I think there’s one other aspect that should be looked at. The “name brand” of schools can actually translate into a lot of value in the real world. Community colleges tend to not wow anyone. That said, I think that a really good story about how and why you ended up at a community college can mitigate those negative connotations about comm colleges.

Keep up the great work!
-James

[…] Trying to decide whether to attend a community college or a university right out of high school is a question worthy of pondering. Ive attended both (university, then CC, then university) and each has its pros and cons.Class SizeCommunity Colleges tend toward fewer students per class, which means more student/teacher interaction. This is […]Read More… [Source: Educated Nation | Higher Education Blog] […]

I think it is very important to discuss the pros and cons of community colleges vs. Universities. However, I don’t know if they are accurately represented in this blog post. I think each community college is different, and some are better than other. I attended a community college for 2 years before transferring to a university, where I currently attend. So, as you can see, I am experienced in both areas. I had an awesome experience at a community college, and would like to clear up some of the information.

Campus Housing

At every community college I have visited, there has been very affordable student housing (dorms). And at the school I went to, 95% of the housing (dorms or off-campus) were within 500 feet of the perimeter of campus.

Architecture

Many community colleges have as beautiful of campuses and unique history as universities do. If you don’t believe me, do some research and look at the pictures online.

Transition Issues

I think that going to a community college first (and still moving out of your parents house) is the best idea in the world! At a community college, the class sizes are smaller and more similar to a high school-sized class, the campus is made up of only Freshman and Sophomores that you can relate to a little easier, and community college’s are soooo much cheaper! And for kids that didn’t have the best GPA in high school or didn’t get drafted to play college sports out of high school, they can start at a community college and then move up from there. All around, I think starting with a community college is the BEST plan.

College Life

I guess this all depends on what community college you go to. But, in my experience, there was a huge campus life! There were the usual sports(football, mens and womens basketball, volleyball, tennis, etc.), clubs, and the school hosted all kinds of dances, parties and other fun events.

And the greatest part about the college life was that you get to know practically everyone on campus, so you always know about what’s going on and there’s always something fun to do.

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thank you for your list. i found it rather helpful. i graduated from high school just about 2 years ago, and worked until i knew what i wanted to do. bc i wasnt sure as to whether i was ready for college, i took community college. i very much liked my govt & math teacher. i can’t say much for my english or communications teacher.

Thanks for sharing this thoughtful list. Community college can be a great fit for many students, so I hope your list will help make some more open to the possibility.

Eva Holtz
http://www.college-admissions-secrets.com/

@everyone–I’m glad you’ve all enjoyed the list and have found it helpful!

what if you take ap classes and pass them in highschool? does it make a difference if you go to college or university?

Angie,

If you take AP classes in high school and pass them, then you’re probably a great student. In your comment you asked whether it mattered if you went to college or university. Did you mean a two-year college vs. a four-year college or university? Honestly, in the long run it doesn’t matter (career-wise) if you attend a two-year community college directly after high school, and then transfer to a four-year college or a four-year university in order to complete your degree, or if you go straight to a four-year institution after high school. Anyone looking to hire you will only care that you have a college degree, they won’t much care the route you took to acquire the degree.

All of which means that it’s up to you whether you spend two less-expensive (and oftentimes less-overwhelming) years at a community college prior to transferring to a four-year college/university, or whether you go right from high school to a four-year school.

I wasn’t entirely clear on what your question was, so please let me know if I haven’t answered it. Take care,

Alexa

What are the pro and cons of these New Colleges(Uei,everest,Plus thousands of others etc) popping up everwhere and TV offering degrees from Bachelor to Masters. Are they Creditable?

They use to be called technical schools, now they are called colleges. Are they really college? How did they become college. The reason I ask is my nices is going to one of these schools and she believes she will be getting a top education that is goint caltpult her into the “Criminal justice” career.

Can you transfer these credits to a major university?

I attented a technical school in late
60s and early 70s (informatin service, computer programing(RPG, COBOL, Fortran,IBM RPG ,Information Processing Language(IPL),JCL)

I hope somebody can answer this question.

i currently attend keiser university its a great school all the teacher are wonderful i have no complaint but my major is paramedic/fire fighter and keiser doesnt offer that program so i found out that City College does have that program at there school but i told a couple of my friend that was going to transfer and they stated that i shouldnt go tot hat school because its not an accreditted school so i just wanted to find out some more information before i totally committ to that school

@Marques J. and Davin Ross–

In answer to your questions, only accredited schools award actual degrees. In order to find out the accreditation status of a particular school, you can go to the U.S. Dept. of Education’s accreditation Web site and search for the school in question. If the school isn’t listed, then it isn’t accredited, and the degree won’t mean much. Here’s the address:

http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/

As far as the transferability of credits, it depends on the school you’re transferring from (it has to be an accredited institution), and the school you’re hoping to transfer into (they have the last say on which credits they’ll accept and how many they will accept). I have had to re-take chemistry and math courses, for example, because the UC system didn’t want to accept the credits I earned at a Cal State school. One would think that chemistry and math are fairly universal, and would therefore be transferable, but there you go. I was in no position to argue, so re-take the courses I did.

To find out which credits will transfer, you’ll have to speak with an admissions officer at the school you’re hoping to transfer into.

I understand that the deluge of “colleges” showing up on TV and promising career education can be overwhelming. A lot of the schools are the education version of ambulance-chasing lawyers. Fortunately, it’s easy to check the accreditation status, which is the first thing you should always research about any potential school (for you or your niece). Take care,

Alexa

Starting at a community college has no effect on the diploma received at the end of four years. The diploma will read, “The University of ??.” There is no statement on the diploma that indicates whether the student spent two or four years at the university. They all look the same.

I’m a freshman at a university right now but I really want to transfer to a better one. However, most universities give transfer preference to community college students. Would it be a good idea to spend my sophomore year at a community college instead of my current university so I could transfer to where I really want to go?

@Cheryl,

That’s such a catch-22 situation. Some four-year schools do give transfer preference to students coming in from community colleges. When I was an undergrad, I tried to transfer from a Cal State school to a UC school, and trying to switch from one California university system to another was fraught with ridiculous amount of red tape. I was told (by the UC school) to leave the Cal State school and spend a year at a community college working on my sophomore year general ed stuff, while working with the UC transfer advisor at the community college. I jumped through all of their hoops and did get in to the UC school. But it felt bizarre to have gotten into a good university right out of high school, and then to take half a step backwards and attend a community college (which I could have done in the first place right out of high school and saved myself and my parents a lot of time, energy and money). It all worked out in the end, and sometimes you just have no idea where you’re going to want to end up until you’re further on down the road.

My advice would be to ask any and all of the schools you’re planning on trying to transfer to what they would advise you to do. They’ll hopefully be up front about their transfer policies, and will let you know which route will give you the best chances of being accepted as a transfer student (through a two-year institution or through a four-year institution). And, as a red-tape veteran, I would strongly urge you to always get the same question answered by two different people, and have them sign something (even a little note stating what they’ve told you). I spent an entire semester taking courses that one woamn told me I absolutely HAD to take, only to be told later (by another advosor at the same school) that I’d wasted my time and money and I should have been taking an entirely different collection of classes. That was a really great day. Only by quelling my rage did I stop myself from knocking their cubicles over.

From then on I got things in writing by saying, “Could you please write a list of what I need to do and sign it please, in case anyone questions me later on down the line?” Having my little scraps of priceless, signed notes from people with nameplates turned out to be one of the better life skills I learned in college. Good luck!

Alexa