The Arizona Republic reports an overload of students in community colleges within the last few years. Students, being offered numerous scholarships, realize that paying $100 dollars per year for their education is cheaper than $14,000. Someone did their homework.
Receiving an associates degree at a community college, then proceeding to transfer any earned credits to a university to finish the degree, is much smarter than jumping into a university after completion of a high school diploma. Granted, experience is gained quicker than that of a community college experience. For instance, I learned that I am paying loans, fees, and taxes out the, excuse my French, wazoo for the same education that I could have gotten for a cheaper price. I did not shop around and I am here to advise anyone I can. In the end, everyone gets the same amount of knowledge for different costs.
Students graduating from high school in the next couple of years should definitely take the time to sit down, weigh their options, and then immediately choose to enroll in their local community college. Taking in all accounts such as credits earned, living expenses, and tuition costs, a community college is truly the wisest place to start one's education.
Within the first two years, all college students take the same courses called general education classes, which are required by every major. Whether you are a student of a university or a student of a community college, you will undoubtedly take a number of science, history, English, and math classes. It all depends on if you desire a class of 400 or 40. Ah, the glory of the university: communication class at 12:00, hopefully I'll find a seat this time. There are exceptions, however, to this credit transfer rule, shall we call it? Students in high school may now take Advanced Placement classes and college level general classes in order to tactfully 'get them out of the way'. One will still need a number of credits in order to fulfill the university's general education requirements. There are not enough hours in the day for an honors high school student to take all of their general college courses and 'get them out of the way'. Being a former student of said 'college level high school classes', I assure my audience that it is not the same training as one would receive at a community college nor a university where they are trained to teach with the college rigor.
The tuition expenses for the same amount of education is less than half that of the universities in Arizona. For example, Maricopa Community Colleges reports charging $71 per credit hour. An average student enrolls in 12 credit hours per semester, equally 24 credit hours per year. Let's just go by my scholarship requirements, which encourage me to take 30 credit hours per year. That means that, if I were attending a community college, I would only have to pay $2,240 for the whole year's worth of tuition. Let's add about $500 for books, that's pretty cheap for books now a days. Our grand total for a year's expenses for tuition at a community college is $2,740. For Arizona State University, tuition for 30 credit hours would be $6,791. That is including fees and book expenses. That is more than double and more than ridiculous.
The universities also have another requirement that costs students even more mula. Universities just passed a requirement stating that all incoming freshmen must live on campus. That means another $6,000 for housing and another $2,000 for board. Woo. Best four years of my life. These times are priceless.
Classes at universities are overbearingly over sized. Does that sentence work? Who knows, my teachers don't even know my name. My history class feels like a rigorous book club. We meet once a week and discuss the truck-load of bookwork assigned. If I am doodling in class, I don't think I am getting my part-time, minimum-wage earned money's worth. Give me a worksheet or something. Let's popcorn read. What happened to that? Call on me. I'm not nervous.
To Future Generations:
Arizona State University and other universities in the state are requiring students to live on campus next year and are lowering the required number of credits for scholarships awarded. Don't clap yet, this isn't a good thing. They are making lots of money off of you. While you are living on campus year after year and not taking enough credits to get through the degree requirements in four years, your time will fly by and your scholarship will be over. This means you must continue attending the university to just finish those last 9 credits and paying the full in-state tuition fees. They are turning the state universities into five year degree programs, making profit on tuition and living expenses.
Go to a community college. You get your first two years of college courses necessary out of the way. We all have the same chance to succeed or fail. Only you can be held responsible for your decisions, so make wise ones.
Judging by the Republic's article, I can tell the younger generations have learned from the rise in prices and the outcome of results. We are headed in a good direction, or at least some direction.
Extra Postage Required: Use a bit more sense next time.
Sources:
http://students.asu.edu/cost-attendance
http://www.gccaz.edu/FutureStudents/Financial/Tuition.htm
I can definitely confirm the top quality of the community college experience. I took several technology courses at the Mesa Community College Networking
ReplyDeleteAcademy. The instruction is delivered by professionals with real-world work experience who understand that their students are ready to take the results
of their education to their jobs the very next day in many cases. That was certainly true for me. I'll never regret the time I spent at MCC, even though
I did not complete an associates degree.
Unfortunately, since I completed two and a half years worth of course work at ASU in the early 1990's, it no longer makes sense for me to take any courses
there, as they would not help me complete the journalism degree at this point in my undergraduate program.
You have some great things to say. Keep it up; I am definitely one of your loyal fans already!