Are classes in Community College the same as classes in regular 4-year universities

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Are classes in Community College the same as classes in regular 4-year universities? (The workload, difficulty, etc.) or do classes in CC tend to be a little more easier? I'm just wondering because I hear so many people saying it's not that difficult to get good grades in CC but I know nothing comes without effort.</p>

2

<p>Great question, but the answer may vary by location. Maybe you should tell what state you live in.</p>

3

<p>I am from New Jersey.</p>

4

<p>In general, Community Colleges have more low level courses to help those whose high school courses were not as strong and help those older students who have not been in school a while. The pace and difficulty of these classes may be considered ‘easy’ be high achieving high schoolers. It is best that you compare a course at CC to a course at a given 4 year school - for example, English Comp. Then go further and compare said 4 yr school to another 4 yr, since not all colleges are at the same level. I also think it is best to compare day courses to day courses – I took a night course while my DH took the day course a few semesters earlier – my course had less reading and the pace was obviously geared towards a student who had limited time due to working full time. Not sure if this was my limited experience take on things or if it was true across the board for day/night students.</p>

<p>The best thing you can do is check the CC website and see if the school has direct transfer into a 4 year college. If so, then that 4 year college certainly believes the CC is as demanding. Some of these direct transfers are dependent upon major (Burlington County CC/Drexel comes to mind with restricted majors).</p>

<p>A big tranisiton from high school to either CC or 4 yr is the limited opportunities to earn your grade – ie maybe only 2-4 tests in college versus weekly quizes that counted toward your grade in high school. In this area I believe they are the same – the student must learn time management study habits and be diligent in assessing if they are understanding the material because the instructor is not checking up on your progress every class.</p>