To be honest I don’t know much about college. I am 24 years old. After high school I Joined the Marine Corps because not only was it my dream but also because I didn’t think I was college material. I did 4 years in the Corps and I got out last november. This past april I got a job with a Federal Agency. First I had to complete the 13 week Academy which was a total of 440 class hours. Anyway thats were I found out I could really read a book, take a class and retain information, as long as I applied myself, which I did. Well I think I am more mature now and thanks to the pot 9-11 GI BIll I don’t have to worry about College expenses since it will cover 36 months of the most expensive state college.
That brings me up to my question what is the difference with community college and state university? I know one is the price, but thats all i really know.
i dont know what i want to study but for sure i want a bachelors degree. I’m thinking maybe in Nursing but im not really sure. My wife will be going to school at a community college to be a registered Nurse. and the reason she is going to the community college is because its going to be cheaper for us. Does a Community College only offers an Associates ?
Im going to resign my position to go to school full time the next semester but im still lost in which way to go. please help me out with information. i been reading stuf online everywhere but im still lost.
Community College Or State University?
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You can only get an associate degree at a CC. You can do your first two years there then transfer to a four year college to complete your Bachelors degree. If you have the funds for a four year college I would go that route. But for many schools it might be too late to apply for the spring semester. If there is a state school by you, your best bet is to set up a meeting with the admissions office and talk to them before you make a decision.
Community Colleges are sometimes linked to a University. If it is, you can take your first two years toward a bachelor’s degree at community college. After you finish you can usually directly transfer to the University where the community college is associated to. The good thing about community college is the cost, which is relatively low. You can also get a 2-year associates degree at community college. Usually these degrees are very specific and give you the skills needed to directly enter the work force in the field that you choose. For example if you want to become a pilot you can get an aviation degree in two year. The training is very job specific.
I hope that helps.
Happy to help. I’m a big proponent of the community college route. I’m like a broken record in here on that topic. First, YES you can only get an associate’s at a community college. It’s essentially a 2-year degree made up of general education credits. An associate’s is a good short-term goal, but it’s not at all necessary to have it (it’s just one of those “might as well” things if you’re taking all the classes anyway). The main reason for you to go to the community college is to complete the first two years of general education credits, which are essentially the same everywhere. Then you transfer to a university where you get your bachelor’s with another ~36 credits of targeted coursework. At any school you go to, be SURE to use your student adviser. They exist for a reason. yahoo
Perks of community college:
-you get all your GE credits done and have the opportunity to make a more informed choice about your major and the right university for you;
-you can eventually spend your university time focusing solely on credits around your major, and not the 100+ student general ed classes;
-you get a smaller class environment at the CC;
-you’re more likely to get the classes you want at the CC;
-you get more personal attention at the CC;
-it’s a helluva lot cheaper;
-you don’t have to take your SATs.
-it’s easier to get in to a university as a transfer student who has already completed his/her general ed credits.
Happy to help answer any further questions if you think it will help. I’ve done student advising. I’m at smvirden
Hello Sir,
First of all, thank you very much for serving the country and the people of the united states.
In my opinion, if you have been away from education, I would encourage you to consider community college first. Not only they are cheaper, but they are easier to adapt (not saying the materials are easier). Most of the courses are introductory level for bachelor’s degree, so you can test out the field you want to go in the future.
Better yet, you are not wasting your time, because most of community college courses are transferable to 4yr universities.
thus, if you decide to pursue bachelor’s degree, you can transfer your courses to the university and you only need to focus on the rest of major classes for your degree.
Usually, 4yr university students struggle or spend way too much time on GE, and for quite a few students, their GPA gets hurt due to the mistakes.
Community college, for example in CA, their grades don’t have +/-, so your GPA won’t be penalized if you get B- or A-.
So it is my belief that CC has more things to offer to you at this moment, but I encourage you highly to pursue your bachelors/matsers/doctoral degree.
If earning a bachelors is your goal than you are pretty safe taking either route. A Community college will eventually require you to transfer to a State U or University to complete a bachelors since community colleges only offer a Associates as their highest degree.
A state school will offer you a better education, but at the same time may be a bit more difficult to transition into. State Universities will have large classrooms and busy campuses. Community Colleges are a bit smaller and are less demanding. If you attend a community college you will be there until you accumulate enough units to transfer to a 4-year college (state university or university of … ), which usually will take 2 years (60semester units) to complete assuming you’re attending full time.
Personally I’d apply and attend the State University since you don’t have to worry about the cost of tuition. You’ll be at a larger campus, better faculty, and get a college experience out of it. However, you may want to take into consideration that you have been out of traditional school for awhile. So taking it easy and attending community college for a few years may not be a bad idea, your wife will be there also!
As you can see there are a lot of factors to take into consideration. I’d suggest going where ever makes you the most comfortable.