The Duggars and CollegePlus

[sanantone]

Yeah, well you usually can't get 4 year degree from a community college. I also wasn't saying YOU do that stuff, would of, whatever... that's just sadly the stereotypical college student. Which reminded me another reason I forgot... was that the average student graduates with over 20K of debt. That's a lot of dough. I know it's not perfect for everyone... I was just saying that for me, personally, I'm very grateful for this opportunity and much rather prefer it to a traditional route. So when you stated "For people straight out of high school, I think they should go to a traditional college if they can." I think that there are excellent reasons for the opposite. Young people getting their degree knocked out right of highschool, if possible. The first 2 years of college are a review of highschool. The other half of the classes, you'll never use, which boils things down to not much actually being learned. If you're going to be an engineer, go to med school, fine. For me, again personally, my accounting degree is checking a box and what is necessary to move on to the next level. A lot of times a degree is just that, a check in the box and the foot in the door to get that interview, or move that next level up. Why not get it knocked out ASAP, and do it as cheap as possible too?
Again, I'm not saying everyone can do this, or that this will work in every case. For me, personally, and many other people, it's a wise investment to not go the traditional route.

There are plenty of cheap state universities in my state and many in others. There are some that are less than $5,000 a year. To graduate with $20k in debt is often a choice. If an expensive school is worth going to, then it will provide plenty of scholarships and loan replacements. Although, there are community colleges that do offer bachelor's degrees. There are also plenty of universities that aren't party schools because they are commuter schools. To party for 4 years is a personal choice and shouldn't be a stereotype slapped on B&M students. I know a lot of people who are in their late 20s who never went to college and they're still partying. It doesn't mean we're all doing it. Anyway, there is such a thing as return on investment. Those who attend more prestigious colleges often get a better return on investment so much so that an extra $20k in debt can be wiped out in a couple of years.

A lot of students aren't prepared for college-level math and English right out of high school. Half of the people who attend community colleges are in need of remedial courses. Some of the people who post on this forum have horrible grammar and spelling. Others are struggling to get through basic or intermediate algebra on ALEKS. It's common knowledge that Americans tend to generally not know much about their own history and government and world geography. Many students do need those first two years of college.