Graduating from high school is a well-known life milestone. At this point in your life, one of the most frequently asked questions that you receive is “What university are you going to?” This question can be intimidating for many reasons. Some people aren’t committed to a university yet, some people aren’t pursuing higher education, and maybe some people are going to their family’s long-time rival university. For me, however, this question was intimidating because I wasn’t enrolling in a university: I was enrolling in community college.
For as long as I can remember, community colleges have been perceived as the schools for delinquent students who will end up working dead-end jobs. Upon further research, it appears that the media consistently portrays community college students as “mediocre, probably losers, and usually unsympathetic,” often making them the punchline of a joke (6). Because of the negative connotation latched on to the idea of community college, I became hesitant and embarrassed to share my post-high-school plans. When I would tell people about my plan, I would hastily add that I planned to transfer to UW Bothell after receiving my associate’s. Now that I have graduated from Cascadia College and am in my second year at UW Bothell, I realize that attending community college is truly nothing to be ashamed about.
One of the advantages of community college (and one of my main reasons for going to a 2-year institution) is that it is much more cost-effective. According to an article published by US News & World Report, the cost of tuition for community college is about ⅓ of the cost of tuition for universities (7). For example, the typical in-state tuition for Cascadia College is slated at around $4,678 while in-state tuition for the University of Washington is $12,224 (4). If you’re planning on transferring to a university after college, another advantage is that many universities have programs with community colleges that allow for easy transferring of credits. This type of education plan is referred to as the 2+2 model (3). Additionally, community college offers great experience and training for jobs. Martha Parham, the senior vice president of public relations for the American Association of Community Colleges, has stated that different career programs offered by community colleges have a “highly applied nature” that “prepares students for entering the workforce” (7).
Now having experienced community college classes and university classes, I can say that the quality of education between these two is the same. One of the other stereotypes of community college is that the classes are not rigorous or of good quality, however this is not the case. During my time at Cascadia College, the classes I took definitely required a great amount of effort, with the material being challenging and engaging. One of my worries upon entering UW Bothell was not being prepared enough for my classes. Because my foundational knowledge about biology was gained in community college, I felt that I would fall behind in the biology classes at UW Bothell. Fortunately, I realized that Cascadia did prepare me for these classes. Many of the topics discussed in classes had already been introduced in my previous classes, and I was able to easily comprehend new topics. Furthermore, the amount of homework between these institutions did not differ greatly, which was another worry of mine.
Despite my good experience with community college, I understand some of the discrepancies that people may have with it. For example, a study found that the percentage of community college students who did not earn a degree and that were no longer enrolled in community college was around 50% (5). That being said, more disenfranchised groups have a higher likelihood of attaining that bachelor’s degree (1). Additionally, a portion of funding for community colleges, especially in Washington state, depend on property taxes (2). As a result, the community college experience will vary depending on the location of the college. Because of this, I also recognize that my experience at Cascadia is not going to be universal for community college students everywhere. I do believe that many of the problems that face community colleges lies within a much larger conversation about federal funding and stigmatization.
In summation, community college has its own great benefits that should not be overshadowed by its 2-year institution status. The knowledge gained in community college has the same educational value as classes from a university. Many benefits can be gleaned from community college, such as work experience and lower tuition costs. While more work needs to be done in sufficiently funding community colleges nationwide and in removing stigmatization surrounding community college, there is nothing inherently wrong about attending community college.
Check out Cascadia College and University of Washington Bothell!