Should You Start at a Community College?
It is the cheapest route to a bachelor's degree that exists, and the one most likely to go wrong for reasons nobody warns you about.
By College Path HubPublished Last reviewed
Two years at a community college and two at a university produces the same degree as four at the university, for a fraction of the money. It is the best value in American higher education and it fails often enough that it deserves a straight answer rather than a slogan.
The case for it
The money is not marginal. Across the public colleges on this site, two-year colleges charge a median of $4,624 a year in tuition for residents against $9,987 at public four-year colleges. Two years on the cheaper side of that, while living at home, is the difference between finishing with debt and finishing without.
The degree says the name of the university that awarded it. It does not record where you took your first two years.
The case against, which is really a case about transfer
Everything that goes wrong here goes wrong at the transfer.
Credits do not always move. A course that counted at one college may not count at the next, or may count as an elective rather than towards a major. Every credit that fails to transfer is a course paid for twice.
The transfer is not guaranteed. Some states have agreements guaranteeing admission to a public university for community college students who meet certain conditions. Many do not. Assuming one exists when it does not is the most expensive mistake available on this path.
Two years often becomes three. Required courses fill up, sequences run once a year, and a missed prerequisite costs two semesters rather than one.
What the statistics will not tell you
A community college's graduation rate looks poor and mostly should not be read. The federal measure counts first-time, full-time students who finish at the same college within three years, so a student who transfers out to a university, which is the entire point, is recorded as a failure. What a graduation rate measures explains that in full.
Look instead at whether the college publishes transfer outcomes, and at whether the university you want has a stated agreement with it.
Questions worth asking before you enrol
- Does my state guarantee admission to a public university for community college graduates, and on what conditions?
- Does the university I want publish a transfer agreement or an articulation agreement with this college?
- Which specific courses transfer towards my intended major, not just towards the degree?
- Is there an adviser here whose job is transfer, and can I speak to them before enrolling?
- What does the university charge for the final two years, after aid?
The last one matters more than it sounds. The saving is only real if you can afford the years that follow.
Work the numbers
Choosing a college How We Rate Colleges, and What the Stars Do Not Mean
Every rating on this site covers one measure against comparable colleges. There is no overall score, and there is a reason for that.
2 min readChoosing a college Early Action, Early Decision, and What Each One Commits You To
One of these is a contract. The other is just an earlier date. The difference decides whether you get to compare financial aid offers at all.
3 min readChoosing a college Reach, Target and Likely Schools: Building a Balanced List
How to build an application list that leaves you with real choices, and why admission rates say less about your chances than people assume.
2 min read
