As our summers come to an end, the school year is just beginning. New classes, professors, people, etc. And for me- a new life.

Three months ago, I was getting ready to graduate my local community college and working at Shoprite down the road from me. I had a lot of friends I could hang out with whenever I wanted, and I knew how to get basically everywhere around town. And today, I’m lucky I know how to get home. I moved to a new state two and half weeks ago, started a new job, and today I officially became a University student. And, I’ve noticed there are a few differences between going to a University and going to community college people may not realize.

1. For starters, community college-goers keep to themselves for the most part. There are some groups of friends that sit together that you see throughout the day, but at University- there are ONLY groups. Groups in the cafeteria, shopping in the Store, walking around campus, sitting together in buildings.
   
   
2. It’s a different classroom environment. In University, there is a slim to none chance that you’ll see an adult in class (and I know that anyone in college is technically an adult, but I mean like a 30+year-old adult). At Community college, it is very common to see people beyond the typical college age sitting next to you.
   
   
3. Maybe this is just based off of my experience today, but community colleges have more lounges with outlets in their buildings. Maybe I just haven’t found the ones at my school yet, but community colleges are definitely styled more for commuters since that’s all there is. University buildings remind me of elementary school, with their multiple colorful bulletin boards.
   
4. From the few people I’ve talked to, being a part of a club or something seems like a bigger deal at University than at community colleges. At Community college, it’s almost taboo to be involved in an activity, whereas it is vice versa at University. The icebreaker is always “do you do any sports” or something of the sort.

All in all, I’m pretty lucky that I get to experience both lifestyles, both ways of getting a degree. Of course, community colleges help you earn an associate’s degree and university helps you get a bachelor’s, but the atmosphere and experience of both schools is definitely helping me appreciate my education.