Community College Alternative

Community college could provide a lot of what you seek.

Community colleges and Universities typically have opposite cost/benefit curves. At most Universities the first maybe 2 years or so are spent being taught by graduate teaching fellows in giant lecture halls, you're definitely not getting your money's worth at that point. In later years you'll probably end up in smaller classes being taught by competent professors at which point you're probably getting well more than your money's worth. In community colleges you'll get an equivalent or better exp

jeez just take classes at a community college instead. there will be more academic rigor and your money isn't going to these types.

In my state, most of the programs the community colleges offer are aimed either at credential acquisition or for transfer to a university; there are no four year programs. However, many of the teachers at these schools are also PhDs moonlighting from local universities where they teach upper-level subjects and the community college offers a handful of classes that are at the 300/junior level for certain subjects. The thing that's really missing from the community college curriculum tha

Community colleges are an excellent choice for those looking to get a quality education with minimal costs. Go to a community college for 2 years, complete the necessary course prerequisites for whatever major you want to pursue and then transfer to a state college to finish your Bachelor's and take the hardcore courses. Many community colleges also have special or honors programs that impose some requirements on the students (such as a minimum course load of 12 credits/semester) but p

Community colleges really are underrated. In a world where increasingly a bachelor's degree does not guarantee a job, university education is super expensive, and especially in fields where a bachelor's degree is not necessary (I've never had an interview where they asked about my college education), vocational schools are the place to be.Four-year universities put big emphasis on well-rounded educations, so you're taking humanities and physical education and biology and m

Surprised that nobody here mentioned community colleges yet. Not a silver bullet, but the total cost of someone commuting to a community college from home is an order of magnitude cheaper than going to college. In many cases, CCs have explicit transfer programs, and the chances of transferring to a decent university after year two are pretty high.

I did 3 semesters of community college. Calculus 2, 3, DiffEq, physics 2, 3, chem 1 and 2... It was pretty rigorous, and dirt cheap.Why can't this model be extended into a 4 year school for twice the price?

This is what community colleges are for. You can get a decent education at a fraction of the cost. Your degree won't stroke your ego, but you'll come out with an employable skill set, and you can always transfer credits to a state school to finish your bachelor's degree.

Community college is a good way, low commitment as well.