Decisions, Decisions!

Which is better for high school graduates to attend at first? Community College or straight to a University?

Pursuing a higher education has many pathways, but
which one is the right one to take? Straight to a four-year
institution or a two-year? 

To some, this decision is not much of one; to others, it’s one of the most important of their life. Which is best when it comes to career paths, growing as a person, or when it comes to finances?  These are important things to look at when trying to tackle the decision on whether to jump straight into a four-year university or attend a community college after high school.

Cody Spears is one of the students who decided to attend a community college out of high school. “I attended Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC),” he explained.

Future college students must make the 

decision on whether to attend a 

two-year or four-year school. 

“I did not feel I was prepared mentally to be that far away from home,” Spears said about why he decided to attend a community college. “I felt like if I went [to a university] right away, I would fail.”

Spears, after graduating from MGCCC, decided to attend the University of Mississippi. “The transition has been tough,” he said, “The academics at university level are much more intense than at the junior college. Junior college was basically like going through high school again.”

Unfortunately, this feeling of “going through high school again,” is shared by a lot of community college students.

“You get yelled at for being on your phone in the hallway,” Christopher Jackson, a student at North West Mississippi Community College said.  

Attending a four-year institution is, on

average, more than twice as 

expensive as attending a two-year 

college according to Forbes.com

Instead of helping students be prepared for university classes, community colleges may be a hindrance. According to Breakthrough Collaborative, it might be better to jump straight into university life. Their research states that it takes students who begin their degree at a junior college 71 months, on average, to complete a bachelor degree; while students who begin at a four-year institution usually graduate in 55 months.

There are advantages to choosing a community college to attend first, however. The main advantage is the tuition: it’s cheaper. “In 2010-1011, the average community college student paid $2,713 in tuition - a tenth of the tuition expense shouldered by students at private four-year colleges,” Forbes.com reports.

Thomas Toole, a junior at the University of Mississippi, decided to go straight out of high school to a university. “Attending Ole Miss was academically hard for me. I didn’t really transition well, and I think [going straight to a university] was more of just something [one] did after high school, not really a decision I made,” Toole said.

“Going to a four-year school just seemed like the natural next step,” he explained, “I think if I had to do it over again, I would go to a community college first. It would, for sure, save money, and I think I would've been able to play sports while I was there.”

An important fact to remember, is that a student graduates
with the same university degree whether they transfer from 
a two-year institution or attend all four years at the 
university level. 

There are certainly advantages to both institutions. Community college is the financially sound choice even if students may be sacrificing quality education. Universities, however, can be expensive, but they can offer so much more academically. All things considered, students can graduate with the same bachelor's degree no matter where they begin their education. That is one of the most important factors to consider when deciding upon which route to take.