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Brian Baldetti
June 12th, 2024
Introduction
So, you’re going to community college? Maybe you can’t afford uni, you didn’t get into any universities that you wanted to, maybe you don’t really know what you want to do yet, or you had previous academics previously, or perhaps you’re returning to school after a long break. Personally, my grades were…not the best throughout high school so my options for uni were few and far between. In fact, they were nonexistent as I’d been rejected from every single school that I applied to from out of high school. For me community college was the only option as a had nowhere else to go. Although, there were a lot of road bumps along the way I was able to figure out what I actually wanted to do in life, save a lot of money, and work throughout my time in college. Most importantly in the end I got into the school that I’d had dreamed of since I first enrolled.
Who is this for? Before I get into the weeds of yapping, I would like to preface that this post is for anyone that is interesting in attending a community college specifically in California with the intent to transfer to uni. Personally, I attended Diablo Valley College (DVC) for three years before I transferred to University of California Berkeley (UCB) so I will be describing the experience from my perspective.
My Experience
Types of Students
Before you enroll in community college it is important to understand the types of students you will encounter. I think that there are five types of community college students, the ones with money problems, second chance students, returning students, people who still are finding direction, and the students that are somehow at community college and not at Stanford. The first at most obvious group are the ones with money problems these students either are attending community college whilst working to support their families or the majority of us too poor to pay to college yet too wealthy to qualify for student aid.
The next group are those like me that really messed up in high school and are now on the redemption arc at community college. For these students, community college is a chance to redeem themselves and prove that they are able to be great students.
The next group are students that are still finding direction in life. Maybe they don’t know what they want to do in life or what they want to study. For them it’s a simply an obvious choice to attend community college as there is no point in spending tens of thousands just to change majors or even drop out.
The next group are the student that make you question––“Why are you here?” These students not only had great grades in high school, but already know what path they want to take in life. Students like these showcase the numerous faults in the uni admissions process either because they didn’t receive aid or because they didn’t get accepted into any good unis.
Finally, and the smallest of the previous groups are the returning students. In my experience, these students will either be some of the best or worse people you will meet at community college. They may be returning to school after not attending college or perhaps after dropping out. Some will be four years older than you, and some will be forty.
Education
The most important part of any community college and the reason your there in the first place is the education. This can then be divided into two parts the classes and the professors.
Professors
In my experience the professors are usually amazing at community college. All of them hold at least a master’s degree with nearly all of them holding a PhD. in their field. Unlike uni, professors main focus isn’t research but teaching so they don’t treat it as just some obligation for their research. Though they may not be the top in their field in a specific area of expertise it is important to remember that being a good researcher doesn’t make someone a good teacher.
Classes
In my experience at my community college, I felt that there was a good selection of classes, and they were usually run quite well. Though you won’t have close to the selection of classes that you will find at uni there is definitely many options to choose from. In addition, at some community colleges they have trade school programs that you can enroll in to learn plumbing, electronics, welding, and other skills. This is something that you will likely not find at unis for obvious reasons. The largest gripe that I have with the classes though is that the lab equipment is bad or simply broken. Though it is a step up from what you will find at a public high school don’t expect the lab equipment to be anything more than just a step up. Finally, there is the size of classes. Unlike uni where you pay tens of thousands to be in a class with hundreds of others, in community college classes are often only around thirty students in size.
Working
Like nearly all other students I lived at home and worked whilst attending community college. Though it was often a struggle I would recommend that all students do this whilst at community college as long as you always put school before work. If you need to focus entirely on school do that but if you have to option to work take the chance. You will likely spend a lot of money at uni so save while you can.
College Experience
The “college experience” or more so the lack thereof is the largest downside of attending community college. In my opinion the thing that you really pay for when attending uni is the chance to be surrounded with other young people with the same interest and aspirations as yourself. I’ll separate this section into three parts campus life, resources, and opportunities.
Campus Life
In my experience there is very little social interactions at community college. That is not to say that I haven’t made friends along the way, in fact I’ve made many amazing friends at community college. I guarantee that you will meet some of the most genuine and honest people whilst attending. However, at the end of the day, you’re not in uni.
Your community college doesn’t have the money to sponsor and orientation week, sports games, clubs, and other activities like they do at uni, so you won’t have as many opportunities to meet people. In addition, if you’re interested in Greek Life then community college isn’t the place for you.
Also, as most students work and live at home people you and most others will have a lot of obligations and limitations with meeting new people. In short, it’s just not the same atmosphere and energy that you will feel at uni.
Resources
Logically your community college won’t have the same resources as a uni. You aren’t paying tens of thousands so don’t expect a rec center, fancy labs, school sponsored events, and research opportunities. That is not to say that you don’t get anything with community college. Personally, my college provided us with a Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Cloud, free printing, student centers, and much more. However, don’t expect the frankly absurd luxuries that you see at universities such as climbing walls, lazy rivers and whatever else not directly related to education.
Opportunities
This one is sort of a mixed bag as there are some opportunities that you will miss out going to community college and some you will miss out on going to uni. In terms of community college, you likely won’t have the chance to move out, experience Greek Life, get research opportunities, get internships, access the same resources, access the same professors, and most importantly you won’t have access to the same environment.
However, attending uni you won’t have to chance to save and make money, figure out a path you want to take, and fail without catastrophic consequences.
What They Don't Tell You...
The biggest lie about community college is what I call the “two-year myth”. That is that after two years you’re of community college you will transfer to uni. This is not true; in fact the vast majority of students don’t transfer in two years or less. This is primarily due to two reasons the first is that you have to take additional classes attending community college than uni. This is because different college require slightly different classes for transferring so if you want to apply to multiple unis you will have to take more classes than you would have to take if simply attending a single uni. The second is that counselors are useless…to put it nicely. This is not a problem specific to community college’s but with the already confusing class articulations and transfer process this problem becomes more apparent as poor advising often leads to students taking much longer to complete their college coursework.
Next and most obviously recognize that you are attending a community college. You are not paying tens of thousands a year for tuition and therefore don’t expect to have the same resources that you will get at uni. In addition, you will get looked down for being a community college student; however, don’t let it get to you and wear it with a sense of pride.
Finally, you need to understand that whatever state you attend community college will likely be the state that you will attend uni in. While it’s not impossible to transfer to an out of state school you will almost certainly have to retake a lot of credits. In my opinion it is rarely advisable to transfer to a uni in a different state from your community college. However, if you are interested, I would suggest talking to the school you’re interested in as well as an academic advisor.
Transferring
As transferring is the most important part for most students who attend community college, I will be posting a complete blog post in the future for students that want to understand the transfer process in depth. I will post the specific details, what I did, what I would do differently, and how you can get into a top uni from community college.
Conclusion
Though I was not happy when I originally enrolled in community college, I think it has been one of the greatest opportunities of my life. Though there have definitely been ups and downs looking back I wouldn’t have chosen differently.
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