THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 4: FEBRUARY
COLLEGE | FROM PAGE ONE Arbor you can tell there’s immediately a disinterest if you don’t go to U of M,” said George White, a current sophomore at Washtenaw Community College and Huron alumnus. Seventy-four percent of students who completed the survey conducted by The Emery shared that they either applied or plan to apply to UMich just because they feel it is a standard. In fact, 82.1 percent reported feeling pressure to apply and get into UMich. However, this standard applies to four year universities in general– not just UMich. In fact, 100 percent of respondents said that they plan on attending a four year university. “Especially at Huron, most people will go to fouryear universities,” Alex PiperWagner, a Huron alumnus and current freshman at Boston University (BU), said. “It’s kind of expected because we live in a very well educated area. I think that my parents have always expected that I would go to a four year university at least, to pursue a bachelors or masters and potentially more.” White also shared a similar experience when choosing to attend WCC. “There was the presumption that I would go to a four-year university,” White said. “My parents weren’t irritated with me going to a community college, but the expectation was that I would transfer, or– at bare minimum– I would
figure out what I wanted to do with my life, which for them is getting my degree. It was just the expectation of education.” Meanwhile, Emily Herzog, a counselor at Huron’s College and Career Center has witnessed the effect this pressure has had on students. Her goal is to help students c o m b a t t h e s e expectations and feel confident in their post high school p l a n s .
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Stigma” by Forbes, community college students are 75 percent more likely to graduate after transferring to a four year school. “There’s rumors that the quality of your education is compromised,” Herzog said. “But I’m a firm believer that your education and the quality of it will be determined by how m u c h y o u take advantage of the opportunities and resources where you are.
[Students are] already being told what’s good, what’s bad, what’s right or what’s wrong for their lives after high school. I want students to be able to just decide that for themselves without the influence of other people.” W h i t e
“There’s just all this pressure coming from different places,” c a n EMILY HERZOG Herzog said. attest “[Students to this. are] already B e i n g being told what’s good, what’s a student at WCC prebad, what’s right or what’s sented many opportunities wrong for their lives after to him: leadership roles, high school. I want students smaller class sizes and to be able to just decide that more inclusivity. for themselves without the “At WCC, there are influence of other people.” people of all ages, whether In accordance with they’re going back to school “Erasing the or are interested in learning Community in general, so they decided to College take a class because they’re just interested in it,” White said. Herzog can agree even though she is not a student. “A student could go to U of M and not talk to their
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professors, not get involved in any clubs, just kind of go to their classes and go home,” Herzog said. “Whereas a student at WCC could meet a bunch of new people, could join organizations, really push themselves, challenge themselves, put themselves out there, become a leader on the campus and that person.” Though Piper-Wagner took a different path than White after high school, she shares the same mentality of making the most out of the resources presented to her. “Being in a new place, making friends, and pushing myself to take new opportunities BU has offered me . . . they’re all there,” Piper-Wagner said. “You just have to take that extra step and take advantage of those opportunities.” Herzog also states that education quality is not the only stereotype around community college. “Another big [misconception] is that the language used is often like two years or four years,’’ Herzog said. “The reality is that with community college, it’s both. You could still get a University of Michigan degree, because you could transfer from WCC to U of M, Eastern, or literally anywhere in the country. So for students who ultimately want to get a bachelor’s degree, going to WCC is not a compromise to that. If anything, it’s a smarter way to do it, because they’re saving a lot of money.” At WCC, the in-
state tuition is $4,176. On the other hand, the in-state tuition at University of Michigan lies at a staggering $25,230 in comparison: a difference of $21,054. “If universities don’t give you financial aid or if you can’t afford going to a four year university then going to community college is really smart financially,” Piper-Wagner said. Another factor of college education is not just what you want to study, but the environment in which you’ll be doing so. The average class size at a community college is 2535 students. In comparison, at most universities, introductory courses are held in lecture halls capable of a capacity of 150300 students per class. Herzog believes the most important takeaway is that every student should make decisions for themselves and prioritize their personal needs. “There’s no black or white, yes or no, one or the other,” Herzog said. “A fouryear degree is good, a fouryear college is good and a twoyear college is good. It totally depends on the situation and the student. They’re both going to have their disadvantages as well. So ultimately, the decision needs to come down to the individual and what’s right for them. And we have to be supportive of our friends and everyone as they make choices that are right for them.”
