No one emphasizes much in high school about community college. We all hear about it and look past it as we look to the hundreds of universities to chose from all over the United States and sometimes even outside of it. We set our sights high, dreaming of schools we could never afford, beautiful places to experience and we often overlook the idea of community college. Community college was stereotyped quite early. Freshman year in high school, if you asked anyone where they were going when they graduated, most would reply with a school you hear often. That is the problem, although these universities are wonderful, society has trained us that community college is bad, or if you go to one, you are "bad." A bad student, a bad kid, someone who has no idea where they are going with their future. That is not the case, and here are some important reasons why.
1. Community college can help you save money.
You would not even believe how much of a difference a single class is at a community college versus a university. In some cases, you can take a whole four classes as oppose to a single class at a university. It is crazy!
2. Community college doesn't mean you are any less prepared or educated than others away at school
I got As and Bs in school, received honors, high honors and dean's list at my community college as well. But I went to a community college. It doesn't mean that I am not as smart as the girl who sat next to me in class that went to University of Illinois or University of North Carolina; it just means I wasn't sure.
3. Going to a community college gives you time to figure out your future.
Not that you can't figure out your future away at a university, but being at a community college allows you to take more classes for cheaper, meaning it is easier to test out different options of majors you may be interested in.
4. You can transfer most of your classes to a university with an associate's, and you won't be behind.
Some individuals look down on community colleges as if the students there are learning the alphabet all over again. Although the difficulty of some classes might differ from universities, it does not mean they are getting any less of an education than those at universities.
5. You can stay at home.
One of the positives of going to a community college for me was the fact that I could still live in my parents' house. That, to me, meant saving money on groceries, rent and so much more. Not only that, but when I graduated, I don't really think I was ready to go away to school. And that's OK. Some of us are beyond ready once we turn 18 to get out of the house, and some of us aren't. Nothing wrong with either, but being able to stay at home and experience more of life before going away to school was something I am very thankful for.
6. It doesn't matter how old you are; it is never too late to go back.
Freshman year, I had a 50-year-old man in my class who was going back to further his education, and I thought that was awesome. He explained to me that he loves community colleges because they are much more welcoming than universities when it comes to adult education. Whether it is taking a class to learn more about a particular subject or do something for a job or simply to just get a degree, it doesn't matter if you are still in high school and want to get ahead, a mother of three that wants to continue her education or a 60-year-old man who wants to just learn more about the most recent technology, community colleges welcome all.
