Find Out More About The Pros And Cons Of Community College At Mount Wachusett Community College
Community colleges today have quality academic programs that prepare you for career certificates or for a future transfer to a four-year university. Even if you want to get a four-year degree, starting at a community college can save money and give you a boost on your academic career.
To see if the pros of community college will work well for your situation, find out more information about our offerings at Mount Wachusett Community College by requesting information today. If you want to begin your education with community college, you can also apply online to The Mount today.
*Tuition rate as of Spring 2021
You Dont Have The Grades
While there is no reason to believe you cant turn your academic performance around, you may not get accepted into the school of your choice if your grades and test scores arent up to their standards. If you need more time to bolster your application, consider volunteering or working in the field to balance lower grades on your application.
You Have Potential Exceed It
Whatever your goals â getting a degree, owning a home, traveling the world â you can attain them. They require dedication and focus, but also financial stability. Hereâs how a college degree can help over a lifetime:
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Someone with a high school diploma can expect to earn $1.3 million.
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A worker with some college but no degree earns $1.5 million.
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An Associateâs degree-holder earns $1.7 million.
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A worker with a Bachelorâs degree will earn $2.3 million.
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Graduate degrees provide for even higher earnings:
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A Masterâs degree-holder earns $2.7 million.
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A Doctoral degree-holder earns $3.3 million.
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A Professional degree-holder earns $3.6 million.
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Graphically Plot Your Plan
Now, place your actions and strategies into a visual format that shows all the elements together. Your graphic can portray concurrent strategies, or it can be a linear plan . Or you can start with a linear plan and add to it, family-tree style, as you find that you need to amass more skills.
Consider adapting a project management Gantt chart or a checklist to plot out your five-year career development plan. Color-code categories and indicate timing for completion. Several project development templates can be found online and many may serve as a workable visual graphic for your personal five-year career development plan.
Regularly Revisit Your Plan
Keep your plan visible Commit to reviewing and reworking it monthly. As your roles change, you may have to tweak your overall goal and amend some of the action items. This is easier to do if youve made it a habit to keep your action plan up-to-date. It should serve as a constant reminder of your overall ambition throughout a five-year period and your personal journey to get there.
You’ll Have Fun And Make Friends
Many students enjoy their college experience. Too often people discount the importance of fun when it comes to education, and for some people, their best memories and most fun times are from their college years. On a college campus, you can attend parties, plays, sporting events, and concerts you can also create your own random fun with your peers.
Most schools bring exciting events and speakers to their campuses, too. Colleges will often host famous musicians and comedians. For example, The Weeknd has performed shows at Syracuse, Northeastern, Lafayette College, and the University of Minnesota, while Drake has performed at numerous colleges, including Howard, SUNY Purchase, and the University of Kentucky.
Colleges will also sponsor parties and other on-campus events that are just meant to be fun and facilitate social interaction. At Stanford, there’s a tradition known as Full Moon on the Quad. On the first full moon of the school year, students gather in the quad, and the seniors welcome the freshmen by kissing them. There’s a lot of kissing. It might not be hygienic, but it’s memorable.
You may make very close friends while you’re attending college. In college, you get to befriend people from all over the US and even other countries. A big part of the college experience is having the opportunity to learn from and interact with people from diverse backgrounds.
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Should I Go To College If I Dont Know What Career To Pursue
I dont know what I want to go to college for!
If youre about to graduate from high school, you may find yourself saying this a lot. Your parents, teachers, and friends may be encouraging you to go to college. If you already know exactly what career you want to pursue, you may be on board with this idea, but what if you arent quite sure? What if you dont know what you want to go to school for?
If you dont know what to study in college, youre not alone. Roughly 20 to 50 percent of incoming students are undecided on a major they want to go to college, but they dont know what to study. It may even surprise you to learn that even once they are enrolled, many students still say, I dont know what to do in college. In fact, around 75 percent of students change their major at least once during their college careers.
So, you see, your doubts and misgivings are perfectly normal. In this article, well talk about what you should do if you are undecided about college because you dont know what career to pursue.
Look Into Bootcamps And Short Programs
Coding bootcamps have exploded in popularity over the past few years, to the point where theres even a $3,000 prep program to train people to apply for coding bootcamps.
If youre interested in a computer science career, such programs are one of your best shots at getting there fast. With so much interest in the market, options abound for schools with different business models, teaching styles, and niche focuses. For maximum benefit, there are programs like 42, a coding school backed by a French billionaire that plunges students into a four-week piscine of immersive, intensive training, inviting them to spend nearly a whole month coding, day and night.
Just make sure to do your researchas not every bootcamp is capable of delivering what it promises, and some of them are falsely riding the wave of the success of others before them.
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There Are Many Financial And Career Benefits
Let’s start by considering the financial advantages of a college education.
In 2019, college graduates with a bachelor’s degree earned $30,000 more per year than those with a high school diploma or its equivalent.
Here’s one of the most cited statistics that shows the benefits of a college education: a person with a bachelor’s degree will, on average, earn almost $1 million more over the course of her lifetime than somebody with just a high school diploma. While money shouldn’t necessarily be the biggest priority in anyone’s life, there’s no doubt that a higher salary will give you more opportunities, alleviate stress, and allow you to more easily support a family.
Moreover, college-educated Millennials have much lower unemployment and poverty rates. According to recent studies from 2020 to 2021 by the New York Federal Reserve Bank, young people aged 22-27 are more likely to be unemployed if they don’t have a college degree. Unemployment among those with a college degree was 3.9%, but it was 10.3% for those without a degree.
In addition, those who attended college are more likely to get married and less likely to be living in their parents’ homes. Statistics indicate that attending college has more economic benefits for Millennials than it did for previous generations. Going to college might be more important now than ever before!
As you can see, there are tons of financial benefits to getting a bachelor’s degree. But what about the professional advantages?
The Financial Benefits Of College Might Be Overstated
The claim that college graduates earn $1 million more in their lifetimes might actually be skewed by graduates from top universities.
A 2019 study by PayScale.com found that there are only six schools at which earning a college degree can get you a $1 million return on investment. Basically, the reported number that college graduates make $1 million more over the course of their professional lives is not that accurate.
Moreover, it’s important to note that while attending college, most people arent working or are only working part-time. So in addition to the financial costs and debts you’re incurring while in college, you probably won’t be able to get the salary you could be making from working a full-time job during the four to six years you’re in school.
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How We Made This List
We put together this list based on 2 important main types of data: the number of students admitted to law school with a certain major, and the average LSAT score of the students with that major.
Students admitted to law school from this major last year: 1,327
Average LSAT score of admitted students : 150.7
Sociology majors have to be comfortable scrutinizing data and writing long papers. Both the critical thinking and writing skills that this major cultivates can be leveraged in law school. Consider this major if the social dynamics of groups interest you, and you enjoy both quantitative and qualitative reasoning.
Average LSAT Score: 145.9
If you love to be hands-on with the justice system, this may be the major for you. No field of study gives you more exposure to law prior to law school. That said, notice how much lower the average LSAT score is relative to other majors. It is not considered as academically rigorous as theoretical disciplines. If you want to set yourself apart at a highly competitive law school, this may not be the major for you. If you dont care about prestige and just want to get as much experience as possible, its a great fit.
Do You Know What You Want To Do
Knowing what you want in life is hard, especially if youre in your teens or twenties and havent had many experiences yet. When I was looking at colleges, I thought I wanted to be a graphic designer or a teacherand, well, that didnt work out the way I expected at all.
One friend of mine went to college for marine biology and spent two years studying turtles before she decided she wasnt interested. She switched to a medical degree, and then to physiotherapy. Shes still not sure what she wants to do, and shes incredibly behind on completing her degree and saddled with student debt.
Theres nothing wrong with switching majors. Many people choose to do it simply because college offers a lot of exposure to things they didnt even know they liked in the first place. If you have the money to experiment and take a variety of classes until you figure out your major, then sure, do that.
But, if youre like the vast majority of people who need to take out loans, you shouldnt go to college to find yourself. Youve got the whole wide world out there for that, and it wont put you into a pile of debt.
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S Aren’t Just For Four
You can use money in a 529 at any institution of higher education that receives financial aid. That includes community colleges technical, art, or music schools vocational and certificate programs trade schools and continuing education courses. You can look up qualifying schools and programs here.
The money can also be applied to costs for study-abroad programs. There are about 400 colleges in other countries that are eligible to use 529 money, Kantrowitz says.
The only caveat is that you must spend 529 savings on qualified expenses. That includes tuition, fees, books, supplies, and computers, as well as room and board for students in school at least half-time.But it wont cover costs like college application fees, personal living expenses, or transportation.
Are You Going Just Because Others Expect You To
For me, this was one of the biggest reasons why I even thought I had to go to college. Everyone else was. It wasnt even a question.
According to research conducted by Degree Query, 30% of students worldwide go to a four-year university because they think its what theyre supposed to do after high school.
Were told from a young age that college is the path to success. Get a degree. Get a job. Be wildly successful. Right? For some people, its almost a rite of passage to adulthood. Their parents want them to go, or their grandparents do, or they want to go because their friends are or their significant other is.
When I was in school, it was mandatory that we had a line-up of college choices, knew what major we were going into, and were applying for scholarships. Our counselors checked in on us every single week.
The thing is, college is a four-year and multi-thousand dollar commitment. You shouldnt go just because someone else is pressuring you to.
Just because you should isnt a good reason anymore. A college degree does not always result in a job. Consumer Reports asked a number of alumni whether or not they thought they had made the right decision in going to school, and 45% said college wasnt worth the debt. The same study found that almost half of college grads are underemployed.
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You Want Networking Opportunities For Your Field
Some jobs are only attainable when you know someone who can get you in the door by introducing you to the right people at the company. Networking is important and is widely available across college campuses. From professional organizations to internships, colleges offer a chance to get your name out there. You also have the opportunity to get to know your professors, especially when you are taking courses specific to your degree. These professors may be able to help you secure a job in the field through their contacts.
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It Gives You Space For Self
For many students, college is the first time in their lives they’re not living at home. During college, they learn to be self-sufficient. They learn domestic skills and budgetingeven how to motivate themselves without parental encouragement. At the same time, most college students can still go home or call home if they’re in need of some money or advice.
Many people who don’t go to college remain at home for at least a couple of years after high school. Though they often have more freedom than they did during high school, their routines and mindsets don’t change nearly as drastically as those who went to college. Anecdotally at least, even students who live at home and commute to college experience more growth than those who bypass college.
Whether you go to an in-state or out-of-state school, your college will likely expose you to a new city and environment. For instance, if you grew up in California and went to Stanford, it could still be a six-hour drive from where your family lived. You would be able to experience life in Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, which has a different vibe, culture, and climate from, say, Los Angeles. Many college students are grateful to be able to have the opportunity to live in a different environment.
Similarly, according to a study published by the American Journal of Public Health, people who get a bachelor’s degree after 25 years of age exhibit fewer depressive symptoms and have better self-rated health at midlife.
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Have Your Employer Pick Up The Costs
Theres a long list of companies, both large and small, that are willing to pick up their employees college tab in the form of tuition reimbursement, including Chegg, Google and Hulu.
Ask your employer if theyre willing to provide tuition reimbursement or pay for costs up to a certain amount to help offset your total college costs up to $5,250 in tuition reimbursement each year is tax-free for both employees and employers.
You Are Drawn To College Traditions
College football games, Greek life or living in a dormitory or with other students are examples of traditions at universities that are attractive to many students. Being able to rush a fraternity or sorority or take part in homecoming festivities is something that many students look forward to with great anticipation. If you are passionate about a team sport, a four-year university may have better offerings. While competitive, you may be able to win a scholarship as well.
Being involved with these aspects of college life makes a compelling argument for attending a four-year university out of high school. Some of the friends and colleagues you make may remain connections throughout your life. That being said, this doesnt always justify expensive tuition costs in and of itself, though it can certainly be a factor in the overall decision process of going to college.
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How You Define Success
Ultimately, it is up to you to determine how you define success for yourself. If you are able to start your own business, continue a family business, or start small in a company and move your way up without a degree, do you consider that success? Or will you always feel the need to have graduated from college no matter your career path? Do some self-reflection on how much a degree matters in your own definition of success for yourself.
Photo by Godisable Jacob from Pexels
There are countless reasons why you really should go to college. One of the most common reasons why students attend college these days is for the opportunity for an increased income and a boost to the resume.
College grads, on average, make much more than those working with only a high-school diploma.
Employers really do look at your education as an important aspect of your resume and many companies wont consider an applicant without a minimum of a bachelors degree. In addition, many companies offer higher entry-level salaries for a college degree. And if you study while you are working, you may be eligible for a salary increase once you graduate.
The easiest reason to go to college: Your career choice. There are just some career paths that necessitate a college degree and there is no getting out of it. Do your homework on the job and career you dream of and check entry requirements, as well as what it takes to move ahead in the field so you know full well if a degree is required.