Fact v. Fiction: Is Community College to College a Good Path?

by Katherine O'Brien, ThD Cand., Certified College Planning Specialist, founder Celtic College Consultants

Save money by taking the general education requirements at a local community college, then transfer for the last two years of college. Sounds great, doesn't it?

If only it really worked that way. Here are the facts:

 

This chart show the completion of a bachelor's degree within SIX years by students who began at community college. You can see that only 3% of South Dakota's students were successful. The highest rate of completion is only 21%, in New Jersey. 

 

AN AVERAGE OF 84% OF US STUDENTS 

STILL DID NOT 

HAVE A BACHELORS DEGREE

AFTER SIX YEARS!!!

 

How sad! SO MANY people are using this path, thinking they can save money and still complete their degree in four years, but find it IS NOT REALISTIC.

There are many reasons for this failure, none of them documented. The fact that MOST 4 year college students change their majors 2-3 times would be a significant factor. It's not clear whether this data includes the non-degree seeking community college students. Either way, I've seen that data over the years and it's not much difference. 

COMMUNITY COLLEGES DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS!

Community colleges often offer very helpful certificate programs in everything from nurse assistant to heavy truck mechanics. Those programs typically reflect the need in the local job market and have been helpful to many people over the years. Some community colleges offer very little in the way of college transfer courses; they specialize in job training programs.

I've worked with students over the years who came to me while they were in community college. It has been pretty common for them to have to wait a month or more to sit down with a transfer counselor (the person who helps connect the community college courses with the classes your target university (and major) will accept and/or requires.

Students don't realize that universities are very particular about which classes you must complete in order to transfer, which they will accept for your degree program (remember that bachelor's degree requirements are set by major; they are not universal). They assume that whatever they take will be accepted; that is not at all the case. In fact, of those few students who do graduate with a bachelors degree after six years, nearly all of them have numerous, often many, courses that they took and paid for, that do not count toward their degree. They are "extra." That's a HUGE amount of extra time, effort, and money. Once our time is gone, it's gone.

The COSTS ARE HIGH. In addition to the wasted time, effort, and money, these students tend to feel like failures because it took so long to complete a four year degree. That is not a helpful burden for anyone to carry. If they have loans on top of that, it's a recipe for depression.

I WANT YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL, NO MATTER YOUR GOALS

As a college consultant, my focus has always been on helping each student become him or herself, do what suits their interests, temperament, skills, aptitude, and will leave them ready to enter the workforce or start a business. It's critically important to have clear goals BEFORE you start college. That's where my conversations with each young person start. That's also where they end. I'm an empowerment agent. My only agenda with each student is to help him or her be him or herself. I help them identify and "own" their gifts, abilities, talents, inclinations, personalities, and the like.  Then I help them develop their own voices, articulating themselves, not parroting others. From that point we explore majors, programs, and schools. We explore net costs, scholarships, and the like, to make sure the plan is feasible.

Ready to discuss your situation? Whether you are in community college, 8th grade, or high school, we can meet and talk through your goals, preparations, and accomplishments so far. I will apply my 20 years' experience and countless hours of training and research to guide you to confirm and refine your goals and plans.

To schedule a one hour consultation with Katherine, email her: KOB@CelticCollegeConsultants.com