Pushing College On Kids

Newtown High School, like many other high schools in the United States, often pushes students toward four year college programs when some might be better off pursuing other paths. Other paths may include trade schools, community colleges, or pursuing the military. 

“I feel like someone may not consider going to college and instead going straight to the army because they might want to serve on active duty, and have very little time to pursue a college education,” NHS junior Giulianna Maraboli said. 

A trade school is a type of education that provides hands-on training in jobs such as plumbing, welding, automotive repair, heating, air conditioning, and ventilation. 

There are 1.5 million students currently enrolled in rural community colleges across the United States.  With that, there are several appealing benefits such as affordability, transfer agreements, and flexibility. 

“I picked community college because I did not want to pay student loans in the future. Community college offers the first two years free. I also personally do not like university life, such as going out all the time and living in a dorm,” Naugatuck Valley Community College student Abby Manka said. 

The affordability of community college is a huge reason for consideration. Historically, community college is more affordable than university .Community College in Connecticut was made free in 2020. The PACT program, which stands for the Pledge to Advance CT, offers first time college students who are residents of a CT a tuition and fee free education at one of the state's 12 community colleges.

The average tuition for community college is $3,400. One of the reasons for this is community college students are saving money on room and board. 

According to The Princeton Review  90% percent of community college students are commuting to school. Another appealing reason for community college is transfer agreements. Students can do research to determine which credits  transfer to a four-year university. Many students also make a decision to work white in school, to save money. This money is often towards a four year university, or towards their future. 

“Unfortunately,there is a negative connotation with community college, and I think the state has done a good job with changing the name to CT State. I really do think that our college and career center is doing a really good job of promoting that because you can go to CT State and get gen-ed’s out of the way,”

“I am a big proponent  of the hands- on fields, kids that want to be plumbers, electricians engineers, architects, civil engineers, working machines, we need skilled labor.