The Benefits of Community College

About nine years ago, we found out how expensive College was when my daughter went away to college. She was an excellent student. Like most High School grads she wanted to get away from home and see what the world was like. She was a bit of an introvert and thought it might help her to come out of her shell. Although, she worked at trying to get involved and meet people but she found that she was not really a different person there than she was at home.

community College Student — Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

After a couple of years away from home my daughter ended up coming back to live in town because I was involved in a pretty serious car accident and I needed help at home. My daughter was a biology major and with all the labs and classes that entailed it was a long row to hoe. When she came back and transferred to a college here she realized they would not transfer a lot of the credits she had built up. She did some research and decided that she could finish many of her courses at the local community college.

This was not only convenient but economical. My daughter was surprised that the classes actually were up to the standards of the bigger colleges. She was able to live at home, save money, and get the classes she needed taken care of so that she could get on with her education. Our Community College offers online classes as well which helped her out tremendously so that she could work while she was attending school. Online classes are not for everyone, it takes a bit more discipline to succeed and if you are an auditory or kinesthetic learner then you may not want to start out with online classes.

I was unable to walk for a couple of years after my accident and so I decided, to take some classes myself. What a pleasure to be able to go to school in the leisure of your own home. Most of the classes required that you go to a testing center to take your classes but there are ways that this can be done even if you are handicapped or have a disability. They have the programs in place to help just about anyone who wants to further their education. There were so many different groups and nationalities represented and all were finding their niche.

When my son was getting ready to graduate from high school he talked about going off to a college but in the end he realized it would be a better idea to stay close to home and go to the community college. This was especially true since I could no longer afford to help him out as much as we had been able to help his sister. We found out that the local community college had a wonderful financial aid program with grants to help out students in need. The classes were already very reasonable but with my (lack of) income my son could go to community college completely on grants and that included his books as well. What a blessing this has been for my family.

They have so many programs depending on whether or not you want to get a degree or just get a certificate for a trade. The community college in our area is a relatively new campus and has very nice facilities. The instructors that we have each had have all been very competent and helpful. There is a site that you can go and look at comments on the instructors and what past students have said about them to help you make a decision on if a class looks right for you before you sign up. Now I understand that you take some of these comments with a grain of salt but at times it can be helpful. If the majority of the comments are good or bad it is a helpful thing to know in advance.

It saves my son gas money because it is so close to home, he is able to work and take classes that fit around his schedule. The financial aid is a terrific benefit over going to a larger college. Getting loans you have to pay back can be so hard in this economic climate as my daughter can attest to because she did have to take out some loans when getting her degree finished up. They also have a wonderful library/computer center where you can go to do your research and homework and offer tutoring at certain hours there as well. The instructors who are on staff have an open door policy and if you get one who is not on campus they are very good about giving e-mail addresses or contact information if you need the help.

I believe that if you are a parent with a child that is wavering on whether to go to college, or they are not as responsible as they should be to handle going off to college, or you are under economic restraints Community College is the best possible solution. It is a two year college that is right near home and you can see within the first semester how things are going to go. It is also a good idea for kids that do not have the support of their parents to be able to go to school and still work or take classes online. I have seen kids like this at the college who are determined to get an education even if their parents are not supportive.

In my opinion the community college is a wonderful educational opportunity for many people. As my daughter says, “Why pay so much for the basics? It is all the same no matter where you go; basics are basics.” Once you are finished with your two years you can still go off to the university of your choice and get the independence you desire. I believe that community college will better prepare any young person for what to expect at college and get prepared for higher learning in advance.

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Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Benefits of Community College

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