Why Going to Community College First Makes Sense

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I always dreamed of college. Throughout high school, the promise of freedom and intellectual stimuli fascinated me.

I pictured frat parties, professors who would double as mentors, and an experience that would help shape me into the well rounded adult I was meant to be.

Little did I know, all of the benefits of this dreamy college life I so yearned for came with a hefty price tag. I didn’t have anyone in my corner at the time financially able to assist me in taking care of tuition so essentially I was on my own.

I was intimidated. I was young and afraid of loans and the real life commitment that came along with them. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do with my life and that was ok, but it was time for me to make a decision of where I was going to go next.

I didn’t apply to any colleges in my senior year in high school. All of my friends were filling out endless applications to their first choice schools and back up schools at lunch and I was watching from the sidelines.

I then was offered a full scholarship to a Jewish seminary for girls in Jerusalem, Israel and thought that this route made the most sense for me at the time. I was supposed to stay there for a full year after high school, but I only lasted three months due to extreme homesickness.

I was not cut out to live on my own at that age. I liked to (and still like to) be close to my family and there’s nothing to be ashamed of in that admittance.

So I returned home with no idea as to what I was going to do with my life. Out of necessity, I got a part-time job in retail and enrolled in a few classes at the community college near me: Brookdale Community College.

To my surprise, I fell in love with the school and all it had to offer. I graduated with my associate’s degree in media studies and am currently attending Rutgers University to obtain my bachelors degree in journalism with a minor in political science.

Here are five reasons as to why going to community college first and transferring to a bigger school later makes sense and can ease the stress of the college experience altogether.

1. It’s cheaper.

The low-level commitment required to be a community college student enables you to breathe and enjoy the experience as a whole. You don’t have to worry about meeting a class load requirement in order to obtain funds for tuition.

You also don’t have to be concerned with how much of a hole you’re digging yourself into in debt.

2. You’ll have time to figure out what you want.

The major benefit of community college that affected me the most was the lack of pressure there is on students to choose their majors.

Because the tuition is so inexpensive, you can explore your options as much as you need to in order to make the best decision for you and your future.

I personally started out as an education major and eventually moved into journalism. I took a few education courses and then decided to switch. I didn’t feel bad about taking the courses because they weren’t that expensive.

3. The quality of education is just as good.

Any experience in life is what you make of it. You can attend a top university, sleep through your classes, party every night and learn nothing just as much as you can attend night school and learn everything you need to know.

Also, most professors at community colleges work there as their second jobs. Most of my professors that I had throughout my experience taught night classes at my school while employed by the four year colleges in the area.

I was getting the same lesson plans as four-year students taught to me for a fraction of the price.

4. No one will know.

What do we go to college for? The answer to that question that every single student will give you is: jobs. You can’t get a good job today without a degree in something.

Many people think that if you don’t go to the best university out of high school right away, it will affect your future career. The reality is, it will not.

At the end of the day, when you’re interviewing for your dream job in the near future your resume will say where you received your bachelor’s degree from.

There will be no mention that you transferred to that school later on in the game. Employers won’t care that you attended a community college first, so why should you?