COMMUNITY COLLEGES ARE BETTER THAN UNIVERSITIES Community colleges, sometimes called junior colleges, are the most common type of colleges. Community colleges are a two-year educational establishment where people obtain degrees in their desired field. They are well established around the globe, from Canada to the Philippines. Community colleges are not as hyped over as normal four-year universities. They actually have better advantages given in their establishment. Community colleges are better than four-year universities. Firstly, the tuition fees for community colleges are cheaper. Community college fees are definitely cheaper if you compare it to a four-year university. Community college tuition nationwide averages less than $3,000 per year, a fraction of what you would pay at a university (Rogers, n.d). It is indeed better for middle to low class families in which are in need of the money for other things. International students can also benefit from the low tuition expenses. They can pay less in expense while still obtaining their degrees. Often, international students are charged a significantly higher tuition fee at four-year schools than their American counterparts (Pranabudi, 2013). Students attending community colleges are financially at ease, as they don’t have to take loans. With these low fees, they wont feel the financial burden of paying debt. Two­year schools offer students the chance to start their careers sooner and with less or no debt (Couch, n.d). Macy Williams in her article stated that she was able to save a lot of money and was financially comfortable when studying in a community college. Hence, the low expenses in community college fees makes it affordable for people of all walks of life. Second, the straightforward transition in community college makes students easier in adapting to new surroundings. For a high school graduate or an international student, adapting to a new environment is not the easiest task. With a small campus and small sized classrooms in community colleges, transitioning is no problem. These students may find the smaller campus and classes of a community college are more comfortable right after the high school years (Chen, n.d). Community college students get more personalised attention from their professors to their counsellors. Teachers at community colleges are charged with connecting with students rather than putting half their time into research and publishing, which often requires putting a student assistant in charge of the actual teaching (Rogers, n.d). Rogers also states that this is beneficial to international students, mostly to those who are not fluent in English. More accessible professors make it easier for international students to speak with their professors regularly, increasing their understanding of the course material. Therefore, adapting is made easy for students who attend community colleges. Nonetheless, it is important to consider opposing perspectives in relation to this subject matter as it is claimed that attending community colleges are disadvantageous too. In this regard, two of the most common arguments are the lack of campus-life experience and inflexibility of credit transfer. Firstly, in community colleges, the students will not get the chance to experience the campus life as compared to the university students. This is because most of community colleges usually do not provide accommodation for on campus housing or dorms (Lovejoy, 2014). Unlike community colleges, universities have fraternities and sororities in which the students will be able to bond over. In addition, credits may not transfer for students that attend community colleges. They might have to retake some of the subjects if they want to join the university. This is because some of the universities consider that the credits are more or less equal to a semester course. Even though I had already taken a linear algebra class at my community college, I had to retake it at Brown because the school considers two quarter-based classes equal to a semesterbased course (Pranabudi, 2013). However, the disadvantages can be refuted because community colleges have their own lifestyle in their campus and the students can initially check the transference of credits before applying to a particular university. Community colleges do provide a college lifestyle; it is just slightly different compared to the usual university lifestyle. The difference is that, without the accommodation, students bond over in classrooms. As stated in the pro-argument, community colleges have smaller campuses and classrooms. Even though they do not have accommodation or dormitories, they find other ways to interact with each other in social activities such as sports. Aside from that, the students also should check if their credit hours are able to transfer before they join any particular university because some community colleges do have such facility. Hence, the definition of a campuslife may not be exactly the same as those at the university, but it is a campus-lifestyle nonetheless, and credit transfers are allowed in certain community colleges. Therefore, while some may feel that there is a lack of campus-life experience and inflexibility of credit transfer, community colleges have beneficial aspects that are given to their students. Community Colleges provide the same level of education that is alike with the university but rather with cheaper tuition fees. It also simplifies the students’ transition process in adapting to a new surrounding. If the students are not mentally and physically prepared to experience the university life, they should start small by attending the two-year community colleges before pursuing their studies in the four-year colleges or universities. Moreover, students can easily apply for the community colleges because their admission policies are a lot more lenient as compared to the universities. Through this, they get to explore their area of interests in a wide field of careers before they can land a job. References: References: 1. Lovejoy, D. (2014, July 20). Weighing the Pros and Cons of Community Colleges Vs. Universities. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140720175732-245983808-weighing-thepros-and-cons-of-community-colleges-vs-universities 2. Chen, G. (n.d.). 8 Reasons Why Community College Might be the Best Choice After High School | CommunityCollegeReview.com. Retrieved from http://www.communitycollegereview.com/blog/8-reasons-why-communitycollege-might-be-the-best-choice-after-high-school 3. Community Colleges vs. Universities. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.educationcorner.com/community-college-vs-university.html 4. Couch, C. (n.d.). Two-Year vs. Four-Year Colleges: Which One is Right for You? Retrieved from http://www.collegeview.com/articles/article/two-yearvs-four-year-colleges-which-one-is-right-for-you 5. The Pros & Cons of Community Colleges. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.scholarships.com/resources/college-prep/choosing-the-rightschool/the-pros-and-cons-of-community-colleges/ 6. Reasons to Attend a Community College. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://home.cccapply.org/colleges/why-attend 7. Pranabudi, I. (2013, December 10). Weigh Pros, Cons of Attending a U.S. Community College First. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/international-studentcounsel/2013/12/10/weigh-pros-cons-of-attending-a-us-community-collegefirst 8. Rogers, B. (n.d.). Why Choose a Community College? Retrieved from http://www.collegeview.com/articles/article/why-choose-a-community-college 9. Williams, M. (2016, February 4). I Am Proud to Say I Went to Community College. Retrieved from http://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/Why- Community-College-Better-36973927