Students planning on going to college next year will need to decide by May 1. When making that decision, considering a two year college over a four year college might be beneficial.
A two year school or a community college is a non-residential junior college offering courses to people living in a particular area. Students at 4-year colleges are eligible to earn a bachelor’s degree after the completion of 120 to 130 academic credits. Students at a four year school can live there or at home.
A community college has flexible class times, they offer night or morning class to fit your schedule.
National Student Clearinghouse Center found 46% of all students who completed a four year degree had been enrolled in a two year school at some point. Community colleges are flexible with your schedule and teachers provide more help than they would a four year school.
Community colleges give opportunities for employment. For example, if a student wants to become a nurse, most universities exist for technical programs. While you can get that at a two year school in a clinical field on hospital grounds; which saves you time and also have a foot in the doorway to a job.
According to bigfuture.collegeboard, on average a two year school costs around $3000 a year over a four year school which costing $25,000 a year.
Some majors only need an associates degree, a two year school maybe more beneficial than a university. According to educationcorner students can get their associates degree in a two year school.
Cheryl Galvin, a guidance counselor at Colonia High School, said, “a lot of students go to a two year school because they save money. They’re not sure what they want to do so they get all their classes done, there are more students you know than at a four year school.”
For new students, a four year college can be overwelming. Big classes where students might not get much help from their professors can be problematic. A two year school is known to have smaller classes where students can have one on one with their teachers. It’s less of a transition. The past two years, Middlesex County College (MCC) implemented a program at CHS where instructors help students going to Middlesex County College (MCC). They have MCC counselors come here to CHS to accept students on the spot. Then, Thomas Pasko, Computer Science teacher at CHS and Math Adjunct at MCC, sets up the Accuplacer test and assists students with schedules.
Pasko said, “ The only disadvantage of a two year school is that you can’t live on campus”.
More than 40 percent of undergraduates attend a two year school. When moving to a university, students will get most if not all of their credits to transfer with them.
Danielle Allen, CHS English Teacher and MCC Adjunct Professor, explained, “I went to a four year college knowing I would finish, however, a number of my friends Kean were unable to complete their degree because life got in the way. When they left Kean, all they had was debt and student loans to pay. See, you don’t get an Associates Degree from a four year college if you only complete two years. If you attend a two year college, you can get that Associates Degree and maybe get a better paying job while you finish your Bachelors. And, if you have to take a break from school or realize that four years of school is just too much for you, at least you can walk away with an Associates.
