It has always been placed into students’ heads that once they graduate high school, attending a four-year university is the correct option to begin their studies. The other option for students that is less focused on is community college.
Community college is the better option for students to begin their studies for their major. Community college is cheaper, offers the same educational benefits as a four-year university and is an easier transition from high school.
Community college is set up in order to benefit students as much as possible. This is important for students who are beginning their major studies because it allows them to focus more on what is important for their schooling rather than having multiple distractions like a four-year university can have.
KCC Psychology professor Shawn Talbot shines some light on why/how community college is so beneficial to students.
“The benefit is that the student gets the class and usually is paying a fraction of the cost for the same class they would have to take at the four-year school,” Talbot said. “I have taught at both the community college level and university level, so the level of instruction is typically very comparable if not identical.”
Talbot brought up the money aspect of community colleges, which is much less expensive compared to the cost of a four-year university.
According to EducationData.org, for example, the average cost of community college tuition and fees for in-state students is $3,570. Meanwhile, according to CollegeData.com, “a moderate college budget for an in-state student attending a four-year public college in 2020-2021 averages $26,820.”
This shows that a community college education is beneficial to students starting out and allows them to save money and receive the same educational course teachings that would be taught at a four-year university.
Many institutions also have educational transfer agreements which allow for classes taken at a community college level to be transferred over to a four-year university.
For example, “KCC Psychology courses are part of the [Michigan Transfer Agreement] and subsequently most of them will follow a KCC student as a transfer course or credit to their four-year program/degree,” Talbot said.
Community college is the correct choice for a student when making the transition from high school to college. It is the most beneficial option for students and for their major studies, as well. Community college helps with saving the student money and allows them to not worry about the small distractions and focus on their studies. Community college also offers comparable educational benefits when compared to a four-year university.
