When future students are considering their college options, most think community and junior colleges are way below the rank of four-year universities. This is an incorrect assumption be­cause even though students cannot receive a bachelors or higher from 2-year universities, they still receive a well-rounded educa­tion as well as save money.

     Community colleges are great for the struggling student be­cause they are budget friendly. Two-year college tuition is usually much less expensive than four-year university tuition, and with today’s declining economy saving money on education can be a great help. With students who want a bachelor’s degree, two-year universities are usually where they can complete their first two years of the process. Instead of struggling to support the cost of four years at a university, junior colleges can cut students a big break and let them complete their first two years at a less-costly tuition.

     Not only are two-year colleges less pricey than universi­ties, they also provide university-level education opportunities as well. TJC credits transfer to most universities and their techni­cal programs are looked upon as distinguished, especially in the East Texas community. TJC not only provides the opportunity to receive associate degrees, but it provides technical program certifications as well as degrees in medical fields like nursing and dental hygiene. Community colleges are also a great place for continuing education where people who have had some college can return and work on their own time towards getting their degrees.

     Junior colleges, like TJC, have university-level student and campus life opportunities. For students who want to leave home and go away to college, most community colleges have dorms for students to live. Students do not have to be from the town to attend the college, and they can still save money by going. Also, students aren’t missing out on the college-life experience because those same opportunities exist at junior colleges. TJC has concerts, comedians, talent shows, leadership retreats, dances, fundraisers and many other student activities. TJC also has many sport teams, a newspaper, an active art program, a theater and countless more school organizations on campus.

     People say that community colleges provide fewer education and student life opportunities than four-year universities, and that attending junior colleges is just a lazy way to enter higher education. These assumptions are incorrect because there is noth­ing lazy about going to a two-year college first and, in most cases, it can be a wiser and cheaper solution.

     Before people give community colleges a bad rap they need to research the reality of going to a two-year college and realize the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.