As the end of the semester approaches for high school seniors one question still remains. Will you further your education and go to college? and if so where?

Many seniors may struggle to find a career path or study fresh off the bat here in Norwalk and Cerritos.

Seeing your friends and classmates get accepted into four year schools can be a real wake up call if you did not qualify for a Cal State or UC.

I recommend attending Cerritos College. Cerritos has all sorts of courses and programs you can enroll in.

Do you want a certificate in welding or photography? We have just the class for you. Looking to attend then transfer to a four-year university? Our counselors can help you.

There has always been an emphasis on going to a big-name college school like USC or UCLA but there is an easier, economically smart idea of going into a community college.

Having dealt with that experience, it can feel embarrassing going to a community college when most of your class goes to a four-year college.

However, there is tons of money can be saved by going to a two-year community college.

If you end up going to UCLA for four years, you would spend an excess of about $14,000 in tuition and fees just for one academic year alone. If that person is going the loan route, that will continue to pile up the longer you go to college.

For example, if your high school gives out free two years of community college, it should be an easy no-brainer to go to that community college. That can save tuition money that would be pilling up per semester that can be free, which should be taken advantage of.

If that wasn’t any incentive in going to a community college, employers won’t care if you went to a community college for two years.

It may surprise some high school students but more likely than not, the employer will ask where you got your degree and if you get a bachelor’s degree, they’ll only care about where you went for your last two years of college.

Another positive is if you’re a person who has a 3.0 GPA or lower, that person can use community college to improve their grades.

If that person is planning on transferring, the admission counselor will not care about your high school GPA and only look at your college GPA.

Not only that but it may be easier to get into a four-year university after being a two-year student.

With programs like FAFSA, you can receive waivers that can pay for your education as well as financial aid that will most likely cover most of the cost of your education, if eligible.

As a student attending community college, you can take the same general ed classes just like at the university but at a cheaper cost. Who wouldn’t want to pay less?

Some students may feel like the experience of a community college versus a four year is very different, in the kinds of students, teachers, and curriculum; however, the curriculum is exactly the same for both a community college and a university.

As well as there are smaller class sizes which allow for more personalized instruction and assistance from faculty.

So what are you waiting for? Seniors seek guidance from your school’s counselors and ask how you can enroll at Cerritos College this semester.

Or you can visit the counseling office here at Cerritos and ask how you can enroll to be a Falcon.