College vs. University Pt. 1

There are a lot of things to consider when making the decision between a university or college program, but when you boil it all down, there are really four main differences between the two:

Time
In general, a university undergraduate degree will take longer to finish than a college program. Most undergraduate degrees take about three to five years to complete, while a college diploma program can range from around nine months to two or three years. If you want to get out of school and into the workforce as quickly as possible, than college is likely the right choice for you.

The structure of the university versus college school day is also something to consider. In many university programs, students have a lot of leeway in creating their own schedules, resulting in days where you might have three or four hours of classes, followed by days with none.

College classes, on the other hand, are often fairly fixed and the school days can be pretty intensive. Similar to high school in some ways, a college schedule might have you at your desk from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. all week. If you're juggling school and work, this could wreak havoc with your schedule.

Cost
University programs are not only longer than college programs, they're also more expensive overall. Not only are you paying for an extra year or two of education, but yearly costs at a university can be double what you'd pay for a college course. For example, in the course I took (a four-year joint program between the University of Winnipeg and Red River College) I paid about $2,000 tuition for a year at the college and over $3,500 for a year at the university. Over three or four years, this difference in tuition can definitely add up. Do the math and figure out your finances before beginning a program of study.