It’s a common assumption that enrolling in a university program rather than a local community college program is the superior choice for several reasons:
- Intensive curriculum
- Higher accreditation
- Advanced career opportunities
- Access to more extracurricular activities and amenities
All of these are legitimate points. However, there’s a lot to be said for attending a local or online community college if you’re unsure about going to a big university. The dropout rate for college is up to 40%, which shows that investing in a four-year school is not always the best decision for everyone. Some students thrive at community college, where they develop close relationships with professors and receive access to the tools they need to become professionals.
Here are several key benefits of attending community college that you should consider.
1. Community Colleges Cost Less than a 4-Year College
A bachelor’s degree will typically set you back between $20,000 and $50,000, and, in some cases, more. This includes costs directly related to attending college and doesn’t include factors such as food or recreation. It also doesn’t account for the limited amount of time you can spend working to fund your studies on a full-time university course compared to attending a local or online community college.
One of the main benefits of community college is the fact that it is extremely affordable by comparison. If you choose to attend a local community college, tuition averages $3,340 per year. With the lower tuition costs, you’ll be able to avoid high amounts of student loan debt. This means that you may not have to take out a loan with harsh terms to fund your studies. This makes community college a far more viable option for many students.
2. Community Colleges Have Smaller Classes
The average class size at public U.S. universities is around 17.5 students per class. If you divide a 2-hour contact session by this number, it averages each student having just under 7 minutes of direct contact with the tutor. Every one of these attendees is paying a lot of money to be there and wants to get full value!
We appreciate that contact time is more nuanced than this basic math shows. However, the point stands that it’s difficult to get the most out of your education when 16 other people are vying for the tutor’s attention. In addition, much of the teaching at universities is conducted in large auditoriums with hundreds of students in attendance.
One of the major benefits of community college is that teaching tends to be far more intimate, with greater opportunities to ask questions. Online community colleges also typically have limits on class size for practical reasons.
3. Community Colleges Offer Lots of Flexibility
Earning college credits while working full-time can seem daunting. For adult learners who wish to earn transferrable credits as a pathway to a bachelor’s degree, community college’s main benefits are the greater availability of night classes and flexible learning.
Working while studying is a great way to progress as adult learners towards the career path you want. It’s still important to find a balance, and this is far easier when your contact hours and work hours don’t come into conflict.
4. Ease of Admission Process and Requirements
The process for applying to a local community college is far more straightforward than applying to a university. Rather than having to fret about your SAT or ACT results for years in advance and then apply to several institutions in the hope that one will let you in, most community colleges have a simple admission process.
One of the benefits of community college is that it can even ease the pathway to a bachelor’s degree in terms of the application process. The transferrable credits and accreditation you earn at community college are often considered instead of SAT or ACT results. This means that in addition to the time you’ve had to consider your career path and make a better decision for your higher education needs, you’ll have relevant transferrable credits to ease your pathway to a bachelor’s degree.
Additionally, if you have a less than stellar academic background and you’re unable to get into the college of your dreams because you don’t meet their GPA requirements, you should consider a community college to increase your chances. By first enrolling in a community college and proving you’re able to handle and excel at college-level studies, you’ll have a far better chance at being accepted into the school of your choice when you’re ready to make the transfer. While you’ll probably still need to submit your high school transcripts, you’ll be able to show your academic progress you’ve made since high school.
5. You Can Study from Home
The lure of campus life plays a big part in many students’ decisions to attend a university. This is less important for some adult learners. Still, even if you’re considering attending CC at a high school-leaving age, you should consider how attending a local community college and studying from home is a good idea. It enables you to:
- Minimize your cost of living if you live with your parents (college dorms are expensive)
- Maintain stable income by keeping a local job (such as table waiting)
- Avoid having to share a room with a stranger in your first year
- Focus fully on your studies
- Build up college credits in a stable environment before you make the big decision to attend university
It’s important to remember that you’ll be young for a long time. We’re constantly told otherwise, but discovering the benefits of community college for a couple of years and then making an informed choice on which bachelor’s degree would suit you doesn’t mean you’ll miss out on campus life.
6. Community Colleges Can Help You Choose a Specialization
The courses you’ll take at CC are more general than the type of learning you get from a bachelor’s degree. If you’re interested in a certain field but are unsure about which area you’d like to go into, this can be a helpful first step. You’ll have the opportunity to explore different career paths and majors that may not have been available at a four-year institution. This is especially true for fields that offer several bachelor’s degrees. For example, management can be subdivided into operations management, project management, administration, etc.
Becoming familiar with all a field offers before fully committing is advantageous for both adult learners and younger students. Undertaking general study first will also acquaint you with your subject, which may allow you to get more out of the intensive study of a bachelor’s degree.
7. You May Not Need a College Degree
Many well-paid professions don’t require a bachelor’s degree. And even more don’t require a master’s degree. Moving into senior positions may require further study, but you may not need to make such an investment to get a head-start in a career path that interests you and suits your skillset.
Research options in your career field that don’t require a bachelor’s degree. You may well find that there are well-paid jobs available that only require the kind of college credits you can obtain at your local CC. If you decide to progress further later, that’s always an option.
Besides this, millions of students find that they’ve invested a lot of time and money in ‘wasted degrees’ by attending university without a clear plan. Around 41% of recent graduates work in jobs that have no relevance to their studies. It’s possible that your university degree might not be as important as it is right now.
What are the Drawbacks of Attending Community College?
Lack of campus life
For younger people, the appeal of campus life is often a major draw of doing a bachelor’s degree. However, remember how high the dropout rate is: you can find friends and enjoy yourself anywhere!
Peer commitment
You may find fewer people with a deep interest in your subject at the community college level than you would find in a bachelor’s program. However, your professors are your best source of information and will be delighted to discuss subjects further with you.
Subject depth
There’s only so much depth and knowledge of a subject you’ll get with an Associate’s degree. However, it’s a great start and can create a pathway to a bachelor’s degree that could land you a more specialized role.
Conclusion: Benefits of Community College
If you are unsure whether a bachelor’s degree will get you where you want to be, remember that community colleges are viable alternatives. The education is more affordable and more accessible. Plus, attending community college gives you valuable time to decide what you want your future to look like. Search the top community colleges and get inspired by their offerings today.
