Rewriting the community college narrative
Hawene Alomayehu, Staff Writer
My household consists of two working class immigrant parents who value a higher education more than anything else. Both of them have a deep desire for each of their children to go to a four-year university. As a young girl, life after highschool had a clear answer: get your diploma and go to a four year university. Attending a community college seemed out of the question until I spoke with friends, college students and my counselor; I began to understand that community college is a viable option for post secondary education.
The stigmas associated with community college create an unattractive image that pushes students away from that option, but much of its stereotypes begin with a misunderstanding of its quality. Community colleges are usually two-year schools that help students prepare for real world careers or send students off to other colleges to continue their education. The education within these colleges is no less than any other four-year college as both institutions hire qualified professionals to provide their students with useful information.
From a young age, children learn the general hierarchy of a college education. In this pyramid, the elites, Harvard and Yale, along with the rest of Ivies, are at the top while community colleges remain at the bottom level. In comparison to four-year universities, community colleges carry a historically bad reputation as a result of major misconceptions. However, community colleges have made amazing breakthroughs as educational institutions and often send off students into the real world more prepared.
Many students get wrapped up with societal pressure to attend a reputable college, and associate their own value based on where they get accepted. As a result, attending a community college makes them think their achievements are “less impressive”. Wongiel Gebeyehu (’23) talks about her own experience on deciding what colleges she may apply to.
“People assume, depending on the university you go to, that you’ve worked harder than someone who goes to a less prestigious college like CSUN or SMC. A lot of people will assume you go there because you didn’t try in highschool, or make fun of you. But you’re seen as more valuable if you go to UCLA or Harvard, or somewhere everyone knows,” Gebeyehu said.
All these stereotypes are rooted in the inclusivity of community colleges: anyone is accepted no matter their GPA, race or age. Since everyone is accepted there’s no prestige; everyone is essentially “equal”. It is easy for students to interpret acceptances from selective universities as a mark of how smart they are while community college inclusivity is viewed as unimpressive. Samo Alumni, Monique Robinson (’12), shares her personal experience at community college.
“Community college wasn’t seen as a cool, affordable option when I went to high school, it was seen as an extension of high school. It wasn’t “challenging”, it wasn’t supposed to be “hard”, but I just found it to be a place where you could really figure yourself out and what you wanted to do. So looking back at it 10 years later, it was probably the decision I’ve ever made,” Robinson said.
After Robinson finished community college, she finished her studies at University of California Los Angeles also known as (UCLA).
Though it has many stereotypes, community colleges have a number of benefits. The tuition of community college is one of its known features. As opposed to a four-year university, community colleges have affordable tuition alongside many programs that financially convenience students. Along with this, community college is a great place to explore different majors and career options. Community colleges provide academic flexibility that allows students to ease into the world of post secondary education and gives them the ability to try different courses of study before committing to a major.
At the end of the day, higher education broadens one’s knowledge of the real world and doesn’t have to be accomplished at a prestigious school. The decision to go to a community college does not devalue a student nor alter the chances of being successful. Community college, like any other university, is a viable option that prepares every student for success in the real world.
The SMC campus view from Pico Blvd. that highlights their newest building.