Don't Rush Into Debt by Scott

Don't Rush Into Debt by Scott - April 2016 Scholarship Essay

College can be an overwhelming and difficult time for any first year student. There are many things I have learned over my two years of attending college, and if I were to offer one piece of advice to younger students it would be to attend a community college before moving on to a bigger university.
First off, investing in yourself by attending college can be very costly. A smart investor wants more bang for their buck, and it’s the same with college. Most first year students are still unsure of what they want to major in and when attending a four year college they may end up taking unnecessary classes along the way. They may find themselves stuck in an internal battle between their finances and taking additional classes to complete their dream major. Tuition at community colleges are considerably less than most four year institutions, making this financial decision to take different classes a little easier to swallow, and the credits accrued at community colleges are often able to be transferred to the larger four year schools.
If that’s not reason enough, I believe that one of the additional advantages of a community college is the smaller class sizes. With the smaller class sizes come more one-on-one time with professors. Having more direct access to the professors generally leads to greater successes in the classroom, which helps to maintain a good GPA that can, in turn, pave the way for scholarships or other benefits at four year institutions. I have also found that it is easier to bond with other students and form study groups to help one another succeed when class sizes are smaller. We have all heard that if one person in the room has a question, someone else probably has the same one- well the idea is the same. At least one person in the group should know an answer or at least where to find it- and that benefits everyone.
The final reason to attend a community college prior to transferring to a four year university is there location. In general most community colleges are local. With such a close vicinity to home while attending a community college it is wise to live at home and save even more money by not having to pay for a dorm or an apartment. Many community colleges have extremely flexible class schedules which make it easy for students to attend school while working a full-time or part-time job. It doesn’t mean you can’t go out and have fun with your classmates- it just means your being financially responsible and will be able to afford bigger and better things later when you have little to no debt once you’ve earned your diploma.