(Source: Boston College)Leave a four-year institution for a community college? Isn't that backwards? Maybe so, but consider this from the New York Times:



Community colleges are best known as steppingstones: Students with dubious academic records, shaky finances or no family tradition of higher education often spend two years at a community college gaining confidence before transferring to a more glamorous four-year campus.

But a lesser-known pool of students head the other way: They start their postsecondary education at a four-year college and switch to a community college.

Some "reverse transfers," as they are known, discover belatedly that four years of semiotics and sociology are not for them and seek practical expertise that can translate into secure jobs; others are foundering academically or socially at a traditional university. Some intend to advance no further than the associate degree awarded by two-year colleges; but many expect to return to a four-year institution once they have found their footing in a less pressurized environment.

You can read the full article here.