May 1 (or for this year May 15) is a daunting day for the senior class: the deadline to make their decision on where to attend college. As the year comes to an end, seniors have to make their college decisions fast. There is a lot that goes into the process of deciding what school will be best for each person; money, location, size of the school and much more.

According to US News, the average four-year college can cost around $95,000 for out-of-state public universities and $42,648 for in-state public universities, putting many families and students into debt. Not every student is fortunate enough to have their family help with college expenses.. In cases like that, students might not get the same opportunities as someone who can afford a more expensive college. Money is often a deciding factor in a decision for college, but there is a huge stigma attached to the cheaper and ‘less challenging’ option for university: community college.

People often look down on community colleges because they are seen as a lower level of education, but bigger universities and colleges aren’t always accessible to all students. Just because someone attends a community college doesn’t mean they are less deserving than someone attending a university, nor does it mean they are less smart or educated.. Every student needs a different type of learning, and a person shouldn’t be forced to attend a university if it doesn’t have the best environment for them. Community colleges provide an accessible and affordable education that breaks down barriers that some students may face while attending the traditional four-year education.

A barrier that community college breaks down is the closeness to home. For students, the thought of leaving the comfort of home and going to a whole other state to live for four years is terrifying. It is difficult to grasp the idea of not coming home after a long day of school to your parents. However, choosing to attend Montgomery College or a community college in general gives students the best of both worlds: the ability to still access the comfortability of your living room while being a fully enrolled college student.

Another positive is that the costs for community college are significantly less than a university. For example, for in-state students applying to Montgomery College, their yearly tuition would be around $3,596 if they took 20 hours of classes. On the other hand, the cost for one year at the University of Maryland (UMD) for in-state students is about $30,885. Big state schools like UMD can be challenging to get accepted to, and especially this year when only 25% of the senior class was accepted to UMD; the opportunity for in-state tuition was limited.

Another benefit of doing one or two years at a community college is the ability to easily transfer to Maryland for the remaining two years. Montgomery College offers an almost guaranteed pathway into UMD. That can be beneficial because students have less debt and a potentially easier way to get accepted into UMD. By attending community college, students can also begin working after two years of school with minimal to no debt.

It is important as a community that we all support each other’s successes and have the general understanding that there is no shame in community college. Overall, community college is affordable , easily accessible and a completely viable option for a student’s next step.