Costs lead many to community colleges

There’s a way to shave thousands of dollars off the cost of a bachelor’s degree that’s more reliable than applying for dozens of scholarships and hoping one of them comes through.

Community college.

Kansas has 19 of them, and each year thousands of students transfer from those schools to the state’s public universities. But there are hurdles. We’ll get to that below.

First, some quick math. Imagine a single year. You’re aiming to polish off 30 credit hours. Tuition alone costs anywhere from $4,000 (Fort Hays State University) to $10,000 (University of Kansas). At a community college, though, that drops to an average of $2,000.

For some students, those savings could be the difference between going or not going to college. For others, they’re a way to escape without crushing student loan debt.

Community college advocates hope you’ll consider their schools for other reasons, too.

Lori Winningham, vice president of academics at Butler Community College, is a first-generation college graduate whose parents couldn’t foot the bill for her higher education. She went the two-year route before continuing to a state university.

‘There is this myth that as a freshman, it’s too early to start talking transfer. It’s the perfect thing to do.’

She argues colleges such as hers offer:

Cozy classes. A chance to knock out core courses without landing in a lecture hall full of more students than any instructor has time to get to know. “We typically offer these courses in a classroom of up to 25 students,” Winningham says.

Teachers focused on teaching. Instructors who don’t face the same heat as university faculty do to conduct research and fill academic journals with their work, and who aren’t grad students stressed about finishing their own degrees.

Soul-searching that doesn’t break the bank. Should you study education, business, marketing or counseling? With cheaper tuition, you can dabble with less risk. Winningham recalls a student who did just that and figured out counseling was her jam.

If any of that speaks to you, read on.

The single biggest hurdle toward planning a smooth transition from community college to the eventual four-year school of your dreams is credit transfer.

Think early and often about it, experts say. Above all, connect with advisors at your community college and even at the four-year school you’ve got your eye on.

“The biggest mistake is trying to self-advise,” Winningham says.

Credit transfer is complex. You need to understand not just what courses Kansas State University will accept from Cloud County Community College, for instance, but also what majors they’d count toward. Misunderstandings can lead to some awful “Wait … that class doesn’t count?” moments.

Universities know it’s not easy. K-State has launched a new program, DirectLink, devoted to paving the path from two-year campuses to Manhattan.  

Deana Core, assistant director of admissions, says students can connect with a K-State advisor through DirectLink as early as their first semester at community college and check in regularly.