Community College vs. Regular College?
Question:
If you have any information on this subject I would truly appreciate it, thanks!!
Answer:
A community college will allow you to earn a two-year degree (an Associate of Arts). Most four-year colleges or universities will allow you to transfer community college credits and enter as a Junior. If you're short on money, a community college is a great way to start your college education.
If you stop your education at the two-year mark with an Associate of Arts degree, you won't make as much as if you have a Bachelor's, but that doesn't mean you have to spend your entire four years at a school like UCLA.
I got my Associate of Arts at a community college and then transferred to a four-year university to get my Bachelor's. It worked out great for me.
Good luck!
As a college student I can answer your question with confidence.
At a community college, you will be in school for 2 years earning an A.A. degree (Associate of Arts). At a regular college like UCLA you can receive your B.S. (Bachelors of Science) or a degree of equal standing i.e. BA, MBA. This degree will bear a lot more weight for future jobs. You can only go to grad school with a B.S. or B.A. degree, so you can't go to grad school with an A.A. degree from community college.
There are other ways to proceed, you can go to Community College for 2 years to get some general education requirements out of the way then transfer to a regular college like UCLA to finish up a B.S. or B.A. degree.
If you have more questions, feel free to e-mail me.
A 2-year college will earn you an Associate's degree. If you studied in a technical field, like electronics or auto repair, you should meet the requirements to work as a technician in that field, but probably not as a full-fledged engineer. It's similar for other vocational-type studies. You might learn the specific skills you need for a particular type of job, but you might not go very deep into your studies.
For more academic studies, or if you want to do more advanced studies in your field, you can take that 2-year degree and then transfer to a 4-year college or university. Public universities like the UC or Cal State System are set up to accept transfers like this.
You will find good and bad students and good and bad teachers at both 2-year and 4-year colleges. The studies at 2-year colleges tend to be more practical and hands-on, and less theoretical. But they may teach your subject at only a basic level. On the other hand, this can also be true for a lot of the general education requirements in a 4-year college.
In general, a 2-year degree is either (1) a good way to start working toward a 4-year degree, or (2) a way to prepare yourself for technical or specialized work --- generally more interesting and with better pay than those jobs that require only high school diplomas, but not as much as jobs that require a bachelor's (i.e., 4-year) degree. A 4-year degree will give you more flexibility, generally be more intellectually stimulating, and be a prerequisite for higher-paying jobs with more opportunities for advancement.
As with any educational experience, you get out of college what you put into it. You might coast through your classes, doing the minimum, and get a degree, or you can really invest a lot of thought into your classes, get your degree, and also really learn something.
If you're thinking about an employer, though, they don't necessarily know you very well or know how great of a person you are, so the first things they'll look at are your education and your previous jobs.
Generally community colleges only offer two year degrees (associates degree) and you will have to transfer to a bigger school later. This can be a good way to go if you are only looking at college as a way to get a degree and make more money. Also, if you go to a community college for two years and then transfer to say UCLA than your degree will be a UCLA degree and employers won't really be interested in the fact that you went to UCLA for two years rather than four. If you are looking at the whole college social experience (clubs, fraternities/sororities, sports etc.) then you might want to start off at a university as they will have more to offer you. It does matter where you get your degree from. Employers will use this as a way to distinguish between two equally qualified canidates. If I have a hotel management degree from Cal poly Pamona and my competitor has one from UNLV then the UNLV guy probably gets it (all things being equal). Cal poly has a good hotel school, but UNLV has a better one. I don't think that where you went effects pay as much as it effects how competitive you will be in the job market.
You can transfer (switch) from a CC to a regular college if you want a 4 year degree or just get a 2 year degree from the CC.
You will get paid less if you only graduate from CC and not a regular college.
I think you get out of it what you put into it. I went to a community college at night and over studied for As. I graduated with a 3.94. I studied accounting. I was accepted to one fo the "Big Four" accounting firms. However, I don't think I would have been considered if I had not received high marks. I'm glad I over studied because I am taking the CPA exam now and the studying paid off. Also, I was accepted to the part time MBA program at George Mason, a "regular" college.
Also, I know students that did their first two years at a community school then transfered into a "regular" college for the name on the degree. Typically you need 60 credits from the school you want to graduate from.
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