University vs. Community College

By Cynthia Ledezma

Trying to decide what to do after high school is one of the hardest decisions students have to make because they want to avoid wasting their time. They try to debate taking a gap year, going to trade school, community college, university, military, or even joining the workforce, but some might be too expensive or scary. 

Students trying to decide on attending a UC or CSU face the challenge of actually being able to afford it. Most universities cost over $10,000 for tuition, which does not even include meal plans, dorms, or textbooks. But some tend to forget that it is not the only way to get a degree, and they can still attend a university later on.

Getting a transferable associate's degree from a community college is an option I think everyone should consider. A transferable associate’s degree is when you take your general education at a community college and take the required courses to get an associate's degree, which you can then transfer to a university. 

Some students can even start now by doing concurrent enrollment. This allows you to take college classes at a California Community College. 

This helps students get their associate's degree sooner. Once they attend a university, they will be ahead of people their own age.

Another pro about going to a community college first and then transferring is that you have a higher chance of getting admission into the CSU system and some UCs.

If you want to attend a UC, they offer TAG, which stands for Transfer Admission Guarantee. Only a few UCs offer this, and that includes UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Merced, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Santa Cruz. 

Mission College Santa Clara states, “A Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) program offers students from a California community college guaranteed admission to several colleges and universities”.

Tuition for a community college is significantly less than that for a UC or CSU. I pay no more than $60 per term at San Bernardino Valley College. There are only three terms at Valley: fall, Spring, and Summer. So, I spend no more than $180 a year.

By choosing this path, I can save thousands of dollars and avoid spending that money on just my general education. Instead, I can save that money and use it to pay for my classes that will teach the major I am actually interested in.

Also, concurrent enrollment classes count as AP credit on students' transcripts at Rialto High School, so instead of five credits per class, you will receive ten. 

Taking college classes with our local community college is better than taking Advanced Placement classes, which stands for AP classes, because you are actually promised the credit if you pass the class with a C or better.

Going to a community college first should be normalized instead of judged because it allows people to save a lot of money and has many benefits.