Community college offers viable alternative for some

When Ethan Gelfand graduated last spring, he could have taken the route of most of his classmates by attending a four-year college with a huge price tag.

Rather than spending $50,000 a year to attend a private school on the East Coast or even $30,000 to attend a UC, he chose to go to West Valley Colleges, where his first two years of college will cost under $5000.

“Money was the biggest issue, and I really wanted to help my parents out by saving them money,” Gelfand said. “Plus, I love home. West Valley is a fresh new start with a great, relaxed environment.”

Despite a lack of dorm and campus life at West Valley, Gelfand believes that the benefits of community colleges outweigh any drawbacks because of affordability and more flexible scheduling of classes.

“There’s lots of classes [at West Valley] with only about 8,000 students and I paid $1,000 and I’m doing 18 units this semester,” Gelfand said. “There is also the ability to maintain a part-time job; I could get one since I still have my car while everyone who left don’t.”

Gelfand plans to transfer to San Jose State University, UC Berkeley or the California Polytechnic State University to major in business, keeping financial expenses in mind as he applies. He recommends community colleges to those who want to have more leisure time while focusing on higher education.

“If you are focused on your school and still want a great amount of free time, [community college] is a good option,” Gelfand said. “ [There are] lots of friendly people and professors who all are willing to help you out.”

For alumna Daniella Henao, class of 2014, who currently attends Santa Barbara City College, language barriers were the main incentive for her to attend community college.

“When I moved to the United States [from Colombia] my sophomore year, I didn't speak English, so my grades in high school were not good enough for me to get into my dream university,” Henao said. “I saw community college as an opportunity to show the universities what I am really capable of now that I am fluent in English.”

Although Santa Barbara City College wasn’t her first choice, Henao believes she still made the right decision in attending.

“My campus is beautiful [and is] right in front of the beach, and all my teachers have Ph.D’s so I don't feel like I am learning less than a person that goes to a four-year school,” Henao said. “Also, community colleges give you a lot of options and help you get excellent grades and succeed in whatever is that you want to do.”

Henao is following programs to transfer into University of Southern California or UC San Diego. She recommends anyone potentially taking the community college transfer option to first check transfer agreements, as every community college has different requirements for transferring schools.

“For example, [at the Santa Barbara City College,] if you have more than a 3.4 GPA you have guaranteed admission in almost every UC and four excellent private schools,” Henao said.

Henao also recommends checking the transfer rate, reading about the teachers and studying a lot for the placement test. Not all community college classes are transferable, so transfer applicants should make sure that they place in classes that are good enough for them to be able to transfer in two years.

Pav Dhanota, class of 2011, who currently attends West Valley, took the transfer option to get a better chance of entering better schools.

“After researching admissions in colleges between high school and transfer students, I saw that transfer students had priority over high school students,” Dhanota said. “In other words, if I got the same GPA in community college that I had in high school, my chances of getting into a good college increased significantly.”

Dhanota said among other advantages, community college has prepared him well for when he transfers, as it gave him a better impression of a college workload and encouraged him to develop better study habits.

Dhanota was recently admitted into UC Davis and plans to study economics and work in the field before attending graduate school. He advises those  considering community college not to be scared of what others will think.

“The truth is community college is actually the better decision for most people,” Dhanota said. “The opportunity to get into a better school, develop better study habits, mature more both mentally and physically is a good recipe for future success.”