It may seem backward, but some college graduates are choosing to further their education by getting an associate degree at a community college.
Take Hilary Johnson, who has a business administration bachelor’s degree and an MBA from the University of Toledo, but struggled to find a job during the Great Recession.
She grew tired of job hunting and decided to try something else to help her stand out. She earned an associate degree in mechanical engineering technology from Columbus State Community College in Ohio in 2013.
“I actually have three jobs right now, which is funny,” she says. “It’s like after I got that degree, it boomed for me.” She’s works as a sales engineer at a small technology startup, operates her own graphic arts and marketing side business and teaches introduction to engineering at Columbus State.
Johnson’s educational path is unusual. Only about six percent of community college students in recent years said they had a bachelor’s degree or higher on a survey from the Center for Community College Student Engagement at the University of Texas–Austin, says Evelyn Waiwaiole, director of the center. Of those students, about half said they were at a community college to earn an associate degree.
While some college grads head to community college just to take a few classes to broaden their career options, some want an associate degree. College grads considering doing this should keep the following in mind when researching their educational options.
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1. College graduates might not need to retake classes. Students with a bachelor’s degree can often transfer college credits they already earned and apply them toward requirements in associate degree programs, says Melissa Gregory, chief enrollment services and financial aid officer at Montgomery College in Maryland. However, specific policies and requirements will vary.
At Gregory’s school, students are allowed to transfer up to 45 credits from other institutions when pursuing an associate degree. Associate degrees generally require 60 to 62 credits.
Some returning students choose to retake courses as a refresher, she says. Other students may need to take additional courses to meet prerequisite requirements for courses in their chosen degree program.
Maryland resident Lisa Baughman completed a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and public relations in 1987 at Boston University, but she was still able to transfer many credits when pursuing a paralegal studies associate degree at Montgomery College.
That was helpful and encouraging, she says. “I’m not sure how gung-ho I would have been if I had to go back to English 101.” She graduated last year and now works as a paralegal for a family law attorney and operates a mediation practice.
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2. Financial aid for students who already have a bachelor’s degree is limited. Adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher are pretty much limited to student loans and the federal work-study program as far as financial aid when pursuing another undergraduate degree, says Mark Kantrowitz, senior vice president and publisher of Edvisors.com, a college planning website.
They are not eligible for most federal grants, including Pell Grants, and private scholarships for these students may be limited, he says.
But since the cost of attending community college is generally much lower than four-year institutions, financial aid might not be an issue for some students. Johnson and Baughman paid for their associate degrees out of pocket.
3. The transition back to student life may be easier than expected. Adults who have been out of school for a while will need to readjust, but may find that key elements of community colleges could make it easier.
Most community colleges have small class sizes and the average age of students is older, says Steven Johnson, president and CEO of Sinclair Community College in Ohio. The faculty also usually consists of professionals who have worked in the field and are focused on teaching — not research, he says.
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“It had been a long time since I’d been in school,” says Baughman, the paralegal, who decided to go back to school after spending many years as a stay-at-home mom. “I wasn’t sure how long it was going to take me, if I was going to be slower than everybody else.”
She only took one class at first to make sure it was the right decision, but she learned quickly that the things she was worried about weren’t true. Her age and life experience, for example, turned out to be pluses, she says, because she knew what was important and how to focus. And while she learned school did take a lot of time, dealing with it was mostly about time management.
She has some advice for adults considering a similar path.
“Find somebody else who has done it and ask them about it,” she says. “I wish I had had somebody at my stage of life to talk to about it because I think I probably would have done it sooner.”
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3 Facts for College Grads Considering an Additional Associate Degree originally appeared on usnews.com
