High school seniors or those who have already graduated high school know the tedious process of applying to a four year, college essays and financial difficulties– but has the idea of attending a Community College first been discussed enough?
Surprisingly, many students are unenthused at the prospect of going to a community college, as if it’s a measure of low intelligence that lands one in a CC. As this statement is absolutely not true, no student should miss out on an opportunity because of a common misconception. The truth of the matter is attending a Community College has many benefits that can set you up for a successful future.
The Opportunity to Explore
A common obstacle that nags at many students is the fact that they haven’t the slightest idea of what they want to do with their lives. Unsure of what they want to study or or pursue as a career, they wish they had more time to decide. Going to CC is a much better option for those who have an undecided major, as it not only buys you more time, but many Community Colleges have programs for getting students interested in different career fields. For example, Moorpark Community College offers a program called the Exotic Animal Training and Management, offering hands on experience working with animals at America’s Teaching Zoo. For any student that is unsure of what career is best for them, many CC’s offer programs to help with making that decision before transferring to a four year.
Financial Benefits
College can be expensive. Even with a fraction of that money being shaved off by scholarships, community college is still a cheaper option. Remember, college is an industry that fuels itself off family income. There is no concrete number available to see just how much the college industry makes off student tuition, but the fact that Americans now owe a grand total of 1.2 billion dollars to colleges is a very telling statistic. In contrast, tuition fees are about 50% lower at community colleges than they are at four years, which can save you thousands of dollars. There is also the added benefit of being able to live at home for free.
Extra Support
A solid support system is seldom found at most colleges and universities. Struggling students will often have to rely on themselves to re-teach and understand the material, or will be pressured to join a study group that may or may not help at all. Thankfully, Community Colleges offer a strong support system because they want you to pass. Tutoring, study workshops, counseling, career planning, and academic advising are all available to any student that is feeling frustrated by a particular class or by the workload.
Moorpark Community College is a highly accredited and respected Community College, and lucky for TOHS students, is also local. It is for this reason, as well as many others that Thousand Oaks High School’s Cristal Calazada plans to attend Moorpark College in the fall of next year:
The Lancer: What made you want to go to a community college before hand rather than apply to a four year?
Cristal Calzada: I realized that it would actually be cheaper. I could stay at home and just drive to school for my classes and come back, so I wouldn’t be paying to live on campus. I also figured that it would be better for me to go to a good CC and then transfer after two years, instead of paying way more money than i would need to. I also don’t have a clear idea of what i want my career to be, so I would rather go to Moorpark and figure it out there.
TL: Do you know what you might be interested in studying at Moorpark?
CC: I definitely need to get the general classes out of the way first, because I still have one more year of math I need to take in college. Besides that, I’m not sure what I want to study yet but I know Moorpark offers a lot of classes and programs that I can try.
TL: What made you decide to go to Moorpark Community College over say, Oxnard or Ventura?
CC: For one thing, I live really close to Moorpark College so I thought it would be easier to commute there and back. I’ve also heard that Moorpark is a really good CC to go to, and I think I would enjoy it more over Oxnard or Simi.
