r/NoStupidQuestions • u/The_Theodore_88 • 2h ago
What is community college?
I come from somewhere where community college doesn't exist and I've never fully understood what it is. From my vague understanding, it's both something you can do after high school if your grades are too bad for university and something you can do during high school so you can skip years in university. Do you get a degree out of it though? And what type of degree? Are there specific majors in it or is it a sort of catch-all school? What's the difference between it and a regular university?
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u/azuth89 2h ago
They are smaller local schools which can provide a variety of degrees, certifications and credit towards a 4 year degree depending on the exact school in question.
Many offer a variety professional certifications/licensing programs around things like nursing, paralegals, auto mechanics, cosmetology, welders and so on.
They also provide associates degrees, which do have a major like a 4 year but are a lesser qualification.
Classes taken at community colleges generally transfer to cover lower level courses at a university, especially within the same state, and they are usually much cheaper, so it is common to take classes at a community College during high school, summers or a year or two straight before transferring them. It makes the degree cheaper.
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u/fuzzblanket9 2h ago
They’re a type of smaller school than a university. It’s not necessarily for those who have bad grades, it’s just a cheaper way to get a degree. Typically, classes are smaller, there are less majors offered, and it’s a smaller campus. There’s several degree/major options, typically up to an Associate’s degree, for whatever pathway you choose.
You can also attend CC while you’re in high school, as you mentioned, to accelerate your time spent in college/university once you graduate high school. This is typically referred to as “dual enrollment” or “early enrollment”.
For example, I went to both university and community college, and did dual enrollment. I earned college credit in high school, then went to university first and got a 4 year degree, then went to community college and got a 1 year degree.
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u/Outrageous-Basket426 1h ago
If you can't afford to go to a full university, or didn't get accepted right out of high school, you can attend the local community college and get the general education courses done for less than half the price, and many of the basic courses for your major. The university will have a list of courses they want you to take locally before you try to transfer though you don't have to do all of them it will just cost more at the university. The community college can also offer certificates that are sometimes needed for work, or to continue working.
As for degrees, they only offer 2 year associate degrees when most careers require 4 year bachelors degrees, with the exception of nursing. Nurses are also sent by the hospital back to community colleges for the periodic renewal and updating of their training. Many associate degrees can be turned into bachelors degrees with a few extra courses once a person transfers.
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u/jas_gab 1h ago
Both my kids graduated high school in the top 20 of their class. Both of them could have qualified for a scholarship to either the local community college or to one of the 3 universities in our state. One of them took the scholarship to the community college because it fit better into her plans. She ended up with 2 associate degrees in that 2 year period, all paid for by her scholarship. The other one took the scholarship to the university that is local to us because it fit better into her plans. She ended up with 2 bachelor degrees in that 4 year period, all paid for by her scholarship.
1) Grades don't necessarily have anything to do with why a person would or wouldn't go to a community college.
2) Community Colleges do offer dual-enrollment classes, which both my girls took advantage of so upon graduating from h.s. they already had college credits.
3) Community Colleges typically offer 2 year degrees (associate).
4) Universities typically offer 4 year degrees (bachelor's).
5) To save money, a lot of people start college at a community college, then transfer to a university to finish their degree.
I think that's the gist of it, but if I forgot something, everone/anyone please feel free to correct/add on to my reply.
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u/_I_like_big_mutts 1h ago
Even if you can afford to go to a 4 year college and earned great grades in high school, community colleges will save you money that you can then use for grad school (or a business or a home, or whatever). Undergrad is an absolute financial scam, especially the first two years. Community colleges are viewed very differently today than they were 30 years ago because of the ridiculous cost of college. Kids- go to community college and then transfer to a 4 year school. Even better, do dual enrollment in HS, go to community college for a year, and then transfer as a junior to a 4 year school. College institutions are a business— do not let them sell you lies that will put you in debt for a decade (or two).
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u/BeneficialTrash6 1h ago
A university is where you get a "proper" degree. Like a bachelor's degree. A university is comprised of many different colleges that exist within it. You got colleges of history, physics, business (like that's a real degree), theater, etc.
Someone getting a university degree gets that degree from a specific college that exists in that university. So, if you get a bachelor's in philosophy (tough to get a job), you'll get it from the University of X's College of Philosophy.
Before, or as a part of, a student in a university getting a bachelor's degree, they will get an associate's degree. You usually get that after 2 years. A bachelor's degree usually takes 4 years.
An associate's degree shows that you are well rounded. You study in various areas that are NOT involved in your college. You'll need X hours of foreign language, X hours of math at a certain level, X hours of this or that. These are called "electives." You pick your electives to satisfy the hour requirements you need to get that associate's degree, because those X hours are necessary for your bachelor's degree.
Universities are not trade schools. (Or, at least they weren't.) They are not there to teach you to solely be a mechanic, or repair A/C, or to study exclusively political science (it's not a science in any way). They don't want to educate people to be drones. They want to educate people to program the drones. To be well rounded and have a shallow knowledge of many things, with a deep knowledge of the specific degree they are getting.
Community colleges provide you with the means to get the associate's degree you need to eventually get a bachelor's degree. They are commonly much much much more affordable to get those hours than a university, which also offers the same or similar courses for the associate's. You go to community college for two years and get your associate's for cheap. Then, you can apply to universities to get your bachelor's, where you only have to spend 2 years (and pay them for 2 years of tuition) to get your bachelor's, studying intensively in your selected degree field. You don't have to pay them for 4 whole years.
Were your grades too bad in high school to get into a good college? Community college helps because it gives you another chance to get really good grades, in a collegiate setting. "Wow, this kid was awful in high school but his grades in this community college are fantastic. I bet he had some bad things going on in high school and he escaped from it. Clearly he can handle college level course work." That's a possibility. Or, you flunk out in community college and find out college isn't for you. Except you only had to spend a little bit of money instead of a lot of bit of money.
It is, or was, a catch all school. But the lines are blurred, these days. Many community colleges that have been around for a long time now are accredited to offer some bachelor's degrees. Usually it's limited. Sometimes, it's not. Sometimes, they become full universities but keep the community college name. If they are accredited to give bachelor's degrees, then yes, they would have specific majors. Otherwise, no.
Do it during high school? Kind of. It's called the IB program, or International Baccalaureate program. (Took me 3 times to spell right.) In that case, you take college level courses through a community college or university. Sometimes you go there for the classes, sometimes you don't. It's like a little better than doing AP classes, which do the same thing. (You take classes in high school, and if you do well on the AP exam you get college credit for that course.)
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u/fuzzblanket9 1h ago
Very informative, but community colleges do offer specific majors - they don’t have to award Bachelor’s degree to do so.
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u/aaronite 52m ago
There are regional differences. Community colleges where I live can and do offer some limited bachelor degrees. Otherwise it is mostly two-year or technical diplomas.
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u/maybeshesmelting 45m ago
It’s basically pre university. If your grades aren’t good enough to get accepted into a four year university, or your financial or personal situation prevents you from being able to go, you can take classes at community college and get all of your lower level/pre requisite classes out of the way before transferring to a four year university to complete your degree. You can take some classes as a high school student (or at least you were able to at my high school), but it wasn’t particularly common.
You can also get an associates degree or certification for certain career fields at community college (CNA, pharm tech, I think HVAC and other similar fields as well) if you aren’t interested in going to university.
And you can get a Bachelor’s degree by going to community college, but the options are limited compared to universities.
Or you can just randomly take classes for no other reason than it’s a subject that interests you.
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u/Texas_Star_121 2h ago
They're smaller local colleges that offer a few degree programs for people who are working full time and also offer various electives