Why Community Colleges Can Be a Great Option
Updated: Sep 27
I wanted to follow up on the numbers I shared last week for the top four Florida public universities. I know they can induce a decent amount of stress. If you’ve read my prior posts, you might remember a recent one about the advantages of starting college in the summer term and the fact that it requires lower test scores. (The matrix is posted again in the comments here.) For many students, the summer scores are still unattainable. A really great option can be community college (two specific ones). This post is a little longer because most of it was for an assignment for my UCLA college counseling program. I wanted to leave lots of the details here for those who would like to read them. (The costs might have gone up minimally.)
FSU has the Aspire TSC2FSU Program which is a joint program between Florida State University and Tallahassee State College. This program is specifically for students who wish to earn an Associate in Arts degree at TSC and then transfer to neighboring FSU to complete a four-year degree. Aspire TSC2FSU students benefit from individualized advising provided by TSC and FSU advisors. It’s great that right from the start, students are given an academic plan to stay on track to earn an AA degree and then admission to FSU for a bachelor's degree.
The Aspire TSC2FSU Program is also affordable since students pay TSC tuition rates while earning the AA degree. 79% of TSC graduates transfer to a four-year institution in Florida. TSC students can live with FSU students in off-campus housing and have the opportunity to participate in FSU activities while earning their AA degree and prerequisites for their undergraduate program at half price. (They cannot participate in Greek life.) When one of my students was denied from FSU, the admissions officer even sent me the name of the most popular dorm for students in this situation. It’s as if students are living on the FSU campus. I’ve learned that many students are now saying they’re going to FSU when they’re actually going to TSC! The Aspire program offers three tracks; one of them gets students to FSU in one year or less. The average price per credit hour at TSC for Florida residents is $100.83. For out-of-state students, the cost is $387.27. Students need to earn 60 credit hours in order to have earned their AA degree. Quite a few students have many dual enrollment credits that they earned in high school. These will count toward the required 60 credits.
A similar option is Sante Fe Community College which is located in Gainesville and is an attractive choice for students who want to transfer to the University of Florida. The University of Florida admits more students from Santa Fe College than from any of the other 27 Florida state colleges. The majority of Santa Fe students who apply to UF each semester are admitted, including 88 percent of students from the Santa Fe honors program. A representative from the honors program spoke to our South Florida group of IECA members. I was impressed with all that they have to offer, including a close-knit community. UF advisors regularly meet with Santa Fe students to be sure they’re on track. There are various partnerships between UF and Santa Fe, one of which aims to increase the number of minority and underrepresented SF students in the biomedical and behavioral sciences who go on to transfer to UF. Other partnerships include those with the UF College of Pharmacy, College of Engineering, College of Design Construction and Planning, and a pathway to complete a bachelor’s degree from UF online.
I don’t know how many people are aware that oftentimes, first year students at UF need to take more online classes than they would have expected. Santa Fe has small class sizes in person with professors.
Finding the cost of Santa Fe was a bit more challenging than TSC. I did find that they take Florida Prepaid and Bright Futures, two popular programs with my students. I finally found that tuition for Florida residents is $106.77 per credit hour and for out-of-state students, it is $382.90 per credit hour (very similar to TSC).
The final option I will include here is Palm Beach State College. According to their website, “Palm Beach State College has expanded its mission, programs, and reach to become the fifth largest of the 28 colleges in the Florida College System. Each year, more Palm Beach County high school graduates choose PBSC than any other institution.” In addition to offering 130 programs of study and AA degrees, they also offer bachelor’s degrees in Applied Science in Supervision & Management, the BAS in Information Management, and Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Human Services, and Cardiopulmonary Sciences. This is where many of my students have earned their dual enrollment credits.
Regarding cost, the website states “Palm Beach State is one of the most affordable public colleges in Florida and the nation. PBSC’s low tuition, along with financial aid and scholarships, makes college possible for students of all income levels.” While they state they are one of the most affordable public colleges, the cost is almost the same as TSC and SF with the Florida resident rate being $101 per credit hour and the non-Florida resident rate being $363 per credit hour. (TSC is actually a few cents per credit hour cheaper than PBSC.)
The 2+2 State Articulation Agreement states that students who earn an Associate in Arts degree from any one of Florida’s community colleges are guaranteed admission to one of the 12 public universities in the state. Students are not guaranteed admission to any one certain university.
Community colleges are certainly a great way for students to get some of their general education requirements met, live with their parents potentially to save even more money, or move to their desired college town, and get more of an idea what they’d like to study. Some students also need more time to hone their “adulting” skills before they live on their own away from home.
