Towards a Theory of Choice for Community College Students

Abstract

ABSTRACT Close to 50% of all college students attend 2-year colleges, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics (2003 National Center for Educational Statistics . ( 2003 ). Digest of educational statistics . Washington , D.C. [Google Scholar]). The common assumption is that students who choose 2-year schools do so because they are academically deficient or price conscious. However, little research has been done on why students choose to attend a 2-year college. In this article, we present the results from the first of a series of studies on 2-year college choice. We report and discuss focus groups involving over 200 community college students. We found 6 provocative themes from the interviews, and suggest a preliminary model of community college choice.