Trevor Eichelberger

Ms. Collin Hull

English 2010
3/13/2015

Paths to Success
Fifty some years ago, there were no questions asked regarding colleges and their
worth. It was obvious that a university graduate would be better off than someone with only a
high school diploma. But as Bob Dylan sang, the times theyre a changing. The costs of
college continue to increase, student debts continue to pile up, and the power of a bachelors
degree slowly diminishes. Alternative post-secondary programs such as trade schools offer an
all-around cheaper, shorter, and more specific trade based education. However a trade certificate
for auto repair doesnt have nearly as much flexibility as a degree in say business. An associates
degree from a community college blends a four year university and a trade school by providing a
two year, academic based, degree. Yet even with the shorter two year schools, students are still
responsible for certain college-like expenses including tuition, books, parking pass, etc. To avoid
student loans and piling debt altogether, many high school graduates decide to work full-time
right out of high school and save funds until they are both mentally and financially prepared for
attending college. Conversely, many high school graduates that take a year off and go straight
to working full-time, never attend any institution due to other growing lifetime responsibilities.
Its obvious these various paths all have their different pros and cons and it can be quite
challenging to really weigh the long-term costs and benefits of each path With this being said, I
personally believe that Community College is the most efficient path to success because it

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provides a smoother high school-to-college transition, it offers more flexible degree choices, and
it allows for a similar, university-like, experience at often half the cost.
Understanding the Popularity in a Four-Year Degree
Most if not all students consider the more traditional route of attending a four year
college, obtaining a bachelors degree, and then earning a well-paying job. Between the better
wages, learning valuable information, and simply completing what some call a rite of passage,
there are definitely obvious perks that come with attending a four year university and earning a
bachelors degree. Probably the most blatant benefit of college would have to be the actual
degree. With a bachelors degree Senior economist, Jaison Abel, from the Federal Reserve Bank
of New Yorks Research group explains that Those with a bachelors degree have tended to earn
56 percent more than high school graduates For many people, an increased salary is enough
incentive to earn a four year degree alone. Along with the actual degree, its also pretty clear that
a four year university provides a great learning environment for both academic and life skills.
Students are able to better their level of
education,
subjects

learning
like

academia-based

English,

Chemistry,

Business, and Math, etc. Once outside of

the classroom, college students often
create strong relationships with peers,
learn valuable life lessons, and have
some arguably priceless experiences.

Figure 1: A Larger University Classroom with Over

100 Students. (Compare to Figure 2)

But how priceless really are those experiences and life lessons? With the reliable
degree and the unique lessons learned throughout college, its easily understandable why so

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many people consider a four year college as a rite of passage. The problem is, this rite of
passage doesnt come cheap and it bares some pretty high-level consequences.
Starting college is easily one of the most stressful events in an individuals educational
career. There are a lot of changes between high school and college, the classes get a lot larger and
harder, the homework gets longer, and often times teenagers are now on their own instead of
living with their families. With all of these factors combined, it becomes very easy for a
freshman student to become overwhelmed by schoolwork. If the student does not handle the
piling stress efficiently, this can ultimately cause them dropout or even worse fail out.
Dropping/failing out of college leaves you responsible for all unpaid student loans and at the end
of the day, it also leaves you with no helpful degree. I was surprised to learn from The National
Center for Education Statistics, that only about half of college freshman actually earn their (4year) degree within a 6 year timespan.
The 2012 graduation rate for first-time, full-time undergraduate students who
began their pursuit of a bachelors degree at a 4-year degree-granting institution in
fall 2006 was 59 percent. That is, 59 percent of first-time students who began
seeking a bachelors degree at a 4-year institution in fall 2006 completed the
degree at that institution within 6 years. Graduation rates are calculated to meet
requirements of the 1990 Student Right to Know Act, which required
postsecondary institutions to report the percentage of students that complete their
program within 150 percent of the normal time for completion, which is within 6
years for students pursuing a bachelors degree. Students who transfer and
complete a degree at another institution are not included as completers in these
rates.

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In other words 41% of the 2006 students did not earn their degree, completely wasting their
money and also completely wasting their time. On the other hand, the 59% that actually earned
their degrees took six years of classes, paying for six years of tuition and books, not to mention
the six years of time they invested all into earing a four year bachelors degree.

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On the other side of the spectrum, with their smaller and more personal classes,
community colleges provide a slightly mellower, often more successful, transition into the
collegiate academia world. The AACP or the American Association of Community Colleges is a
national organization representing more than 1,200 regionally accredited, associate degreegranting colleges. On their website, they explain many characteristics that community colleges
have to help students succeed. One of the benefits they discussed was class room size, they state
Because

the

average

community

college class size is between 25 and 30

students, there is more opportunity for
students to interact with their professors
and each other (The Top 10 Benefits
of

Attending

College).
Figure 2: A Smaller Community College Class of
Roughly 30 Students.

This

U.S.

Community

feature

can

be

extremely helpful and a lot less

intimidating to any students who prefer smaller classes and more personal student-teacher
relationships. This personalized community college environment drastically contrasts with the
three hundred bodied class lectures found at the larger, more prestigious universities. Liz
Addison is a biology major from the Southern Maine Community College. After moving from
London and attending two American community colleges, Miss Addison describes her
experiences explaining that a community college unconditionally allows its students to begin
(Addison 214). With a smoother transition from high school into the more challenging and fastpaced college environment, students will do extremely better their freshman year and arguably
the rest of their post-secondary educational career.

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Another reason I find Community colleges most effective is because they provide
multiple degree opportunities to better correlate with any students scholastic goals. One of the
main programs that community colleges offer is a two year, academic based, program known as
an Associates degree. The University of Phoenix published an infographic explaining that close
to 60% of jobs require at least an Associates degree,
however only 40% of Americans actually obtain and
associates (Dwyer). In Mr. Abels article Do the Benefits

of

College Still Outweigh the Costs, he explains that those

with an associates degree have tended to earn
21 percent more than high school graduates (Abel
3). To put this into perspective, Figure 3: This Image Symbolizes an
Individuals Decision between an
less earnings than a bachelors Associate's and Bachelor's Degree.

that is 38 percent
degree. Although

that may seem like a harsh loss, keep in mind it takes four years to earn a bachelors degree
(when completed on time) unlike the shorter two years it takes to earn an Associates. Nine-year
journalist from thesimpledollar.com, Trent Hamm, explains that the average bachelors degree
in the United States costs roughly $31,750 per year (Hamm). At this estimated annual cost, an
individual that earns an associates degree instantly saves roughly $63,500 compared to if they
had pursued a bachelors degree. Even after hearing that, if a student still wishes to pursue a
bachelors degree, they can attend a community college, complete their general studies, and
transfer to a university for the second two years of their bachelors program. This educational
pathway is arguably the easiest transition into college, while also remaining more affordable than
attending a university all four years.

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Last but not least, community colleges provide an overall experience similar to that of a
four-year university, just without the enormous tuition. By teaching the core academic subjects of
English, Mathematics, Biology, and so on, the community colleges serve as proper educational
classroom, easily comparable to that of a university. As discussed earlier in the paper, the
community college students can even transfer to a university and actually gain a genuine
college experience and a bachelors degree without paying the full four-year college price tag.
Proposal
I believe that the best solution to our education problem would be to better advertise
community colleges within high schools. By advertising Im not suggesting that we go hang
SLCC posters all over Taylorsville High, but instead I would consider gathering instructors, other
staff, or even students from local community colleges and visiting some high school classes to
discuss the benefits of attending a community college. I think that it could be mutually beneficial
if high school students were more educated on some of these benefits, including a smoother high
school-to-college transition, a more flexible degree choice, and a similar university experience
with half the price tag. With a better understanding of what a community college really is, I feel
students could weigh their choices more accurately and this could ultimately decrease student
debt rates and college dropout rates.

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Works Cited
Abel, Jaison R., and Richard Deitz. "Do The Benefits Of College Still Outweigh The Costs?."
Current Issues In Economics & Finance 20.3 (2014): 1-12. Academic Search Premier.
Web. 9 Feb. 2015.
Addison, Liz. Two Years Are Better Than Four. They Say/I Say": The Moves that Matter in
Academic Writing. WW Norton & Company, 211-214 (2012). Print.
Dwyer, Liz. 'Infographic: Educating The Workforce Of The Future'. GOOD Magazine. N.p.,
2011. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.
Hamm, Trent. 'Why You Should Consider Trade School Instead Of College - The Simple Dollar'.
The Simple Dollar. N.p., 2013. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.
"The Top 10 Benefits of Attending a U.S. Community College." International Student Guide to
U.S. Community Colleges. Washington DC: American Association of Community
Colleges, 2015. 17-19. Print.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2014). The Condition
of Education 2014 (NCES 2014-083), Annual Earnings of Young Adults. Web. 9 Feb.
2015.
IMAGES:
Figure 1: Bates, Tony The beginning of the end of the lecture hall? 13 Jun. 2013. Web. 12 Mar.
2015.
Figure 2: Glen Oaks Community College Academic Success 2015 Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
Figure 3: Brass Student Program Teaching Students the Money Side of Life ND Web 12 Mar.
2015.

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