Unit 4: Duh...Community College

While this may sound like a no-brainer, attending a community college during the summer or even for the first 2 years of a college career will help students contain costs. An article, Dollars and Cents: Choosing Cost-Effective Higher Education by Megan O'Leary-Buda (2009), highlights the main advantage of attending a community college: price. Community colleges were originally created to provide higher education at affordable prices to those who had to or chose to stay close to home (O'Leary-Buda, 2009). Everyone knows that though the price is cheaper, copmmunity colleges provide the same quality education as a four year institution, minus the expense. A four year education is averaging $42,000 a year (O'Leary-Buda, 2009). Of course, that is the cost of 4 years of education, not 2. So if one were to half that amount, $21,000 over 2 years at a 4 year institution, compared to $8,000 (on the very high end) over 2 years at a community college, the savings are enormous! Anymore explanation would be overkill. The numbers speak for themselves.

O'Leary-Buda, Megan. (2009). Dollars and cents: Choosing cost effective higher education. College View. Retrieved on October 21, 2009, from http://www.collegeview.com/articles/CV/financialaid/dollars-and-cents.html