Choosing a School

Choosing a college is a major decision that will affect at least the next two to four years of your life, depending on which school and which program you choose. Many students attend college right out of high school simply because it seems like the logical next step. With college costs, housing expenses, and career expectations continuing to shift in 2026, however, it is important to think through this decision systematically before you make your choice.

Here are the top ten questions to ask yourself before going to college, as well as some important questions to ask when it comes to making your decision. Students who are still comparing options may also find Community College Review’s Choosing the Right Community College helpful as they narrow their list.

This video explains why community college is a good choice.

Ten Questions to Ask Yourself Before Going to College

Before you even decide to attend college, there are some important questions that you need to ask yourself. Your answers to these questions will help you determine if the timing is right for you to attend college or if you might be better off waiting a few years. These questions will also help you narrow down your choice for a major so you can choose the best college to fit your interests.

1. Do you know what you want to study? If you don’t already have some idea

In the face of many difficulties, including massive budget cuts, low graduation rates, and students who need an abundance of guidance and support to stay on track, community colleges throughout the nation are finding ways to keep their doors open and graduate students on time. No school has been more successful in making the most of a less-than-ideal situation than Rio Salado College.

Rio Salado is part of the Maricopa Community College District, a ten-campus system in Phoenix that offers over 10,000 courses for its 250,000 students on campus and online. It is one of the largest higher education institutions in the United States. Rio Salado accounts for roughly 60,000 of the system's students, many of whom attend part-time to accommodate work schedules and family needs due to economic disadvantages.

Students who come from poverty have the odds stacked against them about graduation. The graduation rate for community college students in the United States is at most 40 percent, but that number falls drastically for poor and working-class students. According to the New York Times, only about one-quarter of first-year college students born into families in the bottom half of the income spectrum will go on to get an undergraduate degree within six years. Yet, 90 percent of students in the top one-quarter of the income spectrum will obtain their degree. Socioeconomic status will significantly determine whether a student gets a degree.

Robust

In the summer of 2013, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), the accrediting agency responsible for oversight of California’s massive community college system, came under fire for withdrawing its accreditation of the City College of San Francisco. Among the ACCJC’s findings was that the college failed to balance its budget and was deficient in staffing and facility repairs. Upon making their recommendation for revocation available to the public, ACCJC faced a firestorm of criticism, with supporters of the college claiming that the commission’s decision was fueled by political bias.

Additional criticism has since been leveled against the organization for not following its own policies during the accreditation process. In fact, ACCJC has been reprimanded by the U.S. Department of Education for failing to meet federal guidelines in its review of the City College of San Francisco. Furthermore, ACCJC is accused of violating conflict of interest laws by appointing the husband of the commission’s president to an accreditation review team.

What has resulted is a nationwide spotlight on the methods by which community colleges and other institutions of higher learning gain accreditation. Critics of the current system contend that without federal oversight – accrediting organizations are self-regulated – commissions are apt to abuse power and work under a cloak of secrecy. While these allegations are specific to ACCJC, the criticisms of its policies and procedures have been echoed nationwide. Together with a

A new program sponsored by the State Bar of California’s Council on Access and Fairness is creating new partnerships between 24 California community colleges and six law schools that will create a new pathway to law school for thousands of community college students. The Community College Pathway to Law School Initiative is a “pipeline program” that will offer community college students various resources to help them achieve their dream of practicing law. From tutoring and mentoring services to financial aid counseling and early exposure to law-related courses, the program will increase access to law school by making the transitions from a two-year institution to a four-year institution to law school occur much more smoothly.

Seeking to Improve Diversity

At the heart of the program is a desire to increase diversity in California’s law schools, which traditionally have been overwhelmingly white. For example, about 70 percent of the University of California at Davis’ Law School identifies as white. Furthermore, throughout the first decade of the 2000s, although the number of available seats in law schools throughout the country increased, the percentage of black and Mexican-American students filling those seats declined. However, not all law schools in California lack diversity. The law school at the University of California at Irvine, which opened in 2009, boasts a 45 percent minority enrollment.

While UC Irvine has successfully attracted minority students, the percentage of minority applicants denied admission to law schools across the nation still far exceeds

A recent study shows that one out of every ten community college students loses nearly all of their credits upon transferring to a four-year institution. In fact, just 58 percent of students who being their studies at a two-year institution report having more than 90 percent of their credits transferring to a baccalaureate program at a four-year college or university. As a result, a large number of students who dream of obtaining an undergraduate degree never get one because the credits they worked so hard to obtain do not count at their new school.

An Uphill Battle

Students who begin their post-secondary education at a community college are already less likely to graduate with a bachelor’s degree than their peers who begin study at a four-year institution. This is not to say that community colleges are somehow failing their students, rather, it is most likely life events that curtail a student’s educational aspirations. Family issues, financial difficulties, or changes in job or childcare availability are just a few common issues that force community college students to put their studies on hold. Unfortunately, the already narrow likelihood that a student will get a bachelor’s degree is further diminished when they take a break from school to attend to life’s pressing issues.

This video offers some suggestions on how to transfer from a community college to a four-year institution.

Even when students are