How Much Money Does Community College Save

According to The Institute for Higher Access and Success, in 2015, the average university educatee graduated with $28,950 in pupil loan debt. A 2016 report past Forbes found that the average graduate in 2016 left school with over $37,000 in student loans.

This level of debt holds many people back from getting married, ownership a house, or starting a family unit. There's also a high adventure of default; new data from the Brookings Establishment estimates that 40% of borrowers will default on their student loans by 2023.

Nonetheless, y'all all the same want and need a great education. So, what are yous supposed to do?

Yous might find the respond at your local community college. Attending a community college for two years is a great way to reduce the costs of a college education and avert some pupil loan debt. But is this choice correct for y'all? Let'southward wait at what a community college offers, besides as the pros and cons of going this road.

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Community College Degrees

A customs college, as well called a junior higher, offers students a two-year degree known as an associate degree. There are four types of associate degrees, each of which helps you gear up for a different academic field and occupation. Some are meant to exist transferred to a iv-year establishment, while others are career-specific and help prepare you for employment right after you obtain your degree.

ane. Associate of Arts (A.A.)

A.A. degrees focus on general education and liberal arts. They're typically in fields like English, history, economics, fine fine art, music, psychology, and sociology. They are considered a "transfer degree." Yous have to take general education courses, but your electives build a strong foundation in subjects such equally communication, natural science, history, art, and music.

2. Associate of Practical Arts (A.A.A.)

An A.A.A. degree has similar requirements to an A.A. degree, but the focus is more vocational. Y'all would pursue an A.A.A. degree if you were serious about working as an creative person, peradventure in advertisement, and had no plans to transfer to a 4-year institution. Your electives in this field would be more career-specific, such as advanced graphic design classes or fine art educational activity.

3. Associate of Science (A.Southward.)

Like an A.A. degree, an A.S. degree is considered a transfer caste. The A.S. degree prepares you lot for fields such every bit medicine, applied science, information science, and business. While yous'll still have to take full general education courses, your electives are focused more on science and math.

4. Associate of Technology (A.A.South.)

An A.A.Due south. degree is more career-focused and, like an A.A.A. degree, is not designed to exist transferred. This degree prepares you for employment immediately upon graduation. You would pursue an A.A.Due south. degree if you lot were interested in working as a chef, an early childhood educator, a medical assistant, or a welder. While many customs colleges offer A.A.Southward. degree programs, they're more common at technical colleges.

Professional Certification

Community colleges also offer professional certificates. Obtaining professional certification from a community college tin be a great way to change careers or increase your earning potential. Some other benefit is that customs colleges often customize their professional certification programs to fit the needs of businesses in the local economic system. This means that, upon graduation, you can enter the workforce with cognition and skills that are in high demand.

Professional certifications y'all can pursue at community higher include:

Medical coding
Real estate
Babe/toddler specialist for early childhood pedagogy
Solar console installation
Electrical systems
Kid nutrition
Digital video
Photojournalism
Booze and drug abuse counseling
Apple iOS programmer
CAD technician
Hospitality management
Automotive repair
Digital photography
Fashion merchandising
Wind turbine repair
Network security

It is one field where you lot can earn dozens of dissimilar certifications, from programming to networking to security. Electronics and aviation are two others where certification can brand a huge difference in your employability because, in these fields, experience matters. Employers want recruits who keep upward with their industry and demonstrate a desire to continue learning and honing their skills.

Benefits of Community College

Community colleges requite students a lot of options when it comes to degrees and career training. Here are some other benefits.

one. Lower Tuition & Fees

No matter which college you attend or which major you cull, your kickoff ii years will mainly consist of the same set of classes.

For example, every freshman and sophomore has to take English 101, a natural science class such as biological science or chemistry, U.S. history or civics, and a college-level math class. At a typical academy, you lot'll pay $400 to $600 or more per credit hour for these basic classes, which means each one will price you $1,200 to $ane,800. Community colleges typically charge $45 to $250 per credit 60 minutes, depending on where you go and your residency status. So, if your local community college charges $125 per credit hour, each course will cost you lot $375, which means yous're saving up to $1,425per grade. That adds upwards fast.

Attending a community higher for 2 years enables you to get all your basic classes out of the manner while saving a significant amount of money. This, in turn, reduces the amount of money you'll have to borrow when yous transfer to a four-year school. And you lot tin can nevertheless utilize for scholarships and financial aid for community higher, which will further lower your attendance cost.

Financial help isn't keeping step with the ascension cost of tuition. According to research cited by Forbes, grant assist to undergraduate students increased past an average of $i,020 in the 2011 to 2012 schoolhouse year, likewise equally the 2016 to 2017 school year. However, tuition fees plus room and board increased by an average of $1,910. Attending a community college first can assist you shave tens of thousands of dollars off the cost of your caste, even with a fiscal aid package.

two. Opportunity to Improve Your Transcript

You know you lot should employ for college scholarships to help start the high cost of tuition. However, if your loftier school transcript is less than rosy, you won't qualify for most scholarships. That'south where community college tin aid. Achieving direct A's in a community higher can help you earn scholarships that previously wouldn't take been available to you.

Furthermore, if you aspire to attend a prestigious private university but weren't accepted out of high school, attending a community college may help your hazard at admission. Not only volition yous get a second hazard to accomplish a stellar transcript, just you'll also have a better chance to be accepted as a junior than equally a freshman since in that location's less contest.

3. Lower Living Costs

When you caput off to college, tuition isn't the only toll y'all have to consider. Yous also have to consider the extra costs of gas, car maintenance, and other living expenses. If your dream school is in some other state, moving and finding an apartment to rent or paying for a dorm room is a significant expense.

Attention community higher for 2 years means you might exist able to live at home, saving hundreds each month on rent and utility expenses. Sure, it'south not every bit exciting equally living in a dorm and attending frat parties, just neither is graduating with $40,000 in student loan debt.

4. Greater Flexibility

Imagine paying a hefty price tag at a individual university, but to realize that the major you originally declared isn't really what you want to do. While you lot can change your major, yous might be surprised to learn that many of the classes you've already taken won't count toward your new one. That'due south a lot of money, and a lot of time, downwards the bleed.

A customs college gives you a adventure to test the waters at a drastically lower cost than a four-year university. You can explore different classes or fields to determine if you actually desire to pursue your called major. You lot might even discover that college isn't actually for you, and you'd rather attend a technical college or enter a loftier-paying field that doesn't require a college degree.

Attending a customs college for the first two years is particularly beneficial for contempo loftier school graduates because a lot of personal growth and maturation occurs the first few years after graduation. During this transition, many young students learn time management and motivation skills. They acquire how to juggle multiple responsibilities, persevere through tough challenges, and develop self-discipline.

You tin learn the same lessons at a 4-year university, but in that location are many more distractions that can take your focus away from bookish and personal growth. At a community college, it's often easier to learn how to be a skillful student.

5. Easier to Work

According to the Community Higher Research Center (CCRC) at Columbia University, 69% of community college students work while they attend school, and 33% work more than 35 hours per week. Many students as well have children, which means they're juggling classes as well as parenting responsibilities.

Community colleges understand that their students need flexibility, which is why they offer more nighttime and weekend classes than yous'll find at a four-year school. If you need to piece of work while in school or take classes around your child'southward school schedule, you lot'll have a lot more options at a customs higher.

Community college also gives you lot the opportunity to earn an associate degree earlier you transfer to some other schoolhouse, which can lead to higher earnings. According to a study published by the Heart for Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment, acquaintance caste-holders earn $four,640 to $7,160 more than per year than those who attend community college only don't obtain a degree.

This means that if you lot demand to continue working while you obtain your bachelor's caste, yous're in a better position to earn more per year. This income boost tin further help yous pay for school and graduate with less debt.

six. More Support

Basic courses at a four-year school frequently have 150 to 300 students, while the aforementioned class at a community higher may take 25 to 35 students. That gives students more opportunities to interact with their professors or enquire for help if they need it, leading to deeper engagement and greater success in school overall.

Many tenured professors at iv-year schools do inquiry or take to run into publishing commitments as part of their employment contract. Professors at 2-year schools ofttimes have fewer students per semester, then you're more probable to receive help and support considering they have more than fourth dimension to give.

vii. High-Quality Professors

Some people assume that community college professors are lower-quality than those at four-year institutions. This is a myth. Community colleges are full of highly qualified, talented professors, and at that place are many reasons why they choose to teach at a customs college rather than a university.

Ane reason is flexibility. Many community college professors also work as consultants, writers, or artists, or are employed in high-level positions at major corporations. They love education simply likewise want to pursue their own work and interests. Customs higher gives them that opportunity.

Some professors adopt the diverseness of a customs higher. Ron Roberson, vice president of academic affairs at Howard Customs College, told The Washington Postal service, "I was very interested in education a broader spectrum of people. This is more challenging, it's too very rewarding … because I'm here, people will succeed who otherwise would non." At a customs college, professors have the opportunity to work one-on-i with students who need their help. It'southward a manner for them to connect with others and make a existent difference.

The challenges these professors face up are real. Community college students oft have to residual school with jobs and families. They come from diverse academic backgrounds, which requires adapting teaching strategies on the fly. Many professors find such a challenging environment stimulating, and it helps them keep their skills precipitous.

Drawbacks of Community College

Of class, there are also drawbacks to attending a customs college.

1. Limited Course Offerings

The CCRC states that 81% of community college students intend to transfer to a iv-year academy upon graduation. Knowing this, community colleges offer a high number of basic classes that will easily transfer to a iv-year school. While this is not bad for students, the downside is that yous probably won't find many unique or field-specific classes like you would at a four-year school.

2. Lack of Campus Life

At a four-twelvemonth school, the campus hums with activity. There are sports teams to back up, clubs and activities to nourish, study groups to join, and plenty of opportunities to meet new people because, well, you live there.

Customs colleges frequently don't have the "college atmosphere" of a four-twelvemonth schoolhouse considering students don't live on campus or spend a great bargain of time there. Near students take office- or full-time jobs, so they attend classes and then leave. This often results in a lack of engagement. Many 2-yr schools work hard to create a fun atmosphere for students, but the reality is that it just isn't the aforementioned.

Nonetheless, U.S. News & World Report states that almost 25% of community colleges nationwide now provide on-campus housing for students. They're also creating dining halls and providing other services to further the college feel and build a campus culture. If y'all're lucky enough to alive almost one of these schools, y'all might be able to get the best of both worlds: depression-cost tuition with a 4-year school experience.

3. Transfer Snafus

Nearly community colleges have transfer agreements with local iv-twelvemonth universities to ensure that students won't lose their credits when they switch schools.

The problem is that, unless you practice your research, you might end up taking some classes that aren't at a 4-year schoolhouse, or you might end a class with a C class when your dream school requires at least a B for those credits to transfer.

Always talk to a guidance advisor at your community college to find out which classes will transfer easily to the four-yr school you lot have in mind and, merely as importantly, what final grade is required for those credits to be accustomed.

4. Fewer Networking Opportunities

Both customs colleges and four-yr universities have career placement centers and programs. However, in some fields, networking plays a central role in your success. For example, fine art or music majors ofttimes depend on their professors for recommendations in the professional field or to aid them secure engagements that atomic number 82 to greater exposure for their piece of work. These recommendations depend on potent relationships. Students who transfer to a four-twelvemonth school after attention a two-year higher have less fourth dimension to build these important relationships. This could limit your opportunities, or at least dull your progress, in some fields.

That said, there can be plenty of networking opportunities at a community college, and you might find that these opportunities change your life. I spent several years at a community college after I graduated loftier schoolhouse, and my fourth dimension there affected the entire grade of my life. One of my English professors got me my start freelancing job and, as a successful freelancer herself, showed me that it was possible to earn a good living as a writer. My journalism professor created a position for me at the student paper and somehow constitute money in the scant budget to pay me, which further helped hone my skills and build my portfolio. He became a trusted mentor, and we're still friends today.

The two of them opened doors for me that directly helped my career, doors that might have been harder to open at a larger schoolhouse. Thanks to their instance, support, and encouragement, I've built a successful freelancing career that's still going 20 years later. Needless to say, I call back community colleges offer students a number of unique benefits, ane being the chance to develop life-changing relationships with your professors.

Final Discussion

Community college can be a perfect choice for students who wish to relieve money and reduce their dependence on pupil loans. It's also a good fashion to help contempo high school graduates ease into college life and build successful learning strategies before they transfer to a bigger – and more expensive – institution.

However, your success at customs college depends on the type of experience you want. If you're looking to accept a real "higher" experience, then attending a ii-year school might not exist right for you.

Did you attend a community higher? How has your feel benefited your life and career? Was there anything you didn't like?

Source: https://www.moneycrashers.com/benefits-of-community-college/

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