19 Reasons to Attend Community College

If you have been considering starting college or going back to school, we implore you to consider community college first. From tuition to the quality of education to hands-on training, there are hundreds of reasons.

Here are the top 19 reasons to attend a community college:

1. Pay less. As the largest community college system in the nation, the Maricopa Community Colleges offers affordable tuition.
2. Pay less even if you’re out-of-state. Out-of-state tuition rates are approximately $300 per credit hour, which compared to other Arizona colleges out-of-state tuition, is remarkably low.
3. Increase your earning power. With a diploma from high school, you can expect to make around $652 weekly. Get your associate’s degree, and that weekly pay jumps to $785, on average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
4. Find a job. Labor markets predictions indicate that 57% of upcoming jobs will only require an associate's degree or credential.
5. Hands-on training and experience. The Maricopa Community Colleges are uniquely positioned in the community to create partnerships with local employers, such as State Farm, Galvanize, and Apple, to benefit students.
6. Network. Since community colleges partner with local industries, employers from those industries are often right on the community college campus, interacting with students and staff.
7. Gain education for the most in-demand jobs. At the Maricopa Community Colleges, we offer credit programs in 90% of the highest-demand occupations in the region.
8. Get the degree at your pace. Flexibility is a key part of the community college model. Making education accessible for working adults, parents, or otherwise busy people is a major role in the community served.
9. Online options for the majority of classes. A large majority of core classes are available online to make it easier to complete a degree or credential on your schedule.
10. High-quality education. Award-winning faculty dot the halls at the Maricopa Community College, which means you are learning from top-tier professors in their fields.
11. Personalized attention. Due to the structure of community college, smaller classes are more common in 100 and 200-level courses compared to the university level. This means you can get more face time with the professor to make sure you understand the material.
12. Receive the help you need. The Maricopa Community Colleges are all learning colleges. This means that they are devoted to student success and teaching instead of research.
13. Close to home. With 10 Maricopa Community College locations across the Phoenix metro area, there is one close to your neighborhood, with free parking. Complete your associate's degree with less of the commuting stress.
14. Earn money to help you pay. At the Maricopa Community Colleges, we make it easy to file for financial aid, and scholarships from MCCCD or the MCCCD Foundation and offer work-study positions for our students.
15. Perfect for nontraditional students. While community college is a great fit for all students, it is a particularly good fit for first-time or returning students with families, work, or other obligations due to the school-work-life balance you can achieve by attending part-time.
16. Easily transfer to a university. The Maricopa Community Colleges have made it easy to transfer to in-state universities smoothly. We offer transfer pathways to ASU, NAU, UofA, and GCU.
17. Add a little more to your degree. Most degree programs offer corresponding or related professional certificates. Such as a Business degree + a Social Media Marketing certificate. This can give your resume and skill set a boost. Certificates generally only take 2-6 more classes to complete.
18. Easier admission policies. At Maricopa Community Colleges, we make it easy for anyone that wants to attend college to do so. We have admission policies that remove the stress of applying.
19. A fresh start. If you didn’t perform well in high school, community college is a new start. Use community college to improve your overall grade point average. When it’s time to transfer to a four-year school to finish your degree, the only things that will really matter are your community college classes and grades.