Someone recently was telling me about a program there DS will attend where they will study liberal arts and, I think, welding.
Part of why I think the trades are overlooked by kids and families is that “going away” to college (chance to live on one’s own, experience new things/people, make friends, “party” or whatever) is what lots of people think is necessary for social/emotional development. Or something. It’s the expectation for young adult’s social life.
I think offering training/certification in a skilled trade with some horizon expanding liberal arts education and dorm living is a great idea.
Can anyone recommend schools that offer such things?
There are some community colleges that have dorms. They are not as common as the ones without dorms, but there are some that offer that and give you the chance to study a trade, too, like HVAC. If my kids wanted to do a traditional trade I think I’d point them toward HVAC. My BIL is a plumber and it’s great for new builds when you are installing, but yikes on the plumbing disasters and messes. Doesn’t look like fun for me! He makes good money, though.
I have a friend whose daughter went to city college in California to help establish residency there (her dad is from there anyway) and she lived in dorms on campus her first year. It might’ve been Santa Barbara City College. I’m not sure.
I know this topic is sorta older but I will add what one of our sons will be doing this fall. Texas State Technical College in Waco, TX. It’s a good sized 2-year technical college for trades and has dorms, meal plans, etc. We are OOS and unfortunately our state (TN) has nothing comparable.
We REALLY wanted him to be able to have a ‘college experience’ in addition to being trained in what he is interested in (CNC precision machining). This school delivers on ALL of that and is state of the art on their programs and facilities. It has a wide range of programs.
Dunwoody College of Technology offers dorming. The school has actually contracted with a private dorm building on the U of Minnesota campus. Even though this makes the dorm a short car (or bus) ride away, I think it’s a good idea, because the UMN campus is really a fun place with all the “traditional college” amenities (and of course Big 10 sports for those who are fans.)
In the U.S. there are 241 nonprofit colleges that offer 2-year or certificates and on-campus housing, per College Navigator. College Navigator - Search Results
Most tend to be in more rural areas, and some the percentage of students living on-campus is very small. But it is not universally the case, and there are some where the majority of students are living on-campus. If my kid ends up going the trade school route, this is definitely the way I’d prefer it to be done.
Below is an image showing the selections I checked for the above search results, but there are obviously way more ways to narrow down the list (particular programs, geographic location, number of students, etc).
