Community College: To go or not to go, that is the question. A close friend of mine went to community college before transferring to a four year school and I asked his thoughts on the experience. He is in the “not to go” camp.
My friend went to community college because… well, it was a convenient option. He didn’t really know where else to go or what other schools to look at, his girlfriend was going there, and his parents appreciated the price tag. He decided to apply for and was accepted to the college’s honors program, billed as a prestigious opportunity geared toward students transferring to four year colleges. However, he found that the honors program, like the rest of the school, was focused on graduating students with their Associates degree, rather than preparing them for continued education.
He received his Associates and transferred, encountering the typical transfer student issues, mainly being the new guy, struggling with a blank slate GPA*, and transferring credits. But he also faced problems with the difference in the level of work and professors’ expectations. In his experience, the courses were truly more difficult than his honors community college classes. He felt unprepared, placing him at a serious disadvantage as his new professors expected a much higher quality work product than he was accustomed to.
There are, of course, some advantages to community college. Obviously, the lower cost is enticing to many parents and students alike. Community colleges offer many interesting, inexpensive courses, which are great for supplementing your general knowledge and furthering adult education, without having to travel great distances.
My friend’s best advice? If you start in community college with the goal of transferring to get your Bachelors degree, make a plan before you start. Think of what school you will transfer to, and try to take courses that will give you transferable credits. Most important, be aware of and prepared for the challenges you will face at your next school.
*This is something all students contemplating a transfer should know. When you are a new student at a university, you generally enter the school without a GPA. Typically, you have 120 credits taken over four years to accumulate your graduating GPA, but if you transfer as a junior after two years of community college, you might only have 60 credits to reflect your graduating GPA. To bring that point home, one disappointing grade out of 120 credits does a lot less damage than one out of 60 credits – something to seriously keep in mind.
“What’s wrong with transferring?” Jay Mathews of The Washington Post asks this question of a survey completed by WiseChoice. The survey, which included over 800 college freshmen nationwide, found that 33% were already thinking about transferring. That seems like quite a large percentage to WiseChoice, especially just a few months into the first semester of college. WiseChoice believes that if students took more time to research their selected schools before applying, many could eliminate transferring and instead, find college to be a rewarding experience right from the start. (Not to mention, avoiding the headaches and costs associated with transferring.)
However, Mr. Mathews argues that transferring to another college is part of the maturation process, “trying something and seeing if it works, then moving on if it doesn’t.”
So, what do others have to say about transferring? Read real life examples from those who transferred colleges and the situations they encountered.
“If you don’t like your college, you can always transfer.” How many times have you heard that? You must admit, it seems to take the pressure off of finding the right college. You choose a college, and if it doesn’t work out, you transfer. Sounds easy enough, right?
But before you make a decision just to end the tiresome college research, let’s look at the implications of transferring:
• Time. In college, the academic challenges will likely be greater than high school, and you won’t have as many papers and tests that count toward your final grade. The majority of your time will be spent studying; you’ll have few opportunities to research, visit, and apply to other colleges.
• Costs. Next, there are the applications costs. (Remember those?) Then, there may be costs to re-take courses at your new school—with new books—because course credits do not always transfer from one school to another. Finally, re-taking courses and meeting new graduation requirements may mean it could take five or six years to earn a degree, adding more to your overall cost of tuition.
• Freshman, again. Remember, when you transfer, you will be starting all over again making new friends. Only now you’ll be doing it as a sophomore—alongside sophomores who started their freshmen year together and have “settled in” with their own niche of friends. Bottom line: it could take more effort on your part to make new friends.
Still want to push aside your college research? Consider this statistic: students who transfer after their first year of college, less than 40% stay on track to finish their bachelor’s degree. Less than 40%!
College research may be a great stress now, but take your time while you’re still in high school and find the colleges that fit all of you: your personality, interests, preferences, learning style, as well as your grades. Time spend now can result in a rewarding college experience, and a degree later.
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