Going the Community College Route Can Pay Off

August 19, 2009 RSS Feed Print

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Virginia Tech seeks out community college transfers to round out new freshman classes with women, older students, and those from low-income families. "Community colleges bring diversity," says Mildred Johnson, director of undergraduate admissions at the Blacksburg, Va., school. Virginia Tech helps transfer students flourish: Orientation lasts a day, and those needing extra help get it.

Nurturing community college transfer students may be especially important as states cut university funding or impose tuition increases, says Stephen G. Katsinas, director of the University of Alabama's Education Policy Center. The glum economy could freeze or shrink freshman classes despite a bumper crop of 18-year-olds in the pipeline. "For millions of students, community colleges are, in fact, the portal to higher education," Katsinas says.

Sunny side up. The Rumer family of Maryland testifies to this. In 2002, the mother, Annette Rumer, received a bachelor's from Frostburg State University two years after collecting an associate's degree from Allegany College of Maryland. The same year, her daughter, Sandi, graduated from Allegany with an associate's degree in human services, and her son, Chris, graduated from high school. As soon as Chris arrived on the Allegany campus, he sought out an adviser who would help him transfer to Penn State. Accepted into Penn State with a 3.7 grade-point average, Rumer moved confidently to the big leagues in 2005. He volunteered for the campus weather service, joined a severe-weather watch team, and interned at the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island. "I wouldn't say Penn State was scary. I was so busy. I was seeing my passion and my dream unfold before me," Rumer said.

Rumer received his bachelor's degree, with a 3.3 GPA, two years later. Now he works for an environmental consultant, Tetratech NUS, in Pittsburgh. Although his Penn State sheepskin left him $67,000 in debt, Rumer thinks his path helped him save money. "My friend on Long Island was in the same program as I was. He borrowed for 3½ years, and he's got $120,000 in debt."

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While the costs are low at a community college, often what is not calculated in is the cost of housing and feeding that student at home and also, the cost of transportation, which in rural areas almost always means a car, insurance, gas etc. Students with limited resources should also consider private colleges and universities that may have scholarships and financial aid packages that would cover the room and board costs as well as the tuition, and with living on campus, there would be limited travel costs.
Too few rural students with limited family resources are encouraged to consider private schools.

Terri Socha of MD 1:56PM March 16, 2010