Whether you are about to head to college (no matter what your age may be), if you have a child who is about to attend college, or if you know someone who is about to experience this, then this article is for you.
When I was around 17, I applied to several different colleges, but one mistake I made was that I didn’t even give community college a thought.
Unfortunately, there is a stigma attached to going to community college, like thinking it is for those that can’t get into a “regular” college, for those that don’t have enough money, or for those that have no other options. When, in fact, these are all far from the truth.
And, sadly, I bought into these myths and thought I was too good for community college. If you want to save money in college, community college is a great way to do that.
The stigma about going to community college is absolutely ridiculous.
And, I was a young kid, so, of course, I let other people’s opinions get to me. And, I thought everyone was right!
It isn’t just kids that believe those myths about community college, as even adults (parents or returning learners) buy into those myths.
Well, that is a big mistake!
For many people, community college should be their first choice.
College costs are increasing, and they’re not going to stop anytime soon.
According to College Board, the average yearly tuition and fees for a:
- Private four-year college is $32,410.
- Public four-year college for out-of-state students is $23,890.
- Public four-year college for in-state students is $9,410.
Community college, on the other hand, is just $3,440.
Those tuition differences are huge, and just look at how much you could save if you did only your first year at community college!
For many people, going to college means taking out loans, and according to a student survey done by Nerdwallet, 48% of undergrad borrowers said they could have borrowed less and still have afforded their educations. And, 27% regretted going to a school that required them to take out loans to afford their tuition.
I know this regret personally.
I only spent one summer semester taking classes at community college, where I earned 12 credits, and I still regret not taking more. I probably could have saved over $20,000 by taking more classes at my local community college.
Yes, I could have saved that much money!
Whether you are in college already or if you haven’t started yet, taking classes at a community college can be a great way to save money.
Today, I want to talk about common myths I hear about community college, so that I can persuade more people to give it a shot. It can save you so much money, and is a great option for a lot of people.
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Here are common myths about attending community college:
But, all of my credits won’t transfer.
This is the top reason (and myth) I hear for not attending community college.
If you take the correct steps, the credits you earn at a community college will transfer.
If you decide to go to a community college first, always make sure that the 4-year college you plan on attending afterwards will accept all of your credits. It’s an easy step to take, so do not forget to look into this! You should take this step before you sign up and pay for any classes at the community college so that you are not wasting your time.
My four-year university made it easy and had a printed list of what transferred from the local community college – it’s seriously that easy! I’m sure many universities do this as well.
When I took classes for college credit in high school and at the community college, I made sure that all of the classes transferred to the university in which I was getting my degree from.
I have heard too many stories about people not checking this ahead of time and wasting years by taking classes that didn’t transfer, which means you are wasting time and money.
Make sure you get it in writing and talk to your college counselor as well about this. They can help you determine which ones will transfer and provide you proof of transferability.
Also, know that by accepting transfer credits, your four-year university is basically saying “these community college credits mean the same thing here.”
Community college won’t actually save me that much money.
I want to repeat, the average yearly tuition and fees for a:
- Private four-year college is $32,410.
- Public four-year college for out-of-state students is $23,890.
- Public four-year college for in-state students is $9,410.
And, community college is $3,440.
As you can see, college tuition is a significant amount of money, and it is a drastic difference between four-year institutions and community college.
Now, the problem here is that many people “afford” college by taking out student loans, so the amount of money you are paying for college isn’t an immediate thing that you “feel” – because it’s all debt!
Note: If you are a parent and you are thinking about taking on debt to put your child through school, please, please, please consider having them attend community college first. Please, also read Should I Ruin My Retirement By Helping My Child Through College?
The classes won’t be as good.
I’ve heard this community college myth over and over again. Many people think that the classes won’t be “good enough” for them. That is usually far from the case, though. Your first two years, no matter where you go, are most likely going to consist of very generic classes or classes that are similar, if not the same, as ones at the four-year college you are thinking about attending.
It’s usually not until the last two years, after you get those beginner classes and electives out of the way, that your classes really begin to matter for your degree.
And, if you’re afraid you really need more of those beginner classes from a four-year college, I recommend at least taking a summer semester or two at your community college for elective classes. There are usually lots of elective options at community college, and you can at least take those at a more affordable rate. That is exactly what I did – one summer while I was attending my four-year college, I enrolled at the community college for a bunch of electives. I was able to easily, and affordably, knock out a bunch of electives.
My degree will be worth less coming from a community college.
When you graduate with a four-year degree, the school name on your diploma will be the name of the college you graduated from. It won’t say, “graduated from here but took some classes at community college.” This is because your community college credits transferred (if you followed the step above).
So, no worries here.
Nowhere on my college degree does it say that I took some classes at the community college.
Did you attend community college? Why or why not?
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So glad to see someone saying this about community college! I went to a community college my sophomore year and it boosted my grade point average considerably, not to mention it saved my folks a lot of money. Great article, thanks for posting!
I’m so glad I went to community college. I learned how to learn and I grew as a person. They really cared about teaching there. I was able to transfer all of my credits to the #1 public university in the state. I wouldn’t have gotten into that university out of high school and if I did, it wouldn’t have gone well. Community college boosted my grades and study skills and made my future success possible.
Good job!
Have you ever read this article on the Motley Fool website?
https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/11/16/how-to-pay-for-college-the-affordable-option-many.aspx
And the original article:
https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/08/how-to-go-to-college.aspx
Possibly – I’ve read a lot of personal finance articles.
Why are you wondering?
Because the article resonates with your article. The first time I read about the benefits of community college was on fool.com.
You are the second person to write about it, as far as I Know. I am wondering if this might be the beginning of a turning pojnt for college costs if more people start to realise this.
Great post! I chair the trustee board at a community college and I know we provide a quality product that not only is a low cost value but also allows nontraditional students a way to add to their skills. Courses transfer fine to four year schools but there may be issues if you are pursuing an engineering degree since community colleges may not offer the courses you need in your first two years. If you inadvertently end up spending five years getting a four year degree because you did not get all the classes you needed then it will probably not have really saved you any money.
Yep, I talk about how to get around this in this blog post 🙂
Michelle, all valid points, especially if money is a major constraint.
One potential “drawback” that I often see: the completion of the associate degree gives a clear line to ponder whether one should complete a bachelor degree.
Of course it depends on one’s path in life, but I saw more than a handful of friends who got distracted and did not actually obtain a bachelor degree because they have graduated with an associate degree.
That’s my main consideration whether one should choose community college.
I have degrees from state universities and took community college classes throughout my adult life, after I earned my degree.
Interesting! I’ve never heard of that from other people I know who have done this.
I went to a community college for two years and a private university for two years. I paid out of pocket for my first two years and took out loans for my second two years. I ended up with only $18K in student loans and my monthly payment was $156. My friends who did all four years at the same private university used to complain about having $600-$700 monthly student loan payments. It is hard to beat the value of attending a community college.
CC worked well for me as an undecided student. A low cost way to experiment. I was able to take various classes to inform my major. Took me 3 years, but by the time I left, I knew what I wanted to study and had no debt. I appreciated it more when I went to university and attended my first 100 person class! At CC I had all small classes and teachers that knew me by name. I took classes only needed for transfer, but once at university I transferred classes back to CC and received my AA degree. No one has ever asked me where I spent my first few years of college…
I did this, but in reverse. I had a full ride academic scholarship and was in the honors program at a top tier state University. My honors classes were amazing, but the others, not so much. I spent 2 years there, but hated the town. I transferred to another state University that I loved. Incredible professors! I got a mostly useless degree and worked a year before going back to community college for a nursing degree. Best decision ever!
I had to take out a small loan (5k) for community college, but paid it off in my first month of employment.
In my experience most school scholarships are for upcoming freshmen so doing 2 years at community college would reduce your chances for those scholarships. Maybe better would be to apply to both and evaluate scholarship/aid packages.
Nearly all of my CC teachers were awful (with a couple wonderful exceptions), but that nursing degree was worth the suffering. I had some boring teachers at the two universities I attended, but they were all very intelligent. I think community college professors are much more diverse in terms of ability. Just my limited experience though.
I’m on the fence for recommending CC to my daughter.
The community college in my area (Sinclair Community College) is sometimes better than the Universities in my area – and everyone around her knows it and acknowledges that it’s a good school. That also have tracks that are meant to be finished at one of the local 4-year schools where there will be, on the education side at least, no difference than if you went to the 4-year school to begin with.
Great article Michelle! There is an absolutely a certain degree of stigma attached to community colleges, and most of the things assumed are myths. How will 4-year degree universities accommodate a growing population base? Higher education shouldn’t be reserved for just few handpicked students. I have seen so many students get demoralized by the education system. The rat race is just too much for young people.
Starting at community college was one of the best decisions I ever made. Firstly, you save about 75% of the costs compared to going to university. But also, the professors were awesome! They were all young and only cared about teaching and the enthusiasm showed. I was disappointed when I attended university because professors used teaching assistants and you never really interacted with most of them. Also, the classrooms were sometimes huge with over 100 people in them. Very impersonal.
Yes, I attended a community college and it was the biggest regret in my life!! When I graduated with a 3.3 GPA, I was accepted into several four year colleges, but I would have had to change my major!! There was no room available for an incoming junior at the colleges. Also, there is no law that requires four year colleges to accept every credit from a community college. Many of m credits were not accepted and I was told that the program requirements had changed, so it didn’t matter what the requirements were when I was taking the classes, since they had changed. I had to begin, as a freshmen at a four year college, so that I could earn the Bachelor’s degree that I desired. There was no campus life. No clubs. No organizations. No sports. No nothing. When I met with a college rep to begin my freshmen year, I was told that community college graduations have nothing to offer a four year college, so they are the last to be considered for transfer. I would not recommend attending a community college for any reason. Take more than four years to earn a degree at a four year college and you will be better for it.