By Sophia Doan
“Work hard and then you’ll get into a good college” are words that follow many high schoolers from teachers, parents, counselors and more. Especially in the highly competitive Bay Area, the pressure to get accepted into a “good” college is higher than ever. As the price of a four year college goes up, student loans only increase. The average cost of college tuition in the United States has more than tripled in the last 58 years (link). For a financial bracket that may struggle to pay for four years of an expensive school, two years of community college saves money while you complete the general classes required. Furthermore, class sizes are often smaller, making the transfer from high school to college a little bit easier.
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Many colleges not only offer a seamless transition between high school and college, but also prepare students for an easy transfer while still providing college level classes. Community colleges also often have an easy transition set up between them and a state school. Getting the general classes done is often really helpful because they have transferable credits to another school. This makes moving from the community college to the four-year much easier as you’ll already have credits for a much cheaper tuition. Most California community colleges are free or very inexpensive.
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Doubts often arise about how successful community college attendees are, however, according to a report from the Community College Research Center, around 80% of community college attendees transfer to a four-year school. According to a study they held, “a significant percentage do successfully transfer to competitive universities or the Ivy Leagues and go on to achieve successful careers.” (link).
Overall, community college is an amazing alternative to an expensive four year school. The smarter option isn’t always the most appealing to competitive students, however, this plan can save hundreds of thousands of dollars and still offer an incredible education.