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Why Do People Choose To Attend A Community College

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Peer Groups and the Institute of the Community College

As I went through the research process for this paper I conducted many interviews with former classmates who are now either attending a four-year university or a local community college. The original intent was to find out their reasons for attending the institution they chose to attend. As I accumulated information I began to see a glaring trend in the relationship between the social group the individual was a member of and the college they ended up attending. This then drove me to further examine the influencing factors in these students’ social lives, in a hope of identifying the degree to which they are influenced by each other. Thus, the first part of the paper explores …show more content…

The two major community colleges that kids choose to attend are Shoreline Community College and Bellevue Community College. While there are a large number of students who choose to attend four-year universities directly upon graduating high school, there are a number of others who elect to attend community colleges. The decision to attend community colleges is a very practical one that has many advantages and benefits. The first major reason for enrolling into a community college is the fact that enrollment is open to anyone who has the capacity to pay for classes. As one male classmate of mine commented, “I go to a Shoreline C.C. now because I knew that I needed to start a college career somewhere, it’s just that I didn’t have the grades in high school to get into a university. I hope to use Shoreline as a way to help me get in to a university later.” The idea that this student expresses is perhaps the leading factor that leads to community college enrollment. The nice thing about community college is that it gives students who did not perform well in high school the opportunity for a second chance. It ensures that nobody is completely shunned from higher education. The mission statement of Shoreline Community College is:
“Shoreline Community College demonstrates dedication to student success by providing rich opportunities for learning, excellence in teaching and comprehensive support services developed in collaboration with its

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