Community College, an Excellent Education at a Great Price

I started out my college career in 1975 at Sacramento City College. I knew I wanted to go into a career in science, but I wasn't quite ready to jump into a four-year university, so living at home while attending a local community college was the right thing for me. Several of my friends from high school were following the same route, and we often studied together in the library.

At Sac City I completed all of my lower division breadth requirements, including English, philosophy, sociology, and psychology, as well as the lower division requirements for my intended major: trigonometry, calculus, general biology, general chemistry, zoology, physics, organic chemistry, and quantitative analysis. I also took gymnastics classes for fun and exercise.

The education that I got at Sac City was excellent, and the teachers were top-notch. I especially remember two of my chemistry teachers and my physics teacher as outstanding. Class sizes were similar to those in high school, so the teachers all knew me personally, and I was able to get individualized help directly from the professor when I needed it.

In addition to the academics, there was something else special about going to Sac City: the variety of students. Rather than everyone in my classes being 18 years old and fresh out of high school as is the norm for college freshmen courses, my fellow students were all ages and from all walks of life. There were plenty of kids my age, but also Vietnam veterans, mothers returning to school, and others who were there for personal growth. Meeting these people added another dimension to my educational experience.

I attended Sac City for two and a half years, and finished with an Associate of Arts degree in Natural Science and Math in 1978. I then transferred to UC Davis and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry, and subsequently a Master of Arts in Molecular Biology from San Francisco State University.

My second experience at a community college came many years later. I had been working in the biotechnology industry doing research and development, when my husband's job caused us to move to a rural area where there were no laboratory research opportunities. Before we moved, I knew I would need to change careers, so I decided to get a teaching credential. There were a number of prerequisite classes necessary to get into the teaching credential program that I hadn't taken as part of my science degrees, so I needed to complete them before applying.

I went to two different community colleges in Oakland, Merritt College and Laney College, between 2000 and 2003. Admissions were very simple, everything could be done online. Since I was working full time during the day, I had to take classes in the evening. Fortunately, these community colleges offered all of the required classes during times when I was able to attend. I took Spanish, child development, political science, and cultural diversity classes. All of the professors were outstanding. One of my child development professors was a child psychologist, and offered considerable wisdom and insight. My political science professor was one of the best teachers I ever had at any school. Again, there was an interesting mix of students. Many of them were close to my own age, and had gone back to school to change careers.

My experience at community colleges was 100% positive, and I would recommend anyone to consider community college as a first step to a four-year degree, or as a very enjoyable way to expand their knowledge on any subject.

Source:
Personal experience