Harvard, Brown, Yale, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Cornell, and Dartmouth.
The seven Ivy League colleges in the United States.
This past year, students across the country devoted hours to writing essays and filling out lengthy applications.
Yet most will not get accepted into an elite or Ivy League university.
For the 2017-2018 admissions season, Stanford University received 47,450 applications but only accepted 2,040 students.
Other elite universities followed suit.
For the Class of 2021, University of Pennsylvania received 40,413 applications but only accepted 3,757 students.
Despite the low acceptance rates, students will most likely continue to apply to elite universities, forgetting a choice that boasts many benefits; community college.
According to College Board, the average community college student paid $2,713 in tuition, almost a tenth of the tuition expense paid by students at private four-year universities.
Students at community colleges also received, on average, $1,700 in Pell Grant financial aid to help with the cost of tuition.
The Pell Grant is money the government provides for students who need help paying for college. Unlike loans, grants do not have to be repaid.
Community college also offers flexible class schedules and smaller class sizes in comparison to a four-year university.
In spite of the advantages a student could receive from community college, only 36 percent of students attended a two-year university in 2016, according to the Nation Center for Education Statistics.
In 2015, 39 percent of students attended a two-year university.
Tori Miranda, a student at College of San Mateo (CSM), is interested in taking full of advantage of the programs CSM offers.
“I am extremely interested in taking a semester abroad through CSM. It is a great opportunity and way cheaper than if it were to be done through a four-year college,” said Miranda.
Even though community colleges offer great programs and opportunities, community college tend to have a negative connotation on the Peninsula.
This is most likely due to the stereotype that community college comes with a lesser education.
While most students will continue to attend four-year universities, one must not forget the advantages of attending a community college.
