We all heard the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” when we were young. Answers varied from doctor to firefighter to ballet dancer to rock star to superhero, etc.
Now we are asked, “What college do you want to go to after high school?” While our answers slightly differ from one another, there is still a common theme with the grand majority: to attend a four-year university.
The grand majority of us not only wish to, but strive to get into a university right after high school. We are told that the best way to guarantee success in the future is to attend a good college, and receive an impressive degree, which, today, is true. To get a decent, well-paying job, a college degree is absolutely necessary. We immediately interpret this as, “I have to go to a four-year university after high school.”
Foothill is definitely helpful in preparing us for college. However, it also puts a tremendous amount of pressure on us to get accepted to a college right away. While it is important to keep doors open for our futures, we should not be neglecting an option that is right across the street from us.
There is the option for students in Ventura to take two years at the community college, and then go to a university. You can still get a decent, well-paying job with this option, and save some money.
Not many students choose this option. Instead, most students decide to go straight to a university, whether it is in state or out of state, private or public. The fact that the grand majority of students from Foothill choose to ignore our community college is due to one main factor: Most of us look down upon it.
The biggest reason for why we have had a negative view of community college is because it truly can be easy, and not very challenging for most people at Foothill. Our school focuses on getting us ready to attend college, with mostly the state universities in mind. Some of our students even take courses at the community college already, in order to take care of some of the credits that they will need to complete in college.
In your freshman year at Foothill in the Education in the Digital Age class, you sign up for a College Board account, research and pick five colleges that look most attractive to you. In your sophomore year, the school’s counselors go to the English classrooms and have you fill out a Sophomore Guidance Registration Form, where you name your top three colleges. Junior and senior years are peppered with colleges visiting the campus.
Foothill also makes sure its graduation requirements align with what state colleges recommend you to take in high school in order to better your chances of getting into a university, at least in California. Even if you missed the day in EDA where you go over the A-G requirements, you need not fear, because you can find the poster in every classroom and pod on campus.
Going to a university right after high school is not as great of an idea as we usually believe. Because of the competitiveness of the colleges, it is becoming less likely to receive scholarships, and more likely to fall into debt.
Whether you realize it or not, a lot of pressure is put on us to go to college right after high school. Not only is it expected of us to go to a university right after high school, but we expect it. While it is good to be ambitious, if you are planning on entering a four-year university simply because you think that is the only way to guarantee a comfortable future, you should not ignore the community college, which most students have a negative view of.
College is important, but it is getting to a point where it is being overly-stressed.
Monica Sanchez • Feb 17, 2014 at 3:46 pm
It’s crazy how much pressure parents, teachers, counselors, and fellow students put on high schoolers to attend college, and not just that, but a 4 YEAR. I am a former Buena grad and I currently attend VC. I thought long and hard about choosing which college to attend, but I chose VC and because of one simple reason: it saves MONEY. I could of gone to a 4 year university like the rest of my peers. I had the grades, 4 years of sports under my belt, but I decided not to apply for any colleges my senior year. Many of my peers and teachers asked me why on earth I didn’t apply for any colleges. They tell me that money should never be an issue and that an education at a 4 year is worth it. But that organ inside of my skull, called a BRAIN, told me otherwise. My mind convinced me that if I attend a 4 year university, I will put my family’s finances into ruin. I hated the thought of putting my hardworking family into thousands of dollars of college debt.
Now that I’m at VC, I knew I made the best decision in my life, and I didn’t even have to pay a dime on my education. I won the VC promise, so my first year is free. I met new people, many who didn’t even attend my high school. I also get to taste my mom’s awesome healthy cooking, and not the infamous crappy campus food, top ramen, and mac n cheese diets many students experience at a 4 year. I am never the “broke college student” since I live with my parents and do odd jobs for some spending money. I get to stay in the luxury of my house, with my loving family and my mother’s top quality cooking.
This is the kind of lifestyle at a 4 year university that is worth thousands, but I am getting it for free. While the rest of you guys spend sleepless nights filling out applications, studying for the SAT/ACT, and getting that 4.3+ GPA, I get to chill here with my folks here in this beautiful, sunny city of Ventura, California, while attending college on zero debt.
I plan to transfer to Cal State Channel Islands in 2 years. With that money I saved from attending VC, I might study abroad. It’s all about using your money wisely.