Bucking the stigma

Many Chinese students second-guess the benefits of attending a US community college.

The doubt usually derives from concerns about “diploma mills” that churn out degrees without providing a proper education. Some would-be applicants are also ashamed of telling people that they were planning to go to a two-year college instead of a four-year university.

But according to Xinhua, 44 percent of American students attend community colleges. These institutions provide not only technical skill training but also opportunities to transfer to major universities. In fact, US President Barack Obama enrolled at Los Angeles’ Occidental College at age 18, before continuing his studies at Columbia University.

Take the College of San Mateo (CSM) in California as an example. It has a transfer admission guarantee (TAG) with seven branch campuses of the University of California, as well as major universities in other states. That means, as long as students get a GPA higher than 3.6, they’ll be able to seamlessly transfer from a community college to one of the world’s top universities, according to Guangming Daily.

The threshold for entering a community college is much lower than for a major university. At CSM, all you need is a score of 56 on the TOEFL, or a 5.5 on the IELTS, according to sina.com. This provides a second chance to students whose high school records are not strong enough for acceptance at four-year universities.

The tuition is also much more affordable. “It costs only $3,000 (19,000 yuan) a year, while tuition at major universities is usually 10 times as much,” said Lu Hanheng, 22, a former student at Citrus College, Los Angeles.

But the lower threshold also means a more diverse student body. “There is a wide age spectrum among students, from 18 to over 50,” said Lu. “The students’ academic levels are also polarized. Some are devoted to their studies because they’re aiming for major universities, while the rest are just dawdling about.

That is why community colleges may not be the best choice for students who lack self-discipline, according to JJL Overseas Education.


The agency also cautions students to check whether a community college is authenticated by China’s Ministry of Education, before applying. Students also need to make sure that it has a TAG program, if they hope to transfer to a larger university.