Sitting down at family dinner, no matter what holiday someone is celebrating, the six words every upperclassmen high school student will hear is, “What college are you going to?” But while some may not know where they are going, others break the news that they will go to community college. They are then met with hesitant approval. But why is community college viewed as a negative thing? There has always been a stigma surrounding community college, which stems from the origins of the schools.
“Community College was the thing you did when you couldn’t go to college,” said CHS college counselor Nancy Yumkas. “Community colleges also have always offered opportunities for students to get certificated degrees, which means they’re going into a trade. So they’re working for two years in culinary, vet tech, dental hygiene, automotive, or HVAC repair. And some people look down on that and say, like, I want to be in a much more educated profession.”
However, in the last ten years, community college has become a gateway to the UC system. Just last year, 23% of California community college students successfully transferred to a UC school after two years. For schools that have a low acceptance rate, such as UCLA, with a 9% acceptance rate, students transferring after attending a two-year college have an average of 20-30% acceptance. This allows students to get into schools slightly easier than they would have two years prior and has economic benefits.
“We have a lot of students who got into their dream schools and did not get the financial aid support that they needed. And I don’t think people should go into debt for $70,000, $80,000, $90,000, or $100,000 a year,” said Yumkas.
California offers the California Promise, which allows students who have been residents of California for three years to have free tuition for two years at most community colleges.
“And it’s not every community college. Our local ones, in which case it’s for us, Santa Monica, Moorpark, Los Angeles, and Pierce offer it, which makes going into four-year college so cost-effective,” said Yumkas.
Community college also offers an easy transition from high school to college. It allows people to stay local rather than moving around the U.S.
“I think community college is an amazing option for so many students. I think a lot of students are 17 or are just turning 18 and aren’t really sure about what they want to do,” said Yumkas. “And Community College gives you the opportunity to explore and sort of dip your toe in and gain some maturity. Not everybody is ready to go 3000 miles away, and spend $90,000 a year.”
Last year, 59% of CHS students attended a four-year college, and 29% attended community college. The college counselors hope that with the success of students coming out of community college there will be a larger acceptance of the benefits.
“I have a ton of students with over a four-point GPA, high achieving students who have done incredibly well in high school and for a variety of reasons choose community college and then go on and are highly successful, especially if you want to go on for a secondary degree and not going to pay for three more years of law school. It makes so much sense to help yourself financially, just with those first couple of years,” said Yumkas.
