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Course: College admissions > Unit 3
Lesson 2: College search: Type of college- Identifying target colleges
- Explore colleges on Big Future
- Comparing vocational vs 2 year vs 4 year colleges
- Comparing public vs private colleges
- Comparing universities vs liberal arts colleges
- Comparing nonprofit vs. for profit colleges
- Comparing highly selective vs selective vs nonselective colleges
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Comparing vocational vs 2 year vs 4 year colleges
College admissions expert Sean Logan discusses the differences between vocational programs, two-year programs, and four-year programs. Vocational programs teach specialized trades and usually last between six months and two years. Two-year programs offer an Associate's Degree, providing flexibility for students who may work or be unsure about higher education. Four-year programs grant a Bachelor's Degree, offering more options, a broader curriculum, and increased job opportunities.
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This seemed very biased towards 4 yr degrees. What other options are there for vocational school than the standard plumbing?(24 votes)
There are many options for vocational school, including, automotive servicing, electronics/computers, aviation, art and design, the options are probably more diverse than you think.
It would be good to weigh such things as the transferability of the credits, accreditation of the school, hireability after graduation, cost of a vocational school, etc.(21 votes)
What are the benefits of going to a 2 year college and then transferring to a 4 year college right after?(6 votes)
Same credits, much lower cost. Some will argue that you will have less of the "college experience", but it is up to the individual if this is worth the higher costs.(9 votes)
Do you get the same financial aid in vocational school?(5 votes)
In regards to degree flexibility - I like that 2 year schools have more flexibility in earning your degree, because I haven't quite decided what I want to major in yet. However, I want to make sure that I go to a really good school and family members have told me before that going to a 2 year first would be a waste of time. What is the process of changing majors in a 4 year like? Would that be an easy and flexible option, or would it be all in all best to go to a 2 year and then a 4 year?(2 votes)
Changing your major in a 4-year school is incredibly easy. Just go to your adviser and the Registrar's Office to switch it. Unless there are specific requirements to get admitted into a major (like nursing), then you can't just switch. It's entirely feasible as long as you aren't like 4 months from graduation!
Going to 2-year schools before 4 is not a waste of time. Instead, it's a huge saving.(2 votes)
- Does the degree that i want limit the subjects which i want to study. how does getting a degree really work (for a 4year degree). For example, if i want to get a BTech degree, what all subjects can i opt for. Will i only be able to choose subjects that are pretaining to science or will i also be able to take economics as a subject(2 votes)
The specific requirements for a degree program vary depending on which program you want--and even which school you study the program at. In every case I've seen though, for an undergraduate (Bachelor's) degree, there are a few general education requirements (English, math, science, etc., but which specific ones and how many classes you have to take depends on the program), the courses required for the degree that specifically teach you about the subject you're studying, and then electives (where you could opt to take economics classes if you wanted, or anything else offered at your college).
Since it's so different for each school and each program, I would recommend narrowing down a few degree options that interest you, then doing a search on Google or another search engine for schools that offer those degrees. From there, each school should list the specific course requirements to receive a degree in that subject from that school.(2 votes)
both my parents have gone to 2 years and want me to as well, but because I want to go straight to a 4 year they believe its a foolish idea. any thoughts on how to "de-bunk" this idea in their minds?(2 votes)
now why ur parent would think foolish idea that doesnt make sense to see ur parent not looking at your goal u wanted to do i suggest let them know what ur goal and what ur future you wanted to do for best and if they say it foolish ideas or goal just come ask me for help u foryour goal and future and ideas(2 votes)
- What is the process for transferring the credits when you have a two year associates degree toward a four year bachelors degree? You don't have to go to the same college that you got your associates degree, right?(2 votes)
I'm don't were do I want to go at a four year or at a two year. is a four year more achieving then a two years?? I hope I could get an answer...(2 votes)- if you want to get into animation how many years you have to be in college(2 votes)
Do you get a degree if you go to vocational school? if not what do you get instead?(0 votes)
From what I have seen, vocational colleges award certificates more often than degrees, such as a Certificate in Information Technology, or a Certificate in Electrical Engineering. Certificates represent applied skills, while a degree represents more knowledge. (And, of course, it varies by school what they offer to show completion of a certain track of courses, whether certificates of degrees; some schools even offer both, such as 2-year colleges.)(5 votes)
Video transcript
- [Voiceover] We're here with Sean Logan, the Director of College
Counseling at Phillips Academy. Sean did admissions at
Williams, Occidental, Harvard, and Stanford, as well
as working with several community-based organizations. Sean, thanks so much for being here today. - [Sean] Happy to be here. Thanks. - [Voiceover] Sean, we wanna
get started with one of the first question that students often face in the college admissions process, and that is, what are vocational programs versus two-year programs
versus four-year programs. What are they and what do they offer? Let's go ahead and get started
with vocational programs. What are they all about? - [Sean] Vocational schools tend to teach specialized trades, things
like plumbing, heating, potentially automotive
skills and so forth. So students who are looking at this area coming out of high school tend
to be wanting to focus in, have a real specific interest,
wanna get that training, the training may be anywhere between six months and potentially two years. Then they come out with
very applicable skills in a particular area. - [Voiceover] Great. Sean, how does the
vocational program differ from a two-year or
four-year college degree? - [Sean] So, in two-year
and four-year degrees, a two-year degree is an Associates Degree. That's generally what you get when you finish a two-year program. When you finish a four-year program, you typically get a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science, so a BS or a BA. In a two-year program, the
sort of strengths to that tend to be, they give students
a little bit of flexibility. You can go part-time,
you can go full-time. It allows students who may need to work or may just not be sure
that higher education is the direction they wanna go in, it lets them sort of take
some courses without making a bigger financial commitment right away. So it has that. You can get more specialized degrees. You can come out ready
to be a Dental Hygienist or go into Law Enforcement,
different things like that or you can take more of a broader program and maybe want to then transfer
on to a four-year school. So you can take the two years that you got say you were studying Biology or something you were
really interested in, and then apply that
towards a four-year degree. So you're already two years into it and you have two years left at a school that has a four-year degree. - [Voiceover] Great, so then
why would students choose, for instance, to go to a
four-year degree directly rather than starting
with a two-year degree? - [Sean] It's gonna give
you a bit more, I think, flexibility and probably more options. Usually, they have a broader curriculum at these kinds of schools. It allows you to have
other options as well, so things like Arts, Music, Theater, athletic opportunities that are there. Potentially, broad opportunities as well. And, this four-year degree can be in a variety of different areas and those areas that will give you ... That degree after four years will give you more flexibility. Most employers now look
at a four-year degree as the starting point
in their hiring process. - [Voiceover] Great. Are there specific
careers you can think of where a four-year degree is required? - [Sean] The beauty of a four-year degree is, it's gonna really, I think, prepare you in a lot of different areas. Things like graduate
programs in medical school, law school, business school,
those sorts of things. It also allows you to
go into a whole host, probably the spectrum of
jobs that are out there, a four-year degree is sort
of that starting point to get into those different areas. If it's in technology,
if it's in education, if it's law, if it's in
medicine, if it's in whatever, that's sort of the degree
that's really gonna give you that starting point. - [Voiceover] Great. So it's sounds like, if I
understand you correctly, the four-year degree really gives you a lot of flexibility after you finished, whereas the two-year
degree is really flexible, in part, while you're
doing the degree itself. - [Sean] It is and it's gonna
be a little bit more limiting. There won't be as many job opportunities. There's lot of job opportunities that are very much suited for an AA degree, but there's gonna definitely a limit in terms of all these other opportunities that are really looking
for a four-year degree. - [Voiceover] Great. Sean, thank you so much. - [Sean] Thanks.