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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