Community colleges tend to have a certain stigma associated with them: they’re not good schools, nobody who’s anybody goes to them, essentially, they’re a joke. Many of the people who graduate from my high school go to the local community college, Cabrillo College, which has been coloquially dubbed “Cabrehab.” I’ve heard students say that they feel like Cabrillo isn’t “real school.” The biggest problem with this kind of thinking is that, if someone feels like they are not attending real school, they won’t work  real hard, and what I’ve noticed is that sometimes, my community college friends work harder than I do at a private school.

Community colleges have so many qualities that make them perfect for some people: they’re local, so students can live at home and commute, they’re cheaper than most 4-year universities, and they’re flexible. Community colleges understand that their students may want to transfer, so they let you know exactly what you have to do to get the most out of your community college education and then transfer to another university. And that’s where it gets hard. My friends in community college have more general education requirements than I do because their school specializes in provided such a wide range of academics, whereas mine is more focused in particular areas of study. Also, because many of my friends are looking to transfer, they have to work their butts off to get the credits they need to do that as soon as possible. It’s hard! And I admire them so much for doing what it takes.

But not all people realize just how much work community college can be. If they see their school as a joke, they will treat it as such. People may think that they’ll really start working once they transfer to a four-year school, so they slack off in community college. What they don’t realize is that they only way the can transfer in the time they’d like is to pay attention, ask questions, and create a plan for acheiving their dreams. This can’t happen if they’re slacking.

My advice for those of you looking into community college is to take it seriously. It is real school. Maybe you’d like to spend four years at a community college, maybe just two and then transfer. Either way, it will only be worth it if you get as much as you can out of the experience. (That goes true for any other school in the country.) And if you think only “nobodys” go to community college, take a look at these people who did (provided by collegeboard.com)

  • Gwendolyn Brooks, Pulitzer prize-winning poet
  • Eileen Collins, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut
  • Joyce Luther Kennard, California Supreme Court justice
  • Jeanne Kirkpatrick, former United Nations (UN) ambassador
  • Jim Lehrer, news anchor
  • Robert Moses, choreographer and dance company founder
  • Sam Shepard, Pulitzer prize-winning playwright
  • James Sinegal, CEO of Costco
  • Maxwell Taylor, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

If they can do it, so can you!

“I would visualize things coming to me. It would just make me feel better. Visualization works if you work hard. That’s the thing. You can’t just visualize and go eat a sandwich.” - Jim Carrey