robot-heart-politics:

inascaldingjoy:popnihilism:adailyriot:abbyjean:

A 2001 studyfound that 71 percent of students who enrolled in community colleges wanted a bachelor’s degree, but only about a quarter ended up transferring to a four-year college. Those who were more likely to do so were those who had a specific plan from the beginning: those pursuing an academic major and taking bachelor’s degree credit courses.

The profiles of the students in the Chronicle show that that’s pretty much still true:

Community college students often have trouble transferring because they don’t know how to do it, but [Rebecca] Morgan, 41, made it work by checking with advisers at both schools every semester.

“I’m not afraid to ask a question,” she said.

The problem for many low-income students, who are the most likely to benefit from saving money by starting out at a community college, is that they are less likely than middle-class students to have the resources and skills to advocate for themselves. A Washington state program learned that low-income students suffer from a lack of confidence and a general fear that they won’t be able to make college work for them. That, compounded with the likelihood that they’re less ready for college and less able to afford to go, presents a big hurdle for their ability to transfer out.