The Overlooked Path

Acceptance letters are arriving and seniors are starting to make college decisions. But is the option of the local junior colleges being overlooked?

(image courtesy of Creative Commons)

Sacramento City College, Consumnes River College, Folsom Lake College, and American River College are all part of the Los Rios school system. Associates Degrees are offered at each campus.The schools also provide students the chance to attend general education classes and a variety of degree specific courses without breaking the bank.

Enrollment and tuition fees for the spring semester is a mere $46.00 per unit, which allows most students to take on a full course load without financial issues.

The Los Rios District also offers many extra curricular activities and Sacramento City College alone offers multiple sports teams including softball and wrestling.

The arts are also varied and abundant. There are many performing arts options, such as theater and film, and the visual art program allows students to showcase their artistic talent on and off campus.

Despite all this, community college is stereotyped as being an option for “dumb people”. But do CB students accept this stereotype, or does the CB community see it as a good option?

The Talon spoke with college counselor Ms. Melissa McClellan about whether or not she sees community college as a good option for seniors.

“For some seniors I think it’s definitely a good option,” she says. “Often times students who don’t really have any idea what they want to study, they’re not ready to go to far away from home, they’re looking for other classes that typical 4 year schools don’t offer.”

Los Rios offers many vocational or technology classes.

“A lot of time community college have classes that are a lot more practical in that sense than some of the 4 year schools.”” she adds. “Whether that be a mechanic, or theater type stuff, or some other music stuff, or kind of more hands on computer type things.”

She explained how community college alows certain students to more effectively show their skills.

“Sometimes students that just didn’t perform to their abilities in high school then that’s a good option to go to a 2 year first and then they’re able to transfer.”

CB’s college counselor says community colleges are generalized as a lesser option, but it is a good option nonetheless.

“It might have that stigma, but again I think people are making a generalization and aren’t realizing that there are certain circumstances as to why it’s a better option for students than maybe a 4 year, especially at a school that’s very much a college prep school,” Ms. McClellan said. “There’s kinda more a peer pressure thing — a lot of people do some really great things having started at a community college.”

Community college might not be the best pick for everyone, but it certainly is a great option that allows students to move at their pace and save some money.