Despite the tenacity of common phrases uttered throughout Central Florida high school hallways like, “Valencia is a school for losers,” Valencia is an accredited learning environment.
Valencia College, Florida state universities and Ivy League universities all offer accredited four year degrees. Community colleges primarily offer two year degrees. However, Valencia Community College is now Valencia College as of Fall 2011. Valencia offers a Bachelors in Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology and Radiologic and Imagery Science.
The popular belief that State and Ivy League schools are better than Valencia is false. Community colleges and Valencia offer more student- professor interaction, budget conscious tuition, and while graduates of Harvard are presented with a different career market due to their frilly diploma, Valencia graduates have the same potential.
More than twice as many local high school graduates attend Valencia than all public state universities combined.
Research schools are no place for undergraduates. Well known professors are often not in the classroom but instead are doing research. Classes are then taught by student aids. For an incoming freshman, an auditorium filled with 300 pupils and one teacher is an intimidating learning environment.
In “10 Things Every Parent Should Know About College” by Michelle Crouch, published in the September 2011 edition of Reader’s Digest, Crouch found students at Harvard did not have a strong enough relationship with their professors for them to write their graduate school recommendations.
According to communitycollege.com, the average community college class size is 30 students. With smaller classes, professors are devoted to teaching and working with students.
Ivy League and State schools can cost a fortune. A designer degree is not worth years and years of paying back college loans. An in-state freshman taking 15 hours of classes each semester for two semesters living on campus, with a meal plan will pay around $20,000 regardless of the state school he attends.
At community colleges, one can pay for classes hour-by-hour, allowing flexible payment options. Students at Valencia pay $99.06 per credit hour.
Students who do not have the financial means to pay for college without the help of student loans are better off going to an affordable school.
In “10 Things Every Parent Should Know About College,” it is said that in 2010, almost two thirds of undergraduates borrowed money, and student loan debt outpaced credit card debt for the first time. College Board says the average senior who took out college loans graduates $24,000 in debt.
Do not let fancy lion statues and ivy covered walls be fooling. While it is true a degree from an Ivy League school can open doors for elite job positions down the road, the vast majority of college goers are not looking to be presidential advisers or Nobel Peace Prize winners.
There is no data showing Ivy League graduates achieve higher levels of success than other college graduates. According to “10 Things Every Parent Should Know About College,” out of the 900-odd 1973 Princeton graduates, there are only a handful of recognized names. If a student puts his talents to use, he can succeed to levels higher than graduates of Ivy League colleges.
While the student life of State schools and the preppy-high-society air of Ivy League is appealing, there is nothing inadequate about community colleges. They offer similar, if not the same degrees, with more involved teaching, better pricing and equal opportunities after graduation.