Most students in community colleges have suffered at least some amount of stigma due to attending a two-year school, as opposed to a four-year one. Arguments against community colleges usually include the lack of prestige, name-recognition, and the idea that community colleges are somehow for people who weren’t smart enough to get into a “real” college. This, in fact, is one of the main plot arguments of a TV show called “Community.” In the show, there was a running gag about people wasting their time in a place that clearly isn’t worth the time or effort.
Students who attend community colleges get a comparable amount and quality of education as four year university.
Some parents actively fought students from attending community colleges because they feel that students can “do better,” even when students can’t afford four-year universities. Even students whose parents are supportive of their choices might still not be completely comfortable with the connotations of having a child in a community college.
What kind of comebacks do you offer to people who make fun of those who attend community colleges? The cleverest thing to do would be to show them your bank account.
Even though college students are typically broke, community college students typically have much lower loan rates than those who go to bigger schools. School loans, unlike virtually any other kind of loan, cannot be defaulted on. This means that if you can’t pay for your student loans, you won’t be able to get rid of them even if you go bankrupt.
Community colleges, for all of its shortcomings, has many advantages. When compared to most universities, community colleges typically have lower prices, smaller class sizes, and more community ties. Students from community colleges are also privileged to have instructors who aren’t paid as well as they should, but have much more passion for education, when compared to universities where students seat in stadiums and copy notes and may never talk to their instructor.
The stigma that is connected with community colleges isn’t fair because the differences between them aren’t as big as four-year universities will have you believe.
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