
Rather than writing a generic article about the value of community college in terms of cost, Liz Addison writes
There are many demands placed upon high school students. For example, high school students are obligated, or rather forced by law to attend school until the age of eighteen and they are required to do and turn in their homework. Even if you fail a class, students are required to take that class over until they pass; students have no choice, they must do the work or go to summer school. They are required to be a full time student, which means they have to take the necessary classes each semester, which usually consists of six to eight classes. However, there are few demands in college. The number one demand in college is that a student must pay their tuition on time. College students possess the right to decide if they want to show up for class or not. They can fail a class and not make it up and they do not have to turn in their homework if they do not feel like it. There is no law stating that a college student must attend class, be a full time student, turn in homework and pass each class. To a college student, the demand of attaining a higher education or graduating is completely up to that person.