Community College for your Consideration

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     Planning out your academic journey can be overwhelming. There are many factors to consider: major, school, costs, admissions requirements, etc. California offers many levels of colleges: the public universities in the UC and CSU systems, private schools, and community colleges. Community Colleges do not often get the same attention as their four-year counterparts. They should. Community College is an affordable student-focused option to the traditional straight to four-year university path. Student support and lower cost tuition are two major advantages of attending a community college. While these advantages apply to all community colleges, this article will focus on Fullerton College, Cypress College, and California State University, Fullerton (CSUF).  By attending a community college first, a student can complete lower division general ed and major requirements, receive an associate’s, and transfer to a four-year to complete their degree for much less of costs.

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     Community College is an affordable consideration. As of 2024, Fullerton and Cypress Colleges’ tuition is $46 per unit. The cost of a semester varies depending on the classes taken and their unit value. Excluding fees, a full-time student taking 12 units per semester will pay $552 in tuition compared to $3,540 at CSUF. Financial aid is available to community college students in the form of the Pell Grant, the California College Promise Grant, as well as other scholarships and programs. Lower tuition rates are beneficial because they can reduce student loan debt. Community Colleges offer the same general ed and lower-level undergraduate classes that are in a four-year university’s course catalogue. If a student spends two years at a community college, transfers, and completes the remaining degree coursework in two years their estimated tuition would be $16,368 versus $28,320 for four years at CSUF. That makes a 58% decrease in dollars spent on tuition!

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     There’s a misconception that community colleges are not as rigorous as universities and are attended by people who didn’t do well in high school. This is not true. Students can expect the same rigor from their community college experience that is found in a four-year university experience. The difference between the experiences is community colleges are student-focused institutions. Universities are research-focused institutions. All students start with general education and foundational major courses, think Psychology 101. These courses are offered at community colleges and they come with the benefit of a small class size.

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     On average, most classes will contain a student-to-teacher ratio of 26:1. This smaller size allows for more personalized attention from instructors. Secondly, the faculty at a community college will consist of professors with a graduate degree whose only responsibility is teaching. The advantage here is these professors’ main goal is to make sure their students are well-prepared for their upper-division courses. Their attention is on their students only. At a university, lower division courses are taught by a graduate student or professor, and both are responsible for teaching and generating research to further contribute to their field of study. When you pair this with a larger class size it becomes difficult for a connection to be made between instructor and student. At a community college, the small class size and dedicated professors allow for more personal connections to be made which in turn help professors address knowledge gaps.

 

     Yes, community colleges are well equipped to help students whose development hasn’t had much attention. This does not mean that all students at community colleges have knowledge gaps. Many well-performing high school seniors choose to attend a community college instead of a university. They are more affordable and offer more flexibility. There is one other benefit. Community colleges offload the pressure of finishing in four years. Furthermore, community colleges do not have the same rigid requirements for admission that four-year colleges have in place. Therefore, no matter how well one did or did not perform in high school, a community college is well-equipped to identify and help close learning gaps. Fullerton College does this by way of the Academic Support Center (ASC).  The ASC is the all-encompassing academic support hub. Students can get support across various areas. There is also career and academic counselling to help students plan their next steps. Small class sizes and on-campus resources all play a role in preparing students to transfer to a university to complete their degrees. At the end of their academic journey, it is common to hear students praise their community college for adequately preparing— and in some cases over-preparing— them for university.

           

     There’s a pressure many people feel to hit certain milestones at certain ages. Graduating high school and soon after graduating college is one of them. Universities emphasize that all students hit the ground running. CSUF and similar universities will plan newly admitted students’ academic journeys with the same finish line for everyone. This isn’t a bad thing. Potentially, this type of structure is beneficial to students whose end goal matches and fits into the four-year plan. But academic paths are not a one-size-fits-all situation. Everyone’s path has different factors. Some of those may not fit into a neat four-year plan. Community colleges give students the flexibility to explore options and chart a plan that matches their goals. Fullerton College does well in not adding to the pressure to finish within a certain time frame. Resources are available to students who want to take more time. Community college also offers flexibility. Classes are offered online, in-person or on a hybrid model. Classes are also offered at various times throughout the day. Community colleges within a district, like Fullerton and Cypress Colleges, allow students to take courses at both schools.  This flexibility in course selection allows students to balance other obligations or work while attending school.

 

     Ultimately, when planning out your academic journey it is important to first ask yourself: what is my end goal?  From there one can consider the factors that will directly play into that goal. How will finances affect your goal? How will other obligations affect the time you can dedicate to your academics? Where will you have the most flexibility to adjust? Do you know you want to pursue higher education but don’t know where to start? Or even, maybe your goal isn’t to go to a university. Fullerton College offers certificate programs for vocations like automotive, machine drafting, and cosmetology. A community college gives you the chance to explore options for education and careers at a lower cost and with more flexibility. You may find that choosing community college as the starting point will be a greater benefit than going straight into a university.