College Savings Foundation

It's not news to anyone that college costs are skyrocketing. The average cost of a year in college or private university has risen to a staggering 31,465. It is not surprising that parents and students to watch this issue and ask whether a college degree is within reach at all. However, many families are enormous cost savings that could be obtained by attending a community college for two years. Tuition at a community college is typically half that of a public institution and only one tenth of that of a private institution.

For many years, community colleges have fought the image that they were the last resort for students who could not get in anywhere else and that their programs were not as difficult or comprehensive universities and those more major colleges. Today, however, community colleges are booming centers that provide not only the state of education in the career of art, but also provide a high quality basic education for students who wish transfer to a college or university after two years.

Because most colleges and universities, regardless of size, students must take core courses in their first two years before choosing a major, courses at community colleges will save money. In addition, basic courses at university level are often held in large lecture halls with hundreds of students. In community colleges, classes rarely exceed 30 students. Thus, paradoxically, community college students receive more individual attention still pay much less for the privilege.

Instructors at community colleges are required to hold a Masters degree in their field of teaching. Some have pointed to this as evidence that community colleges can not provide the same quality of education that colleges and universities that employ professors with PhDs. However, very few of these teachers actually teach the core courses that students take during their first two years of college. In addition, community college instructors often have work experience in the real world that gives them a more practical than university professors, who are immersed in academia.

Transfer to a larger facility at the end of two years at community college is often easier than being admitted as a freshman. Also, many states guarantee access to their colleges and universities for graduates of community colleges maintain a certain grade average weighted. Even prestigious Ivy League colleges like Harvard, Yale and Brown have agreed to the transfer of community college students.