A growing number of high school upperclassmen are considering attending community college and then transferring to a four-year university. Junior Lily Parsons is one of those students. Her plan is to live at home while studying at Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) for two years and then transfer to Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, N.C.
“I’m leaning towards being a pastry chef,” Parsons said. “But I am also considering a career in music or art, and I am not completely sure which one I want to do. Going to a community college would give me a little more time to decide which career choice I want to follow.”
Another junior, Justin Pearce, agreed.
“[Attending a community college] lets you get a feel for [college] and it gets all the core classes out of the way, so when you do go to a serious college where you actually have to pay money for it, you don’t have to take core classes. You can take what you want and specialize in your field,” Pearce said.
Parsons, like many other students, cited a financial factor as another reason for leaning towards community college. Northwood adviser and community college liaison April Hammonds speaks with many students wrestling with the fiscal challenge of upper-level study.
“Obviously going to a community college is a cheaper option than going straight to a four-year school,” Hammonds said. “A lot of those families find themselves filling out the FASFA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and their financial aid says they can pay for [college]; [however], a lot of times they really cannot without taking out loans and things of that nature.”
Hammonds can see a “huge benefit” to college plans that involve community college and then a transition into a four-year university.
“I tell a lot of students, ‘When you get your bachelor’s degree, it doesn’t say ‘via the community college’; it says you have a bachelor’s degree from UNC, for example,” Hammonds said.
Nevertheless, Hammonds understands a prospective college student’s point of view about what she calls the “stigma” of attending a community college.
“For a lot of students it’s difficult because there’s the pressure of going off to college and there’s that pressure of staying home because they feel like they aren’t doing anything. But I think every student has to make the right decision for them,” Hammonds said.
Parsons believes that a community college transition is ultimately the best choice for her situation.
“It will give me an opportunity to decide once and for all what I want to do,” Parsons said.
– By Adrianne Cleven