Some see it as the “easy way out.” Minimal entrance requirements, open enrollment, and a wide variety of basic and remedial courses give some people the impression that the community college experience is not academically rigorous. Although there might have been some truth to this stigma a few decades ago, community colleges of today are on the leading edge of education, particularly for new and emerging career areas experiencing explosive growth. Yet, many myths about community colleges still exist.
Myth #1: Students Rejected from Four-Year Colleges
Perhaps the most pervasive stereotype about community college students is that they are there out of academic necessity, not out of choice. Some people assume that four-year institutions' more stringent entrance criteria are too much for ‘those students’ to meet, forcing them to study instead at a local junior college. While academic necessity is a reason for some students to attend a two-year institution, the overarching reason why students choose to attend a community college is cost-effectiveness.
The per-year cost of a university education is roughly three times that of the per-year cost of attending a two-year school. With many 21st-century careers needing only an associate’s degree and increasingly smooth transfer procedures from community colleges to universities, completing the first two years of one’s education at a two-year institution makes a lot of financial sense. The flexible nature of community college scheduling and the availability of scholarships and grants means that many students can obtain their associate’s degree or equivalent
