1. Intriguing - arousing curiosity or interest; fascinating.
2. Integrate- bring (people or groups with particular needs or characteristics) into equal participation in or membership of a social group or institution.
3. Tuition- a sum of money charged for teaching or instruction by a school, college, or university.
4. Accommodations- a room, group of rooms, or building in which someone may live or stay.
5. Dormitories- a large bedroom for a number of people in a school or institution.
6. Communal- shared by all members of the community; for common use.
7. Robust- strong and healthy; vigorous
8. Components- a part or element of a larger whole
Miami Dade College (MDC) is a public college that has been functioning since 1959. Currently MDC has eight campuses throughout the greater Miami area and is the largest college in the Florida college system with over 165,000 students and the second largest college in the United States. The history of Miami Dade College is very rich with intriguing facts such as it was Florida's first integrated junior college, the famous actor Sylvester Stallone attended MDC and also a former president of Panama, Mireya Moscoso attended.
However another interesting fact is that Miami Dade College has not always been the name of the educational institution. The former names of the school have been Dade Junior College, Miami Dade Junior College and also Miami Dade Community College. In 2003, MDC was granted permission to award baccalaureate degrees which is why they changed their name from community college to simply just college. The difference between a community college and a college has many variances in the United States which are important to understand.
When most foreign or native U.S. students think about going to college many of them first think about attending a university. This makes sense because unlike community colleges, universities tend to be much larger and have more visible advertisements and marketing campaigns circulating through the media. Public universities have an average student population of nearly 45,283 students which is considerably larger in comparison to the student population of public community colleges which is 6.443 students.
Equally just as public universities have a higher amount of students than community colleges, they also have a much higher tuition cost. The average cost per year for in state tuition at public universities is $9,970 , which is $6,535 more than community colleges. However the average cost for out of state tuition is even higher than $9,970, at $25,620 per year.
One of the reasons the cost of public universities is so much higher than community colleges is because of the typical housing accommodations for students. At universities, a majority of the students live in residence halls, also known as dormitories or dorms, which can be the epicenter of activity and provides students a chance to interact with each other everyday. On the contrary, students at community colleges typically live either in their parent's home or own apartment. Foreign students of community colleges typically live with a host family or share an apartment with other foreign students.
Due to the communal environment of public universities, they tend to have a more robust and distinct culture compared to community colleges. For example, sports is a major aspect of culture on university campuses because it brings the community together and creates a sense of pride amongst the students. The average attendance of women's volleyball matches at Division 1 public universities is approximately 1,231 people. However at community college there typically isn't the same lively spirit that surrounds the campus. The MDC women's volleyball team has won ten championships in their league, but still have an official average attendance of 0 students according to the National Junior College Athletic Association.
When deciding between a public university or community college, there are many factors to take into account. Even though a public university may have a stronger culture and more communal atmosphere, I still would choose to attend a community college. The affordable tuition costs and smaller class sizes are major components to this decision. Fortunately, Miami Dade College has community college prices and offers baccalaureate degrees just like any university.
