Morgan Perry
Mrs. Layton
English 2010
2 March 2023
Does society have an accurate representation of community colleges vs. four-year universities?
Topic Introduction Community colleges are rising in popularity for many reasons. Many students feel that there is not enough information given to them about community colleges. They feel that this is a better option for many students, however, it doesn’t get talked about enough. This has been an issue ever since community colleges became a thing. This issue has been especially apparent since 2020 and the COVID outbreak. More students are arguing that they would have used this option but it wasn’t brought up to them when discussing life after high school with a counselor. Many people argue that the
…show more content…
COVID changed schooling all over the world, and new options for higher education came about. Online school became much more popular as did community college. The number of people attending a community college is much higher now than it was before COVID for many reasons. People argue that since community college is becoming more popular that it should be getting more attention from the media and counselors. Some also argue that since more and more people are turning to this as an option the media should talk about it and counselors should offer it to students as an option for higher …show more content…
It is so important that they find a college that is a good fit for them, and a program that is going to help them succeed. College is one of the most important factors that will determine your life after high school, so it should be a good experience. Every option for higher education should be presented to every student so that they can choose which one they like best and the one they think will bring them the most success later in life. Students should have a good experience in college, and they should enjoy it. Students shouldn’t choose something because the option was given to them when they would have liked something else much more that wasn’t discussed. In conclusion, society doesn’t have an accurate representation of community colleges and four-year universities. Community colleges don’t get talked about as much as some people think they should because of what they have to offer many students. There are many other assumptions about community colleges that society believes. In the end, society’s representation of community colleges and four-year universities is not
In a recent article by Andrew Warner titled “5 Reasons to Consider Community College” Warner addresses the topic of why community college might be better and states reasons. One main point from the article is 30% of U.S. undergraduates are enrolled at public, two-year colleges. They also offer benefits like open-enrollment policies and flexible scheduling Warner. Warner gives a pretty good statistic that nearly half of the U.S undergrads are attending a public two year college.
Community college has been a blessing for lower income students such as myself, but, the way it stands right now is the way it should remain. In the article Should Community College be Free? written by Joanne Jacobs there are various opinions with the topic of the first two years of community college being free and the effects towards this idea. This topic has been a discussion question since as long as I can remember but wasn’t truly brought to the table until our previous president Barack Obama stated it in his State of the Union address as he proposed to make the first two years of community college ‘as free and universal in America as high school is today’. This would initially cost the economy “...$60 billion over 10 years”, after learning about how America was during the Great Depression I propose that community college shouldn’t be free for the first two years due to the economy dropping dramatically, community college waitlists being
In February of 2015, Citizens Voice published an essay written by Dr. Michael MacDowell, in which he gave his opinion on Barack Obama’s recent proposal to make the first two years of community college free of charge. Dr. Michael A. MacDowell, retired president of Misericordia University and a writer for Citizen’s Voice, disagrees with Obama’s plan and makes this clear with his article's title, “The Community College Model Works Just Fine”. MacDowell’s greatest arguments is that the community college group may not be the most affective group to offer free education. MacDowell successfully uses statistical facts and evidence to create a convincing essay.
Addison’s tone is also optimistic when she adds that “the community college system is America’s hidden public gem,” and that “they offer a network of affordable future, of accessible hope, and an option to dream.” Through this remark, Addison not only exhibits a hopeful tone but, also makes others optimistic that community college is an option for them. She does such by listing that it is “affordable,” meaning achievable for those that don’t have much, as well as, being a place to “dream.” This shows that in and after community college, there are opportunities
The purpose of her essay is to prove to her audience, mainly soon-to-be college students or parents of future students, that college is still a vital part of planning your future. She effectively advertises community college as a cheaper alternative to four-year universities and their skyrocketing tuition prices; and tries to persuade her readers that attending Community College can be just as important as going to a traditional four-year university because they allow you to begin your college education at
In the article “Two Years are Better than Four” Addison addresses community college as “America’s hidden public service gem” (Addison). She explains how community college has been often not even thought of as an option when young adults are
The most relevant problem for most students understandably is how to pay for college. This will most likely continue to be a problem, but “community colleges have been at the forefront of nearly every major development in higher education since their inception” (Trainor 1). This means that if there is a way that the cost of college could be taken away entirely, community colleges will be at the forefront of that
Can Two Be Greater Than Four? Does college really matter? Has college lost its rite to passage appeal? Can one still go to college and be successful in the pursuit of self-discovery? These are the types of questions that Liz Addison challenges in her short essay “Two Years Are Better Than Four”. By taking into account my own experience as a current community college student and advocate, in this response to Addison’s essay I choose to elaborate on her views of community college being better than a four year university in the sense of offering a better college experience.
However, it is still an issue for students to cough up that money. The idea of making community college free to any student in America has been a dream for low income students for a while. President Obama’s desire to make the tuition of community college to everyone in the nation would only make it difficult for students to get a free education, limit them to essential resources, and discourage students from applying to four year universities. Granting free community college tuition to incoming freshmen will draw “more students to already crowded community colleges”. Along with the overcrowded campuses, a very long waiting list will soon form making it just as competitive to get into a four year university.
College Isn’t for Everyone "By telling all young people that they should go to college no matter what, we are actually doing some of them a disservice" (Owen). This quote from “Brookings Paper: Is College a Good Investment” goes into detail about how college isn’t for everyone. By educators, parents, and authority figures telling graduating high school seniors that college is necessary, they are limiting the potential of that student’s true skills. College isn’t right for everyone and not everyone wants to go to college.
Easy access to a large collection of books and companionship used to be necessary to provide a good learning environment, but as time passes all of these things will be available online thus reducing the need for students to go to a physical college. The time required to go to a physical four year college is also a burden on many students. Instead of taking your classes online and having a large number of options on when you take your classes, students are forced to follow a set schedule of classes depending on when they are offered for a much larger cost than an online college. Four year colleges are losing their appeal as more and more things become available online. However, that is not the only issue with the current educational
In the United States a community college is defined as a nonresidential junior college offering courses to people living in a particular area. They are post secondary schools and are also referred to as junior colleges, vocational or technical schools because generally the course of study is for two years. The student can earn an associates degree or certification and/or continue their education by transfering to a four year college to complete their educational pursuits and earn a Bachelor 's degree. Community colleges started in the late 1800’s and have grown and evolved over the years. Today many four year colleges and universities have become so expensive to attend that many prospective students are opting for the more affordable alternative of a community college for their first two years of study where they can save money by living at home and taking classes that will transfer to a four year institution, however, there are students that cannot afford the lower cost of community colleges.
College is excessively romanticized until the cost and workload is understood. There has been an abundant amount of evidence
If a person’s parent or guardian drilled the idea of college into your head, or if they told you ‘do what you want’ or ‘I don 't care’, or ‘You’re not going’. While college is great, there are other means of education. The value of college is a low because there are people who do not qualify for a college education, and also because there are other ways of post-secondary education other than college. College is not valuable because many people will not make it into a 2 or 4-year college, much less graduate from one. To support this, in the article Why College Isn 't For Everyone, it says, “As a general rule, I would use graduates in the top quarter of their class at a high-quality high school should go on to a four-year degree program, while those in the bottom quarter of their classes at a high school with a mediocre educational reputation should not.”
Growing up, for most people, going to college is not an option- its an expectation. In our society, going to college has become a fundamental part of our education, becoming an adult, and for most people just simply part of our lives. However, as people grow up and experience reality, the realization hits that college may not be as simple as once thought. As much as attending college is expected from the majority of young people, dropping out of college is not. Even with the idealization of the college experience, some students are forced to cut their education short due to a plethora of issues.