Trade School Vs. Community College

[Ms. Milani]

Why do trade schools charge more? What is their justification? I want a degree in network administrator (AAS) and then eventually my Bachelor's in Cybersecurity. I want to start asap. How many classes and how many hours would you go to weekly in a community college to be considered fulltime? How quickly can you finish a degree in a community college. I'm a penny pincher and I don't know if I feel comfortable paying so much for a trade school. Although I do like the hands on learning and only going to school 3 days a week. Advice?

[Marcus78]

Trade schools are generally for-profit institutions, whereas most colleges and universities, even community colleges, are non-profit institutions. As such, trade schools tend to charge much more on an hourly basis compared with their community college counterparts. However, both should be much cheaper than a 4-year university in the State.

As for being full time, when I was in school, 12 hours in an undergraduate program, 9 hours in a masters, and 9 in my doctoral program were considered full-time. It may change/vary from school to school though. Ask the admissions counselor/advisor at the school in which you are interested in enrolling for a definitive answer. Also, make sure that the credits you receive are easily transferable. It would be a shame to get stuck with $10,000+ worth of credits you can't use and can't transfer...

[Ms. Milani]

Any ideas on when the next community college semester starts?

[Novatx]

In a most trade schools, you get a certificate NOT a degree. In a community college, 12 hours is considered full time (4 classes), but you can take more if you think you can tolerate more than 4 and finish your associates in 2 years or less.
Then you can transfer to a university to complete the next two years foryour bachelors in cyber security (I personally have never heard of it).

Depending on which university you choose for the bachelors that you want, you need to speak to an academic advisor regarding which core curriculum is required.

If money is tight, you should apply for a pell grant.
As usual, I'm on mobile, so excuse any type o's

Good luck!
Besos

[Novatx]

Originally Posted by Malaya

Any ideas on when the next community college semester starts?

In January the spring semester starts.

[sms918]

I did a year of community college and 4 years of a trade school. Both have pros and cons. College teaches you about what you'll need to know about a job. Trade school teaches you how to do the job. Colleges are more broad in their focus, trade schools focus on a specific area. If your certain of what you want, you may not need certain things, but sometimes a more well rounded education can help you be more versatile.

costs, just depends like previous posts said. My trade school was an apprentice school that I also worked at the trade at the same time. So the cost wasn't a concern. A lot of trade schools are expensive like previous poster said because their for profit, our country is one of the few that doesn't realize trade schools are just as important as colleges. Community college costs can vary great depending on location, your resident status, a lot of factors.

Community colleges are great to get started in,their cheaper, make sure credits are transferable to a 4 college. I know alot of people that start out at community colleges and transfer to 4 colleges to finish their degrees. It's cheaper, you can get used to college, you can schedule college around work and family.


As for cybersecurity, big future in that. Good choice lots of opportunity in that field, I heard about cybersecurity all the time now.

[Ms. Milani]

Thank you! I'm pretty sure I'm going to wait until Jan to return to college (Spring semester). The trade school I was thinking about going to costs $41k (for an associate degree) and community college costs like $2k-$3k right?

[Precious_b]

Be leery of for profit schools.
Saw that one starting in the 80s.

Novas words sound pretty true.

And making sure they transfer is a boom.

This country has lagged in cyber security for the better part of 20 years.

[Laz]

San Antonio College is very cost effective. Take advantage of it.

[Samcro84]

You need to pick a school and go to them for information. They all have their requirements. State schools are always cheaper - like SAC was offered by Laz.

Since I have that education I can give you some guidance. You can get some training or education at a ITT or Devry also. But when you want to go farther you may have to go to a college or university to get the pre requirements needed to get higher level degrees or certifications. In that are of studies it is all about certifications (CISCO Microsoft and others). Check all your possibilities before you decide. If you need help PM me I can offer some help or call me.

There are kind of grants and scholarships that are available, a lot go unused every year because nobody applies.

Good luck.

[SAtexas]

I'd stick with the community college.

Trade schools for most of the people I know didn't work out. They promise a lot, but they don't have to deliver at the end. They inflate their statistics about graduation and job rates.

Community college is going to be less expensive and more versatile. It might be more convenient for the trade school, but ultimately you will have less debt.

[HUMP!]

Originally Posted by Malaya

Any ideas on when the next community college semester starts?

Malaya,
If it's been awhile since you've enrolled in college, you'll want to look into registration, very soon. Talk to a school counselor, decide which classes, and start the ball rolling for that, now. Good luck!

[Ms. Milani]

I also have a friend...she's not that book smart and wants to get her college degree. I, personally, don't think she can pass that test to get into college. Would a trade school be her best bet?

[Novatx]

Originally Posted by Malaya

I also have a friend...she's not that book smart and wants to get her college degree. I, personally, don't think she can pass that test to get into college. Would a trade school be her best bet?

In a community college , there's no test to pass. There's something called an accuplacer test that will determine your knowledge in reading, writing (you'll have to write an essay) and math.

Say for example, you're not at a college reading level, you'll be placed in remedial courses that will prepare you for college level courses (you get no credit for these type of courses). Remedial courses are taken for the entire semester.

Malaya it sounds like you need to get with an academic advisor ASAP . Especially if you plan to enroll for Spring 2014.

[Precious_b]

My experience at SAC, you can start as a complete idiot (no offense) and come out with what I equate to a high school diploma. (I only say that because i'm comparing it to the schools I went to in europe.)

But a great place to start.