Going to community college is an option that students have been considering more and more after graduating high school, as it allows them to save money while still having the option to transfer to a four-year university if they wish.

Cal High senior Emron Samyee plans on attending Dialbo Valley College (DVC) in Pleasant Hill for two years before transferring to San Jose State University.

“I am still going to see a lot of my friends, live locally, [and I’m] going to save a lot of money,” Samyee said.

There are many reasons why students may choose to go to community college instead of a four year university right out of high school.

“I was recruited by DVC to play baseball,” senior Thomas Casserly said. “I would rather have someone else tell me I’m done [playing baseball] than me saying I’m done.”

Plus, Casserly noted that attending DVC gives him a little bit longer to transition into college life.

Other benefits of going to a community college are financial and the high transfer rate to competitive four-year schools.

In California, the first two years of community college are pretty much tuition free for in-state residents. The transfer acceptance rates also are much higher.

According to admissions.ucla.edu, the transfer acceptance rate for UCLA during fall 2025 is 23% compared to the acceptance rate of only 9% for incoming freshmen that same year.

“It is a stepping stone to get to a UC, a better school,” senior Dev Kalra said, who plans to attend Las Positas Community College next fall.

Students use community college to boost their applications both academically and extracurricularly. Some students choose to pair their education with a job.

“The job market is so cooked right now,” Kalra said. “I am getting rejected from Starbucks.”

But some students choose to go an inverse route prioritizing work experience in their chosen career.

“I am working and then going to community college,” senior Ryle Neo said.

There are two nearby community colleges nearby: DVC and Las Positas Community College in Livermore, leaving students with the choice of which one is better for them.

“I didn’t want to go to a kinda [bad] school and suffer there, because at Las Positas they still give you the help you need,” Kalra said.

Some of the help Las Positas offers is during the “New Hawk Day” for incoming freshmen where the school helps students build their schedules and explore campus. During this event, college counselors build in support periods after difficult classes.

“[New Hawk Day] was kind of annoying, because it was like a Disneyland line just for one counselor to do a five second task,” Kalra said. “Once you got that task done they were pretty helpful telling you what classes you should take and what resources you should use.”

DVC and Las Positas have online class registration, allowing students to get organized before term starts in the fall. Students can also choose the classes, such as prerequisites, that are essential for them to transfer.

But these general education classes often do not contribute to the actual major students want to complete.

“I want to go to community college, get my degree at community college, be a nurse first, and then go to a university,” Neo said. “[But] its been more normalized for a student to go to a university after high school.”

While community college is constructed as a place to complete general education requirements, many people question attending a community college.

“People look down upon it [and] think you are going there because you weren’t good enough in high school,” Samyee said. “Even though most people can easily get into whatever college without it.”

There is also somewhat of a stigma surrounding going to college, especially one that isn’t as prestigious.

“There’s a whole big stereotype that Asian kids have to be good at everything, and they have to get into good schools, and if you don’t do that certain thing, you’re kind of a failure,” Kalra said.

This idea is not only enforced by fellow students but across generations.

“It’s the parents. I am going to Las Positas. I am perfectly fine with that, [but] my parents are pushing me,” Kalra said.

The notion people typically have is that students who go to community college, aren’t as smart as kids who go to a four year college when there are several factors that contribute to these decisions.

“Especially in athletics, everyone is more open to going to a junior college,” Casserly said. “A lot of people now go to a junior college to transfer to a bigger school because they weren’t immediately recruited, that’s given it a rise [in popularity.]”