By Kayla Carino

SAN JOSE, CALIF.—With Silver Creek seniors leaving school in a few months, already in the college application season they have already decided whether to attend  community college, any of the California State Universities (CSU), or the Universities  of California (UC). 

Community colleges are better compared to CSU and UC because in community college teachers are more likely to focus on their students, low tuition costs, and flexible scheduling.

Community colleges in California normally have a high acceptance rate of a little over 80%, meaning it is a little easier to get accepted into. It is good for general education and if you are not really sure what career you might want to pursue.

Positive things about community college are smaller class sizes, low tuition costs and flexible schedules since online and night classes are available. Community colleges are also only two years. Some not so positive things about community college are their lower academic standards, lack of competitive sports and limited social activities.

The average community college typically costs over $1,350 for tuition if the college is within your state of residence. Out of state tuition will cost around $9800. In addition, they have less consequences when your major is undecided and you have more freedom to explore into different routes within your education.

“I’d rather attend community college since I have no clue what career I want yet,”Lam Nguyen, a senior at Silver Creek said. “So I wouldn’t risk losing more money to attend a CSU.”

California State University, or the CSU system, is good for in-state students since they are preferred for admission over out of state students. So in-state applicants have an over 90% chance of getting into a school. However, every school in the CSU system is different and has different acceptance rates and requirements.

Both CSU and UC schools are four-year institutions. A CSU school on average for tuition and fees is over $8,600 for in-state residents. Out of state students’ tuition is typically around $45,000. While UCs are around $15,000 for in-state students, with out of state tuition being minimally $50,000.

Downsides of attending a school in CSU are their large class sizes, lack of competitive sports and the limited housing in the area. Since CSU classes are a lot bigger compared to community colleges, it is harder to stand out and the professors have many students to focus on. So you will most likely receive less attention from your professor.

Schools in the University of California or UC system like UCLA and UC Davis have good sports programs and put a high emphasis on graduate studies and research. Many UC schools are ranked highly among public universities. But they are a bit harder to get into and are more selective compared to community colleges.