I Thought I Was Too Good For Community College

I have a long ways to go before my kids will be old enough for college, and I’m not sure if canada has the same structure. All I know is that they will go to the cheapest place! I graduated from an online college, and it definitely didn’t break the bank. I would do that again.

I went to Community College right out of high school for a few reasons. I received a 2 year scholarship to my local community college through a local program at my high school, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my future. I felt a HUGE stigma about going to community college. The biggest realization of this was noticing at a 4.0GPA luncheon for the 3 local high schools, I was the only one attending that was planning on going to a 2 year college rather than a 4 year. Made me feel dumb.

However, I earned my associates degree, lived at home, WORKED and SAVED money, only payed for books and supplies, and eventually decided on my major, electrical engineering.

I found nothing to be bad about community college. In fact, a lot of my teachers were more passionate about their teaching than teachers in my 4 year college.

I found community college to be a great way to explore electives, try new things, and save up money, all while staying out of debt.

I did have to take out loans to afford the rest of my engineering degree at my state university. But, I continued to work, I lived at home, and I payed for as much tuition up front as I could. I ended up with only $5,000 in loans and payed it off in less than a year out of college since I was able to find full time employment in my field while in school.

Thank you for this post Michelle. How timely, as my son and I just visited our community college this morning for some information and decision-making. He will start there in the fall, attend for two years and then transfer to a 4-year university. He is fine with it. There is no shame in saving money, nor should there ever be! 🙂

As full time RVers with 2 sixteen year old high school sophomores this article was perfect to read with them.
Even though we both have 4 year degrees we’ve always stressed that their are other less expensive alternatives for education. Thanks for helping us explain this alternative to them

Although my school was fairly inexpensive, had I really taken community college seriously, I may have been able to graduate with no student loans. I highly encourage new students to really really REALLY consider going to community college first!

Community college was my way of easing back into higher ed almost 30 years. (I’d had one year of private college before life took an unexpected turn.) In the midst of a protracted divorce in my late 40s, I decided to go for that long-denied degree. If not then, when?

I had some extremely good teachers and some very interesting classes. Better yet: I learned of a three-year scholarship to the University of Washington that was offered ONLY to students from community colleges around the state. Applied, got one and graduated from U.W. debt-free at the age of 52 (better late than REALLY late).

Washington is one of the states with dual enrollment classes: High-schoolers who qualify can take their junior and senior years at a community college, and graduate with both a high-school diploma and a two-year associate’s degree. In other words, they need pay only for two years of higher education after that. Quite a savings.

I did attend community college for a year and a half before transferring to the local State University undergraduate program. Many good reasons for doing so in my case.The Community College tuition was a third of the State University’s tuition and they also offered more night classes for the Freshman and Sophomore courses I needed. I was working full time and had access to a tuition reimbursement program from my employer so the lower cost allowed me to take a full load of credits per semester without busting the tuition reimbursement yearly limit. I was also paying a mortgage and the county taxed my property a very small percentage to pay for the County Community College. So let’s say I got my tax money’s worth back, and then some.
The State University and the County Community College had coordinate the requirements for my degree program (and many others) so that all of my credits would transfer, and they did. I later found out that several of my Community College professors were part of the State University’s faculty. One thing I have to say is that the Community College facility was more modern, cleaner and more inviting that the (old) State University. Oh, yes! I always bought used books when possible and sold most of them back at the end of the semester.
I also took a couple of College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams and earned 12 extra credits towards my program in a couple of hours at $35 per exam at the time. Best credit hours money could buy!

I went to community college also. I worked in marketing at a community college for several years and the stigmas addressed in this post were exactly what we were up against when it came to enrollment. I think this is interesting

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.