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Key points
- Research shows community colleges improve students' chances of earning a bachelor's degree.
- These institutions aid academic and career growth via transfer opportunities and specialized certifications.
- Community colleges enhance student success by providing smaller class sizes and flexible scheduling.
By Mac E. Lancaster with Ran D. Anbar, M.D.
Community colleges are typically perceived as inferior to four-year universities in the realm of higher education. Despite this, these often-overlooked institutions offer a plethora of advantages as a launchpad for students seeking an affordable, unique, and valuable educational experience.
During high school, I completed two years of community college before transferring to and obtaining a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego.
In this blog, we will review the numerous advantages and some of the disadvantages that come with attending a community college.
Affordability
Community colleges have historically catered to a predominantly disadvantaged student population, consisting of individuals from low-income families, with a poor high school grade point average (GPA), or older individuals who have not received formal education for many years.
As price has become an increasing factor in the choice of venue for higher education, and state support has grown for community colleges, these campuses have been enrolling more people from all walks of life who want to reduce college costs.
Research shows that attendance at community colleges enhances the likelihood of students obtaining a bachelor's degree, particularly for those who would otherwise face barriers to pursuing higher education (Brand et al., 2014).
In addition to affordable classes, many community colleges throughout the United States pay for classes in full for low-income high school graduates. There are at least 441 programs throughout the country that ensure financial support, primarily for community colleges and technical institutes.
Compared to directly enrolling in a four-year university, a student can save $15-40,000 per year by completing their first two years of undergrad at a community college.
The first two years of undergraduate education often entail general education (GE) classes. These classes are required to help sharpen students' discipline and focus. Because GE classes are similar regardless of where they are taught, taking them at a community college and transferring the credits to a four-year university can save a great deal of money without a loss in educational effectiveness.
Transfer and Career Opportunities
Attending community college can boost student’s academic portfolio if they didn’t get a satisfactory GPA in high school, thus increasing their chances of transferring to a four-year university.
Transfer students generally have a higher acceptance rate than freshmen applicants. For example, in the fall of 2019, the University of California, Berkeley accepted 26 percent of its transfer applicants and 16.4 percent of its freshman applicants (University of California, n.d.)
Bachelor’s and graduate degrees aren’t necessary for everyone’s career. There are an increasing number of high-paying jobs available for those who complete two years of career-oriented education at a community college and obtain a specialized certification. A few of these career paths include:
- 3D animation and modeling
- Carpentry
- Accounting
- Business management
- Agriculture science
Freedom to Discover a Major
Because tuition is relatively inexpensive, community colleges are a great place for students to explore multiple disciplines in various GE classes. In my own experience, I changed majors several times before I took my first psychology course as a GE elective and recognized my passion for the subject. If I had attended a four-year university at the time, I would not have felt as free to explore alternative career paths due to financial constraints.
Moreover, without time to investigate subjects like business law, political science, engineering, and architecture, I would have been less clear about my direction as a psychology student. Research shows that when compared to their peers who started their university careers as freshmen, community college transfer students typically have academic paths that are more focused (Aulck & West, 2017).
Individualized Education
Community colleges typically have smaller class sizes, which are associated with better student grades (Kokkelenberg et al., 2008). Students at community colleges can have a more personal academic experience than auditorium-held lectures, which cater to hundreds of students at a time, as offered in many four-year universities.
Enrolling in a community college is fast and easy, granting people of any age who want to return to academia an obtainable first step. Additionally, high school students can begin taking college classes at these institutions through programs like dual enrollment.
There are also middle college high school programs, which are separate high schools on community college campuses and consist of days with half high school classes and half college courses beginning during the junior year of high school.
Further, community colleges offer classes at flexible times, allowing students to tailor their classes to their needs. These include classes offered part-time, short-term (half, or a quarter of a regular semester), in the evenings, online, and hybrid, and make it easier for students who work to attend college simultaneously.
Disadvantages
Certain drawbacks come with attending community college, including the inability to do research for four years as a student at a university, few on-campus housing options, lack of competitive sports, older facilities, fewer educational resources, and fewer networking opportunities as compared to the availability at many four-year schools. Further, social gatherings, events, and interactions are usually less abundant on community college campuses.
However, most college experiences are dependent upon the student's pursuit, and I believe that for many students, the advantages of community college far outweigh the disadvantages.
Takeaway
Community colleges increase educational access through affordability, financial support, and transfer or career opportunities. These institutions provide a cost-effective and supportive environment for students to mature and achieve their academic goals.
Mac Lancaster obtained his undergraduate degree in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience at UC-San Diego.
References
Aulck, L., & West, J. (2017). Attrition and performance of community college transfers. PloS One, 12(4), e0174683. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0174683
Brand, J. E., Pfeffer, F. T., & Goldrick-Rab, S. (2014). The community college effect revisited: The importance of attending to heterogeneity and complex counterfactuals. Sociological Science, 1, 448–465. https://doi.org/10.15195/v1.a25
Kokkelenberg, E. C., Dillon, M., & Christy, S. M. (2008). The effects of class size on student grades at a public university. Economics of Education, 27(2), 221-233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2006.09.011
University of California. (n.d.). Berkeley: Freshman Admit Data. | UC Admissions. https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses-majors/berkeley/freshman-admit-data.html
University of California. (n.d.). Berkeley: Transfer Admission Profile | UC Admissions. https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses-majors/berkeley/transfer-admission-profile.html
