Why Students Choose Community Colleges or Universities

Community Colleges Enrolling in universities after high school is a dream that many students have. Unfortunately, not all students have the opportunity to achieve this dream. In the article entitled “The Alternative”, written on April 11, 2010, Michelle R. Davis discussed how the economic downturn affected students’ choice after graduating from high school. Community colleges had many impacts on students. There were three major effects that community colleges had on students such as maturity, gain of experience and access to universities. The first major effect that community colleges had on the students in the article was to mature and stay in their living environment. Students needed to gather experience before facing challenges at universities. For instance, Javier Pena, who graduated from Magruder High School, got a scholarship from Georgetown University, but he decided not to enroll in a four-year school attend Montgomery College (MC) because he was not ready to rely on himself. To illustrate, in the article, Pena said, “I just felt like I needed more growing and maturity to face such a big change, he said” (Davis 3.). This showed that he needed to gain experience before becoming independent. In addition, some students were not ready to live away from their loved ones. For example, Diane Lameira, after graduating from high school with a good GPA and obtaining a full scholarship from the University of Maryland, decided to attend MC because she wanted to stay near her family. To illustrate, in the article, Davis pointed, “She’s an only child and said she wasn’t ready to leave home” (Davis 3). This meant that MC gave Lameira the opportunity to stay with her family. Community Colleges helped students become mature and stay near their family. The second major effect that community colleges had on students was the access to a four-year school. For students who graduated from high school with low GPA, community colleges such as MC and Northern Virginia

Cited: Davis, Michelle. “The Alternative.” The Washington Post 11 April,2010. Web.18 July 2012.