Community colleges in the 1800s were merely additions to the local high school system, intended to deal with the increasing number of students graduating high school and needing experience in their chosen work field. Now, community colleges reach much farther than that. Amy Tan, who wrote the domestic fiction novel “Joy Luck Club”, Arnold Schwarzenegger, famous actor and California Governor, and Eileen Collins, NASA Astronaut, all went to community college. Today, as the amount of people willing to pursue postsecondary education rises, the question of whether community college’s benefits outweigh those of a four-year university also increases.
So, when does the cost outweigh the benefits? When selecting a postsecondary school, families will often have to keep in mind certain restrictions in which they can realistically choose and select the best option. Simply put, some families cannot afford tuition to a four-year university, especially if there are no scholarships earned. The cost to put a student through one year of Harvard for the 2025-2026 school year is over 80,000 USD. Compare that to the cost for one year at the local Pasadena City College: around 1,200 USD in state. To put that into perspective, 80,000 USD is on the upper range of an elementary school teacher’s salary for the entire year. According to CNBC’s Annie Nova, “Outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. now exceeds $1.7 trillion, burdening Americans more than credit card or auto loan debt.” The purpose of university or college is to pursue a greater life; but how can one possibly do that when one spends over twenty years trying to pay back student loans?
Many students spend the first year out of high school struggling with what they want to do in life. University offers a focused, packed, research-based way with high academic standards in order for students to achieve the maximum in their chosen subject area. Community college offers a chance for students to rethink their future priorities and spend time finding out their true interests, without the pressure of taking impressive classes for a good college application. “I knew at Richmond Community College there would be no pressure to immediately pick my major and decide what career path to follow. I realized for the first time that, throughout the entire college admissions process, I had no clear view of what I wanted to do in the future,” writes Taylor Vidmar, for Forbes.
According to CBS News, ”More than half of Americans who earned college diplomas find themselves working in jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree or utilize the skills acquired in obtaining one. What’s worse, they can get stuck there for the entirety of their careers.” Community colleges offer more of a career-focused education, have smaller class sizes (more opportunities to connect with teachers and faculty), as well as more flexible schedules.
There is no single straightforward path to achieve success in life. Everyone is different. When comparing a four-year university with community college, one must keep in mind how individuals differ from one another. If one person is 100 percent locked into one single career in life, and has planned their path out perfectly, then by all means, university may be a better option for them. But if, like the greater majority of young adults, have not decided what their ultimate vocation is, and cannot financially or academically support a four year relentless grind of something in which they might not be passionate about: community college, by leaps and bounds, will give them the time and moment to think clearly, what might be the most important question of all.
