As the years of being underclassmen come to an end, Middletown High School seniors are forced to make an abrupt transition into the stressful pressures of young adulthood. Students begin to worry about financial stability throughout college, being away from home and the pressure from their peers to get accepted into a four-year college.
Although students who attend community college are often stereotyped as the “slackers” in high school, community college can be more beneficial than many may think. “It’s a cheaper way to get the same education as people going to other big-name universities,” said MHS senior Nick Friend.
“To me, community college is also meant for people who do not know what they want to become after they graduate college, and don’t know what to major in,” said MHS senior Kendall Mitchell.
Lyndsi Clabaugh, early Middletown graduate, said, “It costs less for one, you’re closer to home, depending on where you live, and the campus is nice.”
Community college may not even seem like an option for some. Whether it’s scholarships, sports or even the social aspect, many people think that community college doesn’t have enough to offer. “I think the negatives of community college are that you don’t get to be on your own and get independent. It’s not the full ‘college experience,’” said MHS senior Nicole Dziubla.
Pressures for choosing a school can come from many different sources: teachers, parents, friends or even guidance counselors, the pressures of early admissions and deadlines for applications can be extremely overwhelming. With this overload of stress, many people may think that going to community college may relieve them from all of this pre-college pressure.
“A lot of people at this time in their life are unsure of what they want to do, so rather than spend the time and effort on college applications, they might benefit more from taking more time to decide what to do and where to go by spending a year or two at community college,” said MHS guidance counselor Brad George.
Peer pressure is a leading reason in choosing a four-year school over community college. Where do your friends want to go? Have you visited any schools yet? What schools have you and your friends applied to so far?
All of these questions pile on people’s shoulders right as students enter senior year. Their reasoning for choosing a four-year college may have to do more with the masses than themselves.
“I want to attend a four-year college because I think that it will be fun and I’ll meet new people and I will also become more independent,” said MHS senior Lauren Langworthy. For most kids, going off to college after graduation has to do with the social atmosphere of college – the parties, the freedom and no hovering parents.
Students seeking the social aspect of college have probably heard stories their whole high school career. They can simply go on Instagram or Snapchat to see the endless posts and pictures of people at parties, at tailgates or simply just fooling around in their dorm room.
Another controversial issue with community college is that there are credits that won’t transfer to universities. “They should offer all classes because some people only want to go for their associates and don’t want to transfer,” Friend said. “It isn’t the college’s fault if they don’t transfer, the students should look into it beforehand.”
“I would say people save at least $20,000 dollars by going to community college for two years,” said MHS science teacher Maria Duva.
On average, in-state private schools cost about $170,000 for a four-year graduate and public schools average at about $80,000 for four years. The average tuition for community college is $5,426, assuming that the student is enrolled for two years.
For four years of college education, this averages to about $80,000 in savings for private schooling and about $35,000 for public universities, compared to students who choose to go to community college for two years.
People may end up spending an unreasonable amount of money for some of the same classes that can be offered at community college. Students who only have time for part-time jobs while attending school may end up having thousands of dollars of debt to pay off after they graduate.
“Private universities are definitely overpriced. I think it’s ridiculous to charge $50,000 to a whole demographic that maybe works part time jobs,” said MHS senior Julia Usiak. “With that being said, there’s little doubt as to what future employers would rather see.”
