Today's students enjoy more programs and degree opportunities at community colleges than ever before! However, with so many choices, finding the right community college can be overwhelming. While there are many factors to consider in choosing a community college, there are four specific checklist steps you can take to choose the perfect community college for your future.
Whether you are a high school student, an adult student, or someone looking for retraining, we have all the resources you need to make an educated choice about the right community college for you. We’ll compare community colleges to other institutions of higher education, explore college rankings and the accreditation system, and provide useful tips to ensure your community college credits transfer easily.
View the most popular articles in Choosing a School:
- 8 Reasons Why Community College Might be the Best Choice After High School
- Transferring from Community College to a 4-year Institution
- Why More Students are Choosing Community Colleges over Traditional Four-Year Schools
- The Value of Accreditation - Choosing Wisely
- What is an Articulation Agreement and Why Should You Care?
5 Steps to Choosing the Best Community College for You
3 Reasons Why Top Universities are Recruiting Community College Students
Historically, community colleges were established to help students develop vocational skills. However, in today’s academic environment, America’s top universities are specifically recruiting directly from community colleges!
Four-year universities traditionally evaluate a student’s overall GPA, standardized test scores, and extracurricular involvement. However, these high school progress points do not always accurately predict how a student will perform at the collegiate level.
Subsequently, a rising number of universities are specifically recruiting students who are enrolled or who have graduated from a community college. Many university leaders assert that community college students and graduates have accurately proved their collegiate skills and abilities. Therefore, students hoping to attend a four year institution may want to start at their local community college first to add a competitive edge to their application.
Why are Universities Seeking Community College Students?
Proof of Student Success and Excellence
While many students who are seeking affordable, convenient, and program-specific courses often pursue degree pathways through community colleges, many higher education leaders are striving to shift motivated community college students into a university education.
A central catalyst for this new focus on community college applicants is most notably based upon studies that reveal the soaring success rates among students who transfer from a two year institution to a four year school. In fact, as the Longview News Journal reveals, “Studies show that students who complete community college course work before going to four-year institutions tend to graduate at a higher rate
How to Ensure Your Community College Credits Transfer to a 4 Year University
Many community college students enter their first year of higher education without a clear career pathway. In such cases, many students approach their impending graduation date only to realize their decided career choice requires additional education and certifications from a four-year university.
In such cases, many community college students can take advantage of roll-over opportunities, where cooperating universities accept community college coursework as transfer credit. By transferring credits, students can save money and time and often graduate from their chosen university with far greater efficiency.
Transferring Credits
According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 71 percent of community college students intend to, at some point, pursue a baccalaureate degree. Adding to their data, studies from the Center reveal that approximately 20 to 50 percent of new university students are transferring students from a community college.
This brief video explains transferring credits from a community to a four-year college.
As a rising number of students are both interested and often required to pursue longer courses of study, many community colleges and universities strive to create more streamlined transfer programs to provide students with enhanced support.
Seeking Cooperating Institutions
When looking into transferring community college credits, experts assert that the earlier a student can make plans and arrangements, the better his or her transition may be. As eCampusTours supports, “Choosing a transfer school as early as possible
How Community Colleges are Outperforming 4 Year Universities
While four-year universities are traditionally believed to outperform community colleges, new research highlights that the contrary is often true. With the evolution of revolutionary and competitive community college programs across the country, these institutions are providing students with more financially reasonable, convenient, and equitably challenging academic experiences.
Class Size and Student-Teacher Interaction
In his study of community colleges, Kevin Carey surveyed students from both community colleges and four-year universities. Carey reached the steady conclusion that community college students consistently reported classroom experiences of greater interaction, discussion, and one-on-one opportunities, versus university survey results. According to his research, over 2/3 of community college students engage in class discussions by asking questions and interacting; on the contrary, only of polled university students reported this experience. Continuing, surveys revealed that community college students received more prompt feedback from professors, in addition to reporting more opportunities for student and professor interaction.
This video illustrates the differences between community colleges and four-year colleges.
Indeed, community colleges tend to have smaller class sizes, which naturally lend to greater interaction between students and teachers. In contrast, many universities, especially public ones, have larger auditorium class sizes, prompting some students to feel disconnected from their professors.
Academic Challenges and Comparisons
Also found through his educational surveys, Kevin Carey reports that most significantly, the academic challenges of the studied community colleges prove to
Seniors Planning for Community College
While each high school year has unique and specific goals, seniors can begin to prepare for their step in higher education as they make plans to attend community college.
Developing a Plan for Enrollment
As a senior, you will make many important decisions regarding the next phase of your life. Choosing a community college means finding a campus that is in line with your goals, both academically and professionally.
Since community colleges can provide students with different areas of academic focus, students can begin their investigation of specific schools by requesting catalogs from each community college. Catalogs and websites will provide information about programs, course schedules, and graduation plans. After reviewing information, a senior can also make an appointment with a college counselor. A counselor can discuss with student plans for a career, job interests, and professional guidance. After narrowing down career options, a counselor and senior can discuss whether or not a particular college is a right fit for specific areas of study.
This video offers suggestions for planning your first year at community college.
Financial Planning - Anticipating the Costs
As the costs of college can often be expensive, high school seniors and parents can make the appropriate plans by reviewing financial aid and loan options.
Remember, community college is indeed much more affordable than traditional four-year institutions. However, planning ahead will help the senior determine whether or not to