Benefits of Associate Degree Before Transferring to a Four Year College

By Deborah Williams

Recently, many college students are earning an associate degree before transferring to a four-year college.  Caralee Adams, writer for Edweek’s College Bound blog, writes that there are a number of reasons that actually earning the associate degree before transferring to a four-year college.  It can…

• …increase the likelihood of completing a bachelor’s degree
• …save students money
• …improve their earnings compared with that of earlier transfers

Researcher Clive Belfield reports these findings from a study of the Community College Research Center at Teachers College at Teachers College, Columbia University.  He notes that getting an associate degree before transferring to a four-year college can increase earnings by $50,000 over 20 years.  He also reports that many community college students have difficulty deciding the best time to transfer to a four-year college.  He suggests that state community college systems “create stronger incentives for making the completion of an associate degree before transfer a priority for students.
Of course, starting out with an associate degree can save you mone