I too agree, although my personal experience was different and happened a long time ago.
I am currently going through this with my oldest. He got into a good school of his choice and started a program. In his case he decided he wanted to change his major. Well, considering how much thought he put into the first choice, even he thought that he would be better off at the local community college. It is very inexpensive, considered very good. He has plenty of AP credits, some from his four year college and with a couple of semesters will have an associates degree. The four year schools around here almost all tend to accept these students with open arms.
The school he originally went to was a very serious technical university. Compared to what I experienced, being near a large state school, it was positively sedate. It is hard, though, at that age to stay on course.
That's how it worked for me too. In the late 1960s I went to college at age 16, moved into the dorms, changed from science to a double major in Pot and Sandbox Politics, dropped out a few years later. Decades after, when I got serious about learning, community colleges and their awesome teachers welcomed me into some calculus & statistics courses that led to a math degree and a fascinating enjoyable new career.
Who says you have to live at home to go to a community college?
When I was 18, I moved away and went to a community college. I was about 90 miles from home, living off-campus (there was no on campus housing).
There was also great diversity there. I lived and went to school with Iranians during the hostage crisis in the late 70's. There were many other ethnic groups represented at the college at that time. I still stay in contact with some of the people I lived with and whent to school with, including the Iranians, who eventually married and stayed here.
Anyhow, just because you go to a community college doesn't mean you have to live with your parents. (although I would have if I could have - nothing like mom's cooking.)
Totally agree, Dave, that community shouldn't be seen as a Plan B. As far as diversity, I think that definitely depends on your area. I live 30+ miles north of Boston and any community college around here would not have the level of diversity I'd love my kids to experience in higher ed because they're not experiencing it now.
The price of four-year college education is certainly out of bounds for many families, who somehow shoulder through it and take on the massive debt. With more attention paid to the curriculum and programs offered by community college, particularly as part of the high school guidance program, many families and students could breath a sigh of relief and still be set on course to achieving their career goals.
I wholeheartedly agree with the premise of this article. I've known many engineers who started at community colleges, including one who is now a professor of mechanical engineering. It's a good way for engineering students to go, especially in this era of $40K-per-year tuitions (some of the big name schools are now over $50K). Although it's not widely spoken of, many of today's big engineering schools wash out between 50% and 70% of the students who start in engineering during the first two years (this is a figure from the former dean at the University of Texas). Students who aren't ready for the rigor of an undergrad engineering curriculum in a big school with calculus classes of 500 kids can be among those washouts. Community colleges give students a chance to acclimate in smaller classes. If they do well, the students can transfer into the big schools when they're ready and replace those who've left engineering. Many big engineering schools are now searching for kids to fill those spots in junior- and senior-level classes. In the end, employers just want to see the bachelor's degree; it doesn't matter if the first two years were at a junior college.
@Beth: You're right that different students have different needs. My point is that community colleges shouldn't be seen as a "Plan B" or last-ditch option. In my opinion, they are the best option for most students and families.
It's interesting that you mention the opportunity to meet people from diverse backgrounds, because I was actually going to include this as one of the benefits of community colleges. My daughter has classmates from all over the world. In fact, she's picked up a few words of Korean, Japanese, Farsi, and Tagalog from her classmates, while she has taught them a few words of Spanish. (She grew up in El Salvador). In contrast, in many four-year universities, students from different countries tend to cluster together, i.e. Indian students with Indian students, Chinese students with Chinese students, etc.
Granted, this level of diversity may be due to the fact that we live in the Chicago area; you probably wouldn't encounter students from many different countries at a community college in rural Montana, for example. But community college students also tend to be more diverse in terms of age and life experiences. Having classmates of different ages provides a healthy mix of perspectives.
These are great points, and as a matter of fact, my experience in a Community College was in some ways more rewarding than the 4 year college. It is not a requirement for kids to be happy with the decisions you make for them, though every case is different. Many people went the conventional way with 4 years of a University and came out just fine. But many will thank you later, because they will avoid the worthless process of 'hazing' that has grown out of control in the last few decades. This alone is a great reason to avoid Freshman and Sophomore years at a 4 year University, and to avoid fraternities and sororities altogether. The only real 'advantages' that I have seen these organizations provide is the ability to cheat, saving years worth of exams for their minions to use, along with countless papers to buy, etc. These organizations are propelling some students that are not well trained in anything other than partying, into the workforce, with less morals than they started with. They are exellent partyers and pranksters, they are great a preying on the opposite sex, and they are great at manipulating the system, none of which are very useful in our society. I personally know people that are still messed up in the head by the lifestyle and hazing that they experienced in college.
All good points here. That being said, I'm not sure my 18-year-old self would have been happy staying home while going to college. Not at that time anyway. I was content to live away from home, come and go as I pleased, while also working to help pay my way.
Of course, after I graduated and was faced with paying off my student loans I probably would have felt differently - had community college been an option when I was looking at colleges, anyway ....
I agree that the four-year college experience isn't for everyone and there is definitely a group of students who go along for the ride, putting their education as a secondary objective. Yet, I wouldn't go as far as to argue the other way--that community college as a stepping stone to four-year college is the only way to go. I think it depends on the kid, their motivation, their career aspirations, the family's financial and life situation, and many other factors. But yes, there shouldn't be an absolute focus from parents, high school faculty, and the media to push students in that direction without considering all of the alternatives.
On the flip side, there is something to be said about that away-from-home college experience that sticks with you for a lifetime. Learning to balance work with fun time, living away from home, managing expenses and temptations, having access to fellow students who hail from different backgrounds and different locales is pretty invaluable and can be life changing. I say the bottom line is different strokes for different folks.
Good analysis. I agree. I am also the product of a community type college, and I don't feel cheated at all. I had some exceptional instructors, whom I remember well, and appreciate to this day.
If I were doing it now, I would take every possible thing I could at a community college, and go on from there to complete whatever degree I was after.
In my area we have at least 3 very good community colleges within easy driving range. I don't see any reason to spend the big bucks for the "experience" either.
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