Southwestern Community College, Chula Vista, CA
Picture taken by me

Why I chose to go to community college? Since, I previously read other articles/blogs on this topic, I decided to write about why I chose to go to community college before transferring to a four-year university. Overall, I still received a good quality of education for a much cheaper price and I was able to learn more about myself - especially what I wanted to do with my life. When I graduated high school in 2013, I was one of those students who had no idea what to do next with my life. I definitely didn't want to waste my time staying at home doing nothing. I also didn't plan on attending a four-year university and didn't want to enter the workforce right away. 

Therefore, my parents and I decided that I would continue my education at Southwestern Community College. I attended this community college for two years and I absolutely don't regret it. Although, some people look down on junior colleges, here are a few good reasons why I think community college has its benefits.

1. Save a lot of money and free from debt. This one is the most obvious reason why people should consider community college!!! The first two years at a four-year college is spent on taking general education courses. With that being said, community college offers the same general education courses just as a four-year college does. Why not take those same courses at a community college instead? Not only it is a wise choice, it is so much cheaper. I was a full-time student living at home with my parents. Fortunately, my parents (who were paying for my education) saved large amounts of money.  
2. An opportunity to raise your GPA.  In high school, I was an average student with a cumulative GPA of a 2.7. I was not a straight A student and didn't score well on my test scores either. My high school transcript consist of B's, C's and even two D's (which I'm not proud of). Attending community college gave me the chance to start over. It allowed me to enhance my academic skills and prove that I am a serious student. I am proud to say that my cumulative college GPA of a 3.39 definitely showed major improvement compared to my high school GPA. A HUGE accomplishment for me!!!
3. To explore what you like (and don't like).  For those of you who are graduating from high school, community college is a good place to start. It is beneficial, especially for recent high school graduates because most of us are not exactly sure about what career we want in the future. Since community college offers a variety of courses, you are free to explore what major may or may not interest you before attending a university. During my first two semesters at community college, I was an "undecided" major. I actually considered accounting, psychology, and even english, but still had second thoughts. For example, if you were to ask me what/who inspired me to choose accounting, I clearly couldn't answer that because it is something I knew I wasn't interested in but could have pursued just for the money. I mean, I was 18 at the time, do you expect me to automatically know what job I want once I graduate? NO. It's almost impossible. My point here is that it is okay to be undecided. If you decide to switch majors, go for it. College is the time to explore what interests you because eventually you will find it.  
4. Forced me to stay focused.  Since, my main goal was to transfer from junior college to attend a CSU, I knew that the general education classes and prerequisites for my major must be fulfilled first.  With a new attitude and a new mindset, I didn't allow myself to fall back to my "old-self" (a lazy high school student with a low GPA). I didn't realize this before, but literally I learned that if you set a goal and plan to accomplish them, you have to go through obstacles in order to achieve them. I knew it is inevitable to avoid the challenging statistics class and the boring science classes, but either way, I knew I had to pass them in order to transfer on time. Come spring 2015, my second and last year at community college, I managed to get straight A's in all of my classes. It was actually my first time attaining a 4.0 GPA, so that is something I am truly proud of.  Attending junior college allowed me to work hard and to stay focused because I knew that my goal was to do well in school so that I can transfer on time. 

To conclude, I am glad that I chose to go to community college before transferring to a four-year university. I definitely grew up to become a passionate and hard-working young woman. I recently graduated from junior college and found out that my name was included on the President's List for Academic Achievement. I also received my AA in sociology and now will be working on my BA at a four-year university. For those of you who plan on going to college or are unsure of what educational path to take, community college is something to consider.

Believe me, not only you save tons of money, you learn to work hard to meet deadlines and grow up to learn to manage your own success. 

SWC Commencement 2015
Associate's in Arts in Sociology
May 29, 2015