Community colleges aren't just used as a stepladder into universities anymore.
Michigan's first two-year college, Grand Rapids Junior College, opened in 1914 with the intention of giving students a way to make an easier transition from high school to a university.
Ninety-three years later, 27 more public community colleges have opened in Michigan - from Bay de Noc Community College in Escanaba, to Monroe County Community College in Monroe - and MSU students are taking full advantage.
According to the American Association of Community Colleges, there are more than 11 million students enrolled in 1,202 community colleges across the nation, and community college students constitute about 46 percent of all U.S. undergraduates.
Some want to build up credit hours during the summer before returning to MSU in the fall.
Some prefer the lower costs of community college credit hours.
Others say the classes are simply easier.
Intense and thorough
Kelly Dubiel didn't attend a junior college to propel her into her final years at MSU.
She said Lansing Community College had some of the most rigorous courses for her major - deaf education.
Community colleges' roles have seemed to change, said Dubiel, who graduated from MSU in May.
Dubiel said community colleges used to have a "get in, get out" atmosphere.
"Now they offer substantial degrees instead of just getting the credit you need to transfer," she said.
Before freshman year, Dubiel was stuck with a choice of going to Grand Valley State University and MSU. She decided on Grand Valley, but later realized they didn't have her major. It was too late to accept her spot at MSU, so Dubiel took classes at LCC.
After transferring to MSU her sophomore year, Dubiel continued to take classes at LCC to complete credits and to supplement the sign language classes she was taking at MSU.
Her MSU sign language classes catered to all different ability levels, she said, which made it difficult to learn at the quick pace that she wanted to.
"That was kind of hindering," she said.
The classes she took at LCC gave her more of a push, she said, as well as being smaller in size.
"They were very intense and very thorough," she said.
"They weeded out those just looking to learn sign language for fun."
A second chance
Sean Thomas didn't do so well in math during high school.
With both parents attending MSU, the professional writing sophomore was born a Spartan, he said, but his high school grades wouldn't allow him to become one right away.
Thomas decided to attend Oakland Community College in Auburn Hills for a year - and got a second shot at getting into MSU.
"It was easy to get good grades to be able to transfer," he said.
Credits transfer to MSU from more than 80 colleges and universities in Michigan alone - OCC is one of them.
Students pursuing a bachelor's degree can transfer up to 60 credits from a two-year college and up to 90 credits from a four-year college or university.
Only marks 2.0 or higher are considered for transfer credits.
After completing writing, sociology, history and math classes at OCC, Thomas was able to apply to MSU again, and this time he was successful.
"It helped me grease up the rest of the hinges," he said.
Taking math classes at OCC helped prepare him for the math classes at MSU, he said.
The money he saved on tuition, housing and food also was a plus, Thomas said.
"It helped me save a lot of money for little things - such as gas money and money for going to MSU," he said.
Time and money
General business administration and pre-law sophomore Jessica Reuter not only wanted to get requirements out of the way, but also heard classes were cheaper at community colleges.
Reuter decided to take two summer classes - an astronomy class and a macroeconomics class - online at Schoolcraft College in Livonia.
"It's a lot cheaper," she said. "Altogether I'm spending $600."
MSU's tuition rates as of spring 2007 ranged for in-state students from about $255 per credit hour to $345.75, depending on the program. Out-of-state costs were about $345-$730 per credit hour.
Schoolcraft's current tuition rates range from about $68 per credit hour for students in the college district, to about $149 per credit hour for out-of-state tuition.
LCC's rates are similar, ranging from about $67 to about $180.
But it's not just less money, Reuter said. It's less time too.
As opposed to spending 10-15 hours a week per class attending lectures and studying, Reuter now spends 5-6 hours a week on each one.
"I am bad at science, so I wanted to get it out of the way," she said about the astronomy class, which counts as a physics requirement at MSU.
Because her classes are online, she doesn't have to wake up early to attend class, and she is able to listen to the lectures in her spare time.
"It's more convenient," she said. "It fits into my own schedule."
