The day my 18-year-old-self stepped foot onto a familiar community college campus, I felt somewhat ashamed. I had left a fairly large university and transferred to a community college close to home due to a multitude of reasons. I'll be honest: I got a lot of shit for it, mostly from my peers. If it wasn't the demeaning names used to describe the college I was now attending, it was the looks and attitudes I would get from local university-goers that made me feel self-conscious as hell.
I felt as if every party I had attended or every text shared between a new-found dating prospect was immediately halted when I mentioned that I went to the community college next door to the fairly well-known Big Ten University. "Last Chance College" and "Oh.......are you going to transfer soon?" were some of the biggies. Not to mention the silence in the room when I dropped the bomb. I would immediately feel lesser and not of as much importance to those who were sifting out $20k a year.
That's when it hit me: the community college stigma is not okay. My tuition cost will not dictate who I am as an individual, my level of importance in society or how "smart" of a student I am. Where I took my first few years of classes does not limit my growth, my education or my future. I had a physician once tell me, "Smart girls go to community colleges." Two and a half years later, I finally believe her. I was not forced into attending a community college, I chose to do so.
I chose to go to a community college because I like smaller classrooms. Coming from a minuscule rural community, I got distracted sitting in lectures consisting of more people my entire childhood town even consisted of. I found I was able to concentrate and had closer relationships with my professors at the community college.
I chose to go to a community college because I refused to let myself or my parents make an enormous financial sacrifice. Believe it or not, money doesn't grow on trees. Recent Millennial graduates are becoming all too familiar with college debt, so why add to that already substantial bill most will end up facing?
I chose to go to a community college because I value a multitude of diversities in education. No longer was I sitting in classrooms filled with twenty-year-old hungover students complaining about how their parent's refused to finance their booze-filled weekends. I was sitting in a classroom filled with all kinds of people; most who knew the importance of getting an education, or students who were balancing both work and school. These people came from all walks of life.
My decision to attend a community college was not because I felt I couldn't make it at a more 'prestigious' university. My decision reflected on several environmental, financial and learning-style factors. So here I am today, graduating with honors a year early with a BBA in Business Management, holding down two successful part-time jobs and no college debt. My educational background does not and will not hold me back in today's education biases.
Understand that I am not bashing four-year institutes by any means. In all actuality, I have high regard for people who can make it in 'traditional' college settings. Life could potentially be a lot easier when it comes to social realms. It would be a breeze to make friends, meet new people and join fun organizations on campus. However, I weighed the pros and cons for myself and quickly realized that the 'typical college experience' was not for me.
So here is my advice: Choose a path that is right for you and disregard society's stigma of community colleges being lesser-than. If you work hard, success will follow you regardless of where you began your education. Hold your head up high and realize how fortunate you are for where you are today.
