There's a quicker, cheaper way to go to college, but fewer students are trying it

[davewill]

Kinda sad that less community college students are making the transition. I wonder if this is simply because students who had to finish high school under lockdown just aren't ready for college.

There's a quicker, cheaper way to go to college, but fewer students are trying it

Starting in community college and then transferring to a four-year school is a proven pathway to getting a degree for significantly less money.

Yet fewer students are going this route. Transfer enrollment from two-year colleges to four-year schools dropped again in fall 2022 compared with the previous year, this time sinking nearly 8%. This continues the downward slide that started with the pandemic, according to a new report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

"This suggests that baccalaureate degree attainment is beginning to appear increasingly out of reach for community college students," said Doug Shapiro, the research center's executive director. For a group the pandemic hit especially hard, this is a trend Shapiro calls "very concerning."

However, there's another way to take up to two years off a four-year degree that's even faster and less expensive.

How 'early college' programs work
In some cases, students can complete an associate's degree by the time they finish high school, a type of dual enrollment known as "early college."

Unlike Advanced Placement, another program in which high school students take courses and exams that could earn them college credit, dual enrollment is a state-run program that allows students to take college-level classes, often through a local community college, while they are still in high school.

These programs are not restricted to high school students on a specific — and often accelerated — academic track, as many AP classes are.

At least 35 states have policies that guarantee that students with an associate's degree can transfer to a four-year state school as a junior.