One New England State Ranks as Best Community College System

College is ridiculously expensive.

It has become one of those massive life purchases, similar to a house, because it can set people back into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

The trajectory for many high school students is to head to a four-year university immediately after senior year for the "college experience."

But that is not always the case! Many students turn to community colleges for the first two years of their higher education before transferring to another university.

"During the 2022 to 2023 academic year, tuition and fees for full-time, in-state enrollment at a public two-year college averaged $3,860 per year versus $10,950 at a public four-year institution and $39,400 at a four-year private school," according to WalletHub article. "Students who earn their general-education credits at a community college before transferring to an in-state public four-year university can potentially save a lot of money."

I mean, a degree from a university that someone attended for four years is the exact same as someone who transferred to the same university after two years of community college.

Although the end result is the same, the paths were different.

Similarly, there are different levels of community colleges. What I mean by that is if two candidates with identical records, grades, extracurricular activities, etc., go to two different community colleges, they might NOT get accepted to the same universities while transferring for their final two years.

With that in mind, it is important to know what community college to attend for the first two years. After all, not all community college school systems are equally as prestigious.

Only one New England state was listed in the top 18 best community college systems. In fact, Connecticut was ranked as the second-best state with the best community college school systems, according to a WalletHub article.

Out of 668 community college schools, Northwestern Connecticut Community College was ranked the 25th best school overall.

So, if you live in New England and are considering community college, maybe make a move to Connecticut.