Myths About Attending Community College

Based on studies of 100 US higher education institutions, the average four-year degree at a private college can cost a student upwards of $120,000. Even for those who look to publicly funded in-state options, a bachelor's degree can come with a price tag of $45,000 and more. More so now, with the economy in decline, states are cutting higher-education funding. Tuition at public universities now is racing far ahead of inflation.

In the last ten years, college-participation rates have soared, thanks in no small part to the highly competitive work places of this country, and the need for more highly qualified individuals in a global economy. College classrooms are bulging, and little is being done to off-set the need for more personalized instruction (smaller classrooms), and to have students better prepared to deal with the pitfalls of excruciatingly difficult academic and social pressures at the higher education level.

One place in American education where issues like smaller class sizes, affordable tuition, and assistance in making the transition from high school to higher education are paramount are Community Colleges. There are many misconceptions about community colleges, and a recent article attempted to dispel a few of them.

Walt Disney went to a community college. So did renowned corporate executive H. Ross Perot, transplant surgeon Daniel Hayes, and NASA astronaut Eileen Collins. Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners and several governors also graduated from junior colleges. Recently, William D. Green, CEO of Accenture, wrote a column in Newsweek about how his time at Dean College, a two-year college near Boston, helped shape his career.

Nationally, 40 percent of all traditional-age college students start out at community college, according to the U.S. Department of Education. So let's bust five of the most common myths about community colleges and let the truth speak for itself.

Myth: Students only attend community college because they can't get in to a four-year university.
Fact: Statistics refute this assumption. It may be true that, on average, community college students have lower SAT and ACT scores than university students, but many students attend community college for convenience, family, job, or financial considerations.

Myth: A degree from a community college is not as good as a university degree.
Fact: A community college degree can take you straight into the workforce or to an elite four-year university. Community colleges educate 62 percent of allied health professionals and over 80 percent of law enforcement officers and firefighters, according to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).

Myth: Community colleges are inexpensive, so the education is not high quality.
Fact: Community colleges may be less expensive than four-year universities, but that doesn't mean you sacrifice a quality education. Classes in honors programs at community colleges are smaller than university classes. The curriculum is often more in-depth and there is more open exchange between teachers and students.

Myth: Community college credits do not transfer to four-year universities.
Fact: The quality of community colleges is getting better all the time. There are more articulation agreements with four-year colleges for them to award credit for comparable courses taken at community colleges.

Myth: Community colleges have low academic standards.
Fact: While community colleges offer "open admission" that breeds diversity, all courses are not open admission. In fact, students usually have to take placement tests in order to qualify for college-level work. Technical and special programs have high standards and students compete to enroll.

(Excerpted from Five Myths About Community Colleges, by Jennifer LeClaire)

When discussing options with a student who only sees four-year schools as options, I would like to offer that community colleges can help these students make a smooth transition from high school to college life by providing them with core decision-making skills, time-management skills, and a solid educational foundation all while being conveniently close to home and extremely inexpensive.

Editorial provided by Nelson Vieira, Director of Admissions, Hudson County Community College.

Ibid. Five Myths About Community Colleges, by Jennifer LeClaire.