Where does it say that you have to go to a four year university right out of high school in order to be successful and to receive a “better” education?

It seems as if parents are more consumed by the “what college will my child attend” game than the actual students seem to be. It also seems as if these students are more influenced by what their parents, or peers, are going to think of what college they wish to attend. Not only have colleges gotten extremely competitive within the last few years, but tuition rates are now out of reach for many.

Within the last 10 years, and in these slow-moving economic times, with the large increase of unemployment rates; it seems as if students would make the logical choice of attending a community college first. This seems to be the more suitable and affordable option. According to a recent study by Forbes, in the years 2010-2011, the average community college student paid $2713.00 in tuition not including the $1700.00 in a Pell grant that many students at these colleges received as well. Compared to a student at a four year, who pay more than triple what a student at a community college would pay.

Not only is community college a more affordable option, but a more practical one. In a recent interview conducted by CNN, the op-ed columnist and bestselling author Frank Bruni quotes, “So when you have colleges drumming up extra applications so that they can claim an acceptance rate of 15 percent, that becomes part of the discussion that adds to the anxiety because you look at these numbers and you think, ‘Oh my God, if I don’t begin SAT Prep as a freshmen in high school, if I don’t hire the private tutor,’ I won’t get in, or so the thinking goes.”

It seems more and more as if it is the parent’s decision, or the appearance of prestige on where their child will attend. But who really can determine what school will give you a “better” education and what will make you more successful?

Bruni quotes, “Sure there are many Presidents who hail from Ivies, like Bush or Clinton, but there are many who don’t: Ronald Reagan went to Eureka College, a small school in Illinois, and Richard Nixon got his undergraduate degree from Whittier College in Southern California.”

I think the biggest thing that drives this selectiveness or perception towards Ivy Leagues or four year UC’s is when you hear about other people who have attended these schools or graduated at the top of their class or received their degrees from these particular schools. It is this false sense of superiority and prestige that leads many to make the wrong choices.

It is time the conversation changes on which college is the “right” choice. I think the most important thing of all, and like Bruni talks about in his book he recently released called “Where you go, is not who you’ll be.” Is that if parents do not stop pushing their kids to get into these particular schools or worrying about which one they will chose, they instead need to start focusing on what these kids will gain from them, what experience will they have, how it will impact their future, if this college will really be beneficial to what they chose to do later on in life. People tend to look down upon community college as if it is the “bad route” or “last resort”, but it seems now as if this is the smartest decision out of everything. Going to a community college won’t only save students over half of the money it’d cost them to go to a bigger UC, but it could also save them time.

Allowing them to explore, and possibly allowing them to figure themselves out. It is not uncommon that many seniors right out of high school aren’t even sure what they want to do; career wise. I think not only parents but the students themselves must reevaluate the way they look at college, especially seniors in high school who are in the process of making a decision right now. Students must remember it is their choice, not their parents. It is their decision, not their friends and they shouldn’t be looked down upon by their peers who are attending UC or Ivy Leagues, if they decide to pick to go to a community college instead. Parents need to remember that there can be negative consequences to Ivies and/or other UC/s, and that they need to acknowledge the fact that the school of THEIR choice might not be the best choice for their graduating senior.