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Adult Education Vs Community College

November 22nd, 2008

A few years ago, I attended an adult education school. It was great. I had tried a community college program before and thought I like it, until I tried this center. The classes at the adult school were concise and didn’t contain any filler classes.

The community college I had previously attended was 3 years long and consisted of many classes that seemed to be filler classes. While there, I seemed to be wasting my time with breaks in between classes, which were sometimes 3 hours long.

The community college was not very flexible with beginning dates as well. There was either September or January. They only offered specific classes in each semester. I had no choice at to when I could attend class. I kind of felt like this school was in control of my life for three years.

Some days, we would begin early, and some days not till noon. Other days, we would work late or finish early. Keeping a part time job and going to school was stressful and confusing. It was difficult to keep classes, exams, assignments, and work hours all in order.

After not landing a job in my sector, I decided to go back to school. This time I was smarter. I decided to go to an adult education center for the main fact that it was only 8 months long and came out with a diploma and the community college version was two years.

I really like this adult school. Everyday had the same schedule. Classes began at 8 and ended at 1. We had 15 minutes breaks to give our minds some time to relax during classes. The courses were highly structured and to the point.

I really liked the structure. We did one subject at a time that would usually last about two weeks, rarely one and sometimes three. This allowed me to concentrate on one thing at a time. It was great because there was never more than one assignment to do or more than one test to prepare for at a time.

At the adult education center there was an employment specialist who would work with us. She would show us how to write a resume and even performed mock interviews. It was great. She showed the perspective of the employer to help us get an edge over the competition.

Before community college, I did attend university for one year. I did not like it at all. My teachers did not even know I existed. There were 300 people in my class and it was basically learn on your own. I did not like that experience at all.

Between the three of them, I rank university the worst. Second would be the community college because its class size was smaller and I was able to get to know my teachers and classmates. Finally, the adult school ranks first because of the class size, flexibility, and schedule and was completed in the shortest amount of time.

Tags: Adult Education

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Entry Filed under: Adult Education