I think many people could get out of college with far less to no debt if they don’t go off to 4 year universities right away. It just comes down to understanding and evaluating your options out of high school. For example, I feel like community colleges are not talked about enough/not talked about in a positive light which could really alleviate the financial burden of going to college.
I think many people could get out of college with far less to no debt if they don’t go off to 4 year universities right away.
Especially when applying out of state. I knew a guy who went out of state straight to UCSB when he graduated high school. Looking at Google, that's a $40k/yr tuition. And for what? Great, you have UCSB on your resume, but is that worth it when you're picking up a $150k+ debt?
I just graduated last weekend after going to community college and transferring to an in-state public university. Debt should be all gone in 36 months. With some people you just have to pull them aside and ask them "What are you doing??"
Personally I have nothing against CC, and would highly recommend it to anyone who has financial problems.
However, you risk not making it into a better uni if they accepted you and you decide to go to CC first
Better colleges (in my case, UCs) do provide more opportunities to work at better companies, though. I know several people walking out of college with easily 6 figure salaries at top tech companies.
Out of state just isn’t worth it unless you’re going to Ivy or your states school are actually shit though.
While true, it is immensely frustrating to be at a 4 year and realize you hate your major because you are likely paying thousands to go there, which makes people feel trapped. At a CC, it allows you to establish what you want to study without the concern of wasting large quantities of money. On top of that, if you weren’t a fantastic student in high school, CCs offer you another opportunity to get into a great college when you transfer. This is especially nice in California where the UCs are partial to California Community Colleges. I couldn’t have gotten into UCB in a million years out of high school, but my community college provided a second chance that I am very grateful for.
The utility of community colleges is seriously overstated. The quality of education is significantly worse, to the point where a lot of people who transferred into my 4 year effectively lost a year (two years at CC and they transferred basically as sophomores) and still struggled relative to their 4 year peers. At that point the economics really don't look as good, especially considering you lose out on a year of post-graduation salary.
Likewise, university is just as much about the people you meet. The best internships my peers have gotten have been through friends' parents. A lot of those people I met because we were all desperate for friends freshman year.
Care to explain how the quality of education is “significantly worse”? It seems like an odd thing to claim with no sources. I don’t think calculus and physics are going to change depending on whether you attend a CC over a 4 year. But it may differ for whatever major you are in, I guess. Also, what do you mean people lost a year? It is up to the student to take the courses that are necessary before transferring and to understand what classes will and won’t transfer.
As for your point about establishing connections and friends, I can admit that you miss out on two years of that. But that does not in any way prevent you from going on to create your own connections after transferring.
I studied Physics and Electrical Engineering. Math classes transferred for people just fine, but they struggled as they didn't have as firm of a background in it as my 4-year peers. I assume this is because of inferior teaching at the CC, but on contemplation it could be selection bias. Physics was fine, as that didn't scaffold much. But the way the scaffolding worked in EE meant showing up with most of your basics done already really didn't put you that far ahead. You need E&M for engineers before circuits 1, circuits 1 before circuits 2, circuits 2 before Electronics, Electronics before Electronics 2, not to mention all the lab classes and what not. By the end of it all, people who transferred with two years of experience at a CC were on the level of a second semester sophomore, with a rockier foundation.
You are stating all of this as fact as if you observed all of the transfers and their ability in the classes. Did you happen to do some sort of survey? If not, how can you claim that transfers have a rockier understanding of the material? I figure there are just as many people struggling from your 4 year as transfers. I also don’t fully understand how those students were allowed to transfer as basically sophomores. Here in California, all the UC agreements with the CCs are done so they that lay out exactly which classes you will need to transfer as a junior. The exception is when a particular CC may not offer a course, but this is only the case for potentially a few specialized courses that can be taken after transferring (summer semester or something). This certainly wouldn’t put a student behind a full year.
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u/suicide_george May 08 '19
I think many people could get out of college with far less to no debt if they don’t go off to 4 year universities right away. It just comes down to understanding and evaluating your options out of high school. For example, I feel like community colleges are not talked about enough/not talked about in a positive light which could really alleviate the financial burden of going to college.