Essay on Is College Worth the Price?

In high school, students have the tendency to think that community college is something that is bad. In “Confessions Of A Girl Who Was ‘Too Smart For Community College’,” Chelsea Fagan talks about how in school, she had a hard time in school with her grades and how her school showed off kids that went to college on a bulletin board. She tried everything to avoid going to a community college. Only for the reason that there was a “stigma” on how community colleges are mostly frowned upon or even laughed at (Fagan). Being rejected from many colleges she then convinced herself that she was too smart to go to a community college. Later on she reluctantly went to community college expecting it to be terrible. She quickly realized that community college was a great place to be. Later on, this gave her opening to go to other places. She closes off with her stating how community college is a great place financially and also a great place to mature. In “Confessions Of A Girl Who Was ‘Too Smart For Community College,’” Chelsea Fagan’s simple structure and casual tone make it easy for a reader to understand her main point, and I agree with her concerns on the reproach of community college, but she never really explained why community college was great other than her thoughts on it being cheaper making her argument a little weak.

Students that choose to go to college are going “for a variety of good reasons, such as low cost, location, emphasis on teaching, and flexible class schedules” (page 330). Most students that attend four year universities are straight out of high school and living off of their mommy and daddy’s money and seem to have no bigger responsibility than barely getting stuff done to get by and to graduate. We, as older students, choose to go to a community college because we know that the teachers are more willing to help and we know that we have a better chance of graduating because of the above listed reasons. The amount of help we can get from our teachers is very crucial in passing classes and graduating.

Community colleges in the United States develop rapidly and have become a vital component of the postsecondary education delivery system. As of 2011-2012 school year, 45% of all undergraduate students were enrolled in public two-year colleges, approximately 8.3 million students (Knapp et al., 2012. Cited by AACC Fast Facts). And it seems that with globalization and Obama’s education agenda, the trend of growing enrollment in community colleges won’t change. A high school graduate who decides to pursue postsecondary education may face with a dilemma--whether enroll in a community college or a traditional four-year college. Even within a community college, a student may be faced with a choice—enroll in a vocational program and enter workforce after graduation with a vocational certification, or choose an academic program with an intention of transferring to four-year institutions.

Therefore, students begin dreaming of college; where they will attend and what they will become when they grow up. Unfortunately, the absurd college and university tuition hikes have forced many prospective college bound students to shift gears on their journey to receiving a college degree. One of the modifications made to the dreams of many, is college selection. Thousands of students have opted to start their college careers at a community college. Community colleges are designed to serve as a pathway from high school to college and most offer two-year transfer or university parallel programs that prepare students wishing to earn a bachelor’s degree from a four-year institution. Community Colleges are generally more cost efficient therefore, grant access to many more students desiring a higher education. CNN Money journalist, Kim Clark reports that, “While community college tuition posted a sharp 8.7% gain, it's still a bargain: only about $3,000 a year for full-time tuition” (Clark). Clark also suggests that due to recent increases in federal grants and tax benefits, the average total aid was raised above the average tuition price of community colleges, therefore, “the typical community college student got the cost of tuition and most textbooks fully covered” (Clark). According to the College Board, “four out of 10 graduating high school students begin their college careers at community colleges” (Why Community College?). Typically, courses that are

First, Saving money is a top priority. Going to Community College saves students money, but it doesn’t mean students will be paying a tiny small portion. It

Tuition costs in the United States have increased significantly causing many families to opt out from attending prestigious four-year universities. According to Flynn, “Today’s college graduate leaves campus with around $35,000 in student loan debt, and when you include interest payments, they’ll end up paying $42,385 over the life of the loan” (Flynn). In an effort to reduce the debts among individuals, students should consider attending a Community College as their educational experience prior to enrolling at a four-year university or as their career pathway.

Going to community college was not part of the original game plan when deciding where to apply junior year of high school. The original plan was to attend a college I was accepted into in New York city and it seemed as easy as clicking accept until it came to planning out the financial logistics and reality took the upper hand. Almost two years later and I feel the relief of being debt-free but there also lies the lingering feeling of regret. The difficulty lies within having to stay home for two years and a consistent feeling of being held back while watching high school classmates make moving strides toward their desired four-year institution. The inability to relate to my closest friends and feeling less than others led me to have a low

Where does one go to college, to further their academic education, while also having qualifications, time, and money restricting them? The simple answer to this question is Community College. Individuals regularly struggle to attend college, either after high school or later in life, because of the difficulties of attending major universities. Therefore, community college is crucial, to people of all ages, wanting to further their education.

The first reason for attending a community college is enhanced academic quality. In fact, nowadays community colleges have greatly raised academic standards with the intent of suiting all the students’ needs. In fact, if someone is serious with understanding what is offered in community colleges nowadays, there is no doubt that one leaves the institution with the required skills for approaching life.

Attending a community college usually makes people cringe. It is not the first pick of an average high school student. Community colleges are hardly ever advertised however, the traditional four-year schools are. Throughout all four years of high school the word university is drilled into student brains so exploring the idea of attending a community college does not stand a chance. The football and basketball teams, the sororities and fraternities, to having the bragging rights for attending a well-known university is what students imagine when going to college. Even though students transfer from community colleges into four-year schools, the idea of attending community college is perceived to be the easy way out or a lack of effort. In the

Although most universities’ applications require high ACT/SAT scores and extensive essays, it does not necessarily mean only the “smart kids” get into universities or that the students there get a better quality education. Before this may have been true but changes have been made so that community colleges now require most professors to have a masters or doctoral degree. This means

The Scottish Funding Council has aspirations to increase attainment levels amongst students within Higher and Further Education. Aligned with this is their desire for institutions to “improve access for people from the widest range of backgrounds” (http://www.sfc.ac.uk/web/FILES/Funding_Outcome_Agreements_2014-15/Higher_Education_Outcome_Agreements_Achievements_and_Ambitions_2014-15.pdf) the desired output of this result in improved life chances for all (the Scottish Government Raising Attainment).

In college however the high costs factored in with the high volume of generalized education often leaves students

Community colleges have turned into a staple of numerous areas offering quality college-level courses for individuals not able to go to a traditional four-year institution. Then again, numerous students view community colleges in a negative light. Some trust it's an inviting zone for the average and "not sufficient."

These days, community college enrollment is increasing exponentially at schools across the country, while four-year institutions have seen a small drop in student population within the past year. Although tuition is getting more expensive across the board, community colleges are still significantly more affordable than most four-year institutions. The reasons countless