Why community colleges aren't that great an idea

College Search & Lists Community Colleges
1

<p>Consider:</p>

<p>Community colleges usually take more students with a lower grade point average and from lower family incomes. As a result, many of the students there are from either rural or inner-city areas, and display the attitude that comes with it. As such, there is a lower ratio of well-read, well-educated individuals at a community college and therefore there are fewer people that a good student would find to be worth associating with. There is a lower chance at a community college to make connections in your own peer group, just as there is a lower chance of social mobility through personal connections.
Another problem with community colleges is the academics. Community college instructors often have fewer/lower qualifications than professors at a four-year university, and the curriculum is often either extremely dumbed-down or extremely chaotic.
The public services at a community college such as career placement programs are also extremely inefficient as opposed to those at a four year university, which are generally more helpful. </p>

<p>While a community college is an excellent choice for someone considering a two-year program or studying for a vocational certificate, I wouldn’t recommend it for someone interested in going on to study the sciences, social sciences or humanities.
Just something to consider for high school seniors or high school graduates considering taking the community college path.</p>

2

<p>wheres all this hate on cc coming from? lol</p>

<p>there are also many benefits of a cc if you are willing to explore a bit.</p>

3

<p>^^^ Exactly!</p>

<p>If the complaints you list are true of a community college that you are currently attending (or have recently attended), sit down and compose a formal list of concerns, and suggestions for improvement. Send copies of your letter to each member of the community college’s board of directors and to the president of the community college. Just like 4-year institutions, community colleges are highly variable. There is no reason why your community college has to be one of the “bad” ones. The people who are in positions to effect change need to be encouraged to make efforts that can lead to a more positive experience for the students who attend.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>

4

<p>Oh wow, this is just what I would expect as a classic College Confidential posting. How could I expect community colleges to get a fair shake on this site, when I read countless messages about how Cornell isn’t an acceptable choice, because it, “isn’t really an Ivy”!</p>

<p>Kain, your post is so ignorant of both the student and faculty populations of community colleges, it makes me sincerely hope that your post was more of a ‘■■■■■’ posting, as opposed to an attempt for serious dialogue. On the other hand, I taught at big universities and small 4-year colleges for several years before teaching at a community college for over 10 years. I have been a community college administrator for the last 10 years, so I think I know that I am talking about.</p>

<p>It is true that the average high school grades for incoming students are lower than that for most baccalaureate institutions; this should hardly be surprising, as admission is not competitive. However, just because most community colleges are easy to get into, that does not imply that they are easy to get out of (i.e. graduate with a transfer degree). Students who graduate from my college (Everett Community College, Everett, WA) and transfer to Washington State 4-year programs out-perform the ‘native’ (been there all 4 years) students, in terms of average GPA as Juniors and Seniors. My college is not unique in this regard, and you will see similar statistics across the nation. This too should not be terribly surprising, as only students who have proved that they are successful at college successfully transfer to universities.</p>

<p>It is also true that CC instructors’ academic credentials are not as impressive, compared to their counterparts at 4-year colleges. However, how does that necessarily imply that course quality or rigor is somehow inferior? As I have already noted, our transferring students out-perform native university students, and many of them report back to us that they were better-prepared than their native peers. I have found this to be particularly true in the ‘hard’ science and technology disciplines, such as physics, mathematics, chemistry and engineering. Let’s just take Calculus as an example. A typical CC calculus teacher has 10-20 years of experience teaching calculus, and class sizes rarely exceed 30 students. Oh yes, there are a bunch of full professors with Math PhDs at our universities, but do you think that they deign to teach something as mundane and pedestrian as calculus? Oh no, that job is left to graduate student teaching assistants, many of whom have never taught a course in their entire lives, and to a class of students that numbers in the hundreds. And, at least in the experience of many of my ex-students, English was the second (or third) language of the majority of those grad students, so just trying to figure out what their teacher was trying to say has been a major challenge for math students.</p>

<p>I can hardly even begin to address the elitist, borderline racist, and insulting comments regarding “…many of the students there are from either rural or inner-city areas, and display the attitude that comes with it”. And what attitude would that be? I’d like to see further explication of the details regarding this ‘attitude’. Are we talking about Poor White Trash and Gang Bangers? And, when you refer to, “…a lower chance at a community college to make connections with your own peer group, just as there is a lower chance of social mobility through personal connections”, are you implying that Biff and Muffy will not be able to find sufficient acquaintances of high enough standing to attend the D</p>

5

<p>ALF your post is right on the money on this one. I personally went to and transfered out of Austin Community College and it was the probably the best academic preparation I could get anywhere for a 4 year engineering education. The hands on help that I was able to get at ACC was second to none. Find me a 4 year school that offers unlimited free tutoring for any class you take there. I am not talking just about peer tutoring but tutoring from people who have masters degrees and PhDs.
As to the comment “As such, there is a lower ratio of well-read, well-educated individuals at a community college and therefore there are fewer people that a good student would find to be worth associating with.” all I can say is just like any other school you can break a community college down into two groups. The first group is those who want to be there they work hard and are academically on par with anyone you will meet at a serious 4 year public or private institution (You may be suprised to know that the elite privates love to recruit transfers from community colleges). The second group is the group that is there to pass the time or those that don’t care. Inclueded in the second group are those that you describe who have an attitude and are not well read and have no intention of developing their critical thinking ability. For your information those in the second group exist everywhere.</p>

<p>By the way if you think community college takes you no where I was accepted to every school I applied and that included University of Texas Austin Cockrell School of Engineering and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Going to community college not only gives you a top notch education that big schools look for. It also gives you the insight into yourself that you need to determine if college is right for you as well as a great reason to transfer (I want to get a 4 year degree but the school I go to only offers 2 year programs).</p>

6

<p>Same with me, I withdrew from a private school because I couldn’t afford the ridiculous tuition amount. I’m taking all of those same classes for FREE at the community college I go to. College is College…regardless of whether it is a baccalaureate institution or a junior college…</p>

7

<p>ALF: Why would a debutante be enrolled in a CC?</p>

8

<p>lol…alf i think you scared kain away haha
well said.</p>

<p>without CC, i would not be at USC.
graduated hs with a 2.07 GPA.</p>

9

<p>“College is College…regardless of whether it is a baccalaureate institution or a junior college…”</p>

<p>Not necessarily. It all depends on the institution. Lumping all junior colleges together is like lumping all American universities together. There is a huge variation.</p>

<p>However, some classes taken at junior colleges are not the same as taking them at the university level.</p>

10

<p>Personally, I’m not really a big fan of cc like you but you have to realize that cc is better than nothing. Some students (kind of like me lol) who want to go to a College or University aren’t able to because of their grades. So cc is the is almost like an last resort. I attended Clark Atlanta University during the fall semester (last semester) and I withdrew this semester. I can’t attend any school until the summer or fall but I have chosen to attend a cc. It’s better than settling for an high school diploma and going nowhere with your life trust me.</p>

11

<p>Let’s take two examples: My wife did a 2 year nursing program at a community college and now makes more than I did from a 4 year university engineering program; a person I worked with who did a 2 year mechanical technology program also makes way more than I did in my last job. By the way, they are both working now and I am not. So much for the value of the 4 year university degree. Highly touted but often doesn’t measure up. I wish I had done a 2 year program at a community college. My great university degree belongs in a dumpster.</p>

12

<p>I really don’t know what you are talking about. Have you ever been to community college? It really isn’t bad at all. I have met some students with the “attitude” you were alluding to, but slackers can be found anywhere. I have taken classes in many different environments, four year schools, a CC(community college), public and private high schools. I assure you, laziness can be found anywhere. Most noticeably I find them in the foundation level classes, but other than that my CC experience has been great. My lab partner is taking classes here because they are prerequisites for applying to Dr of PT schools. When people don’t understand, they ask questions. There is a lot of stuff you can learn because of a CC. Four year schools are good too, but I don’t understand what you could possibly have against a CC. They afford the opportunity of education to people who want to get an education and reach goals. The reason that many people go to a CC isn’t because they are less qualified, but because they are poor. I know several students who didn’t do well in high school and are turning themselves around here. Also, at least half of my CC professors teach or have taught at other four year schools. </p>

<p>Now stop being elitist. What I find most offensive about what you said is that there are fewer people worth associating with. That is narrow minded of you. Grow up.</p>

13

<p>i hate community college ur right its just like H.S, it lets everybody in from all backgrounds and all sorts of low income people that i would never associate with or feel like i need to because i feel like alot of these ppl are not worthy yes im elitist, but then again some of us want to get to greater schools so we chose it or its to turn our grades around for a second chance thats cool but the other ppl that just come for gossip and dont care are the ones that stereotype it the way i see it, i personally take no one in my cc seriously i just come to make these A’s and get out, commuting is awful anyway and theres no social life then on top of that i get treated like im in hs with all these unnecessary group projects and assignments that want me to interact on the campus(even though nobody lives on it so its wasting valuble time), i just cant wait till im done</p>

14

<p>How’s that remedial English class going?</p>

15

<p>lol 10characters</p>

16

<p>Community Colleges’ vocational programs are excellent. </p>

<p>However, that is the one place where community college shines. It is an excellent alternative to a trade school for those who want to improve their lot in life by studying to be a prison guard or a nurse. Those who simply need a degree or certificate that functions as a license to work can have their community college.
Those who truly want to expand their minds and understand the theoretical concepts and approaches to their field of study, however, are better served by the programs offered at a four year college or university.</p>

17

<p>I would disagree with you on this Kain. The first year of study no matter the major is more or less getting the background classes you need in order to be able to get into your major. For most majors it is more like the first two years. That said Community colleges have become an excellent way to knock out the first year to two years of college where you won’t be working with the “theoretical concepts and approaches to their field of study”. Speaking as an Engineering student at a very highly ranked school I feel my time at community college helped prepare me for college in a way that I could not have got at a four year university. Community college serves multiple purposes. The first is as a source of technical degrees. Second is as a filter to help those who were not motivated in highschool decide if they are ready for college. Third is to provide a source for continuing education for adults who are not interested in going to a 4 year school or don’t want to pay the price of a 4 year school to do something like learn a language or take calculus. It sounds to me like you had a bad experience and blame it on the idea of community college but I can tell you first hand that there are so many more good community colleges than bad. At the good ones the education provided is what you make of it. If you work hard it is excellent and if you don’t work then it is garbage. Don’t blame your bad experience on the system instead perhaps look at the school you attended and see if it was their fault where they went wrong. There is a board that does oversight at most community colleges. That is where you want to take your story if in fact the school is failing.</p>

18

<p>The irony is this guy went to Tallahassee Community College, which is one of the leading Associates degree producers in the U.S. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in 2009, TCC ranked 16th nationally among all CCs, awarding 2,248 A.A. degrees. Those students primarily transfer to Florida’s top universities, and do quite well there. </p>

<p>TCC also is a national leader in awarding degrees to Native American and African-American students, which I suspect is one of the problems that this guy has with his school</p>

19

<p>OP is ■■■■■■■■, right?</p>

20

<p>I got a world-class journalism education at a community college - one that got me hired to hired to a PR gig for a top NASCAR Rolex Series team before I even transferred.</p>