Mar 16 2009
Community College Works
I was at a coffee shop with a friend last night. We both attended local community colleges, graduated with our A.A.s and moved on to a university. We happened to sit next to a group of subculture kids, one of whom was advising everyone against community college because “I had a horrible time. None of my credits transferred to my photography degree at [name of university].” I had to laugh.
I had a fantastic time at my community college. Sure, sometimes they’re not as social as universities but they certainly can be if you actively seek out friendships or interest groups. Sure, the classes are more limited in terms of the subjects you can take and may be less challenging (MAY be, I certainly have had difficult classes at community college). Yes, if you don’t plan ahead, you can get screwed on transfer credits. Or you can waltz out, like me, with over 60 credits to apply at any state university.
A lot of this is dependent on your geographic area. I happen to live in Maryland, and there are many local community colleges throughout the state, all of which feed into the state university system, where your credits are guaranteed to transfer as something.
I think community college is a smart choice if you stick to gen-ed courses, get your degree, make a point to talk to classmates or join a group, and maintain communications with the four year university you’d like to attend at the end of your career so you can make sure you’re on the right track for them, too. Community college is cheaper than universities, the education you get is just as good and so are the credits. You’re surrounded by a variety of people in different stages of their lives. Since the classes are usually smaller, you get more one on one attention from your professors, if that’s what you want.
Of course, you could just sock 10-20,000 a year (or more) into four years (or more) of school for a photography degree. Hey, we can’t all be financial panthers.
You know that I will agree with you because I think community college is more affordable than a University and it is a good place to start if you don’t know what you want to major in.
It’s a gateway to education, especially now when college costs are soaring and it is also harder to get a loan.