2 Year College vs 4 Year University

After high school, the average American is expected to go to college or work. Some people even choose to do both. This is the American way of life. Without having a college degree, now days, it is nearly impossible to find a decent job. There are many choices one can make, but usually it comes down to attending a two year college and a four year university. Attending a four year university and a two year college are similar with the respect to the courses offered and the quality of education; they differ with the respect of the cost and the class sizes. By attending a two year or four year college, a student can receive relatively the same general courses. For example, every college has English, math and sciences. Although one college may offer a major in Nursing and one may not, the general courses are the same. Salisbury University is a four year university and community colleges are two year colleges, but they both offer majors in psychology. Another similarity is that the quality of the courses offered. All colleges have to live up to the prescribed standards and have to meet certain expectations, given by the Board of Education. With that being said, both colleges will have to show an acceptable level of quality to the students and other professors. For example, if a student majors in Philosophy, whether it is at BCC, Towson or Duke, he or she will still get the same value of education. You may learn a different technique at one, than the other, but generally the quality of work is the same. Although there are many differences, one that stands out the most is the cost. A four year college will probably cost more in one year than your whole two years at a community college. For example, at Delaware University the 2004-05 yearly tuition for full-time students was $7725 for Delaware residents and $15,990 for nonresidents (University of Delaware). At a community college, a full-time student’s tuition is around $1,800. There is a big difference between the tuition prices.
Another difference that is very important is the class sizes. At a university like Harvard, you will have anywhere from 15-200 people in your classes. At a community college, your largest class may have 30 people in it. Class sizes will affect the student’s ability to learn because with a huge class, the student will not be able to ask as many questions for clarification. Also, with having such a large class, the student may tend to focus on the people around them more than the professor. When a professor has a large class like that, he may not tend to encourage extra help because of the size; opposed to a professor with only 30 students, he more than likely will. In my opinion, I think attending a two-year college is better than attending a four year college. The student will receive the same education at either college, but a two-year college is better for a student that is unsure of their academic abilities or what they want to major in. At a two-year college, there is less pressure to choose a major and the price is way less. A four-year college is better for the student that wants to go straight into a professional field of health or sciences because they offer bachelor’s degrees. However, I honestly feel that after graduation high school, most students are unsure exactly what they want to do with their life either way.