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An example of how you can save money by starting at a community college

Grossmont College is a community college in a San Diego suburb in southern California. The tuition for an international student for one year is about $8,000. Contrast that with two universities that are nearby: at San Diego State University, the tuition is approximately $19,000, and at University of California, San Diego, it’s approximately $45,000. That adds up to a big savings if you study for your first two years at a community college!

Student Journey 1

Han dreamed of working for an aerospace manufacturer, like Boeing.

Han began his degree at Tacoma Community College in the field of engineering.

In spring 2018, Han chose to continue his studies at Washington State University thanks to recommendations from the professors at Tacoma Community College and a guaranteed admission pathway.

Han graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in spring 2020.

Student Journey 2

1. Vicky began planning for her freshman year at Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) in high school, with the long-term goal of transferring to the University of California, Berkeley. 

2. Once at SRJC, she met with her academic counselor regularly to plan out what classes she needed to meet transfer requirements. 

3. After her first two semesters, Vicky began meeting regularly with a transfer counselor to review each university’s requirements. (Although Vicky knew she wanted to go to UC Berkeley, she also applied to other UC schools in Los Angeles,  Santa Barbara, and Irvine). Vicky’s transfer counselor helped work out details: IGETC* patterns, the pros and cons of each university, and LOTE** requirements. Vicky’s transfer counselor also arranged meetings for her with UC representatives.

4. Vicky submitted her application at the end of November 2019 and found out in the spring of 2020 that she got into all four of the UC schools she applied to! She started at UC Berkeley in the fall of 2020 as an English major.

*IGETC — Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum: A series of courses that California community college students can complete to satisfy freshman/sophomore level general education requirements before transferring to most colleges and majors at UC campuses.

**LOTE — Language Other Than English: A requirement for most international undergraduate majors to demonstrate competence in at least one language other than English.