Before I turned 30, I worked at an international law firm in Shanghai. The high-intensity workload nearly ruined my health. After resigning and coming to the United States, with the support of my partner, I passed the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and received an offer of admission and a generous scholarship. Everything seemed to be going smoothly.
Looking at the offer letter, I felt like my future was predictable: studying law, analyzing cases, interning at a law firm, and finding a job. But I wanted a different life. So, I took a complete gap year to recover and read some books.
One day, I suddenly realized that none of the books I was reading were related to law, but they were all related to feminism. "Why don't I give this a try?" I wondered. A sense of urgency stirred within me.
While searching for information and struggling with my decision, the women's studies program at the community college caught my attention. It was a very niche academic program, and at the time, I thought of community colleges as similar to vocational schools, but it perfectly aligned with my need to learn about feminism from basic courses.
Because I live in California, I chose a community college not far from my home. Later, I discovered that many people from out of state travel long distances to attend community colleges in California because the teaching quality is better, the transfer rate is higher, and it's easier to get into top public universities in California, such as UC Berkeley and UCLA.
Generally, after studying at a community college in California for two years, one can apply to transfer to a comprehensive university in California and directly enroll in the junior year.
Applying to community college is straightforward, with virtually no barriers for local residents. The California government also offers the first two years of free full-time study to some local students who have not attended college, while its cities offer even more convenient policies, such as free education for residents of all ages, whether attending full-time or part-time.
Even though some community colleges have tuition thresholds, the fees for local residents are extremely low—the average American's week's wages can basically cover a year's tuition. Therefore, many students from comprehensive universities choose to attend community colleges to take general education and foundational professional courses at a lower cost.
However, international students without California residency cannot enjoy these benefits and must pay tuition fees similar to those of comprehensive universities. They must also provide proof of sufficient funds to cover their first year's tuition and living expenses. International student tuition is calculated as: cost per credit hour × number of credit hours. The cost per credit hour varies from school to school, but is generally between 0 and 0. In addition, international students must pay minor miscellaneous fees such as health insurance and registration fees.
Students who transfer from community colleges to regular universities receive the same diplomas as regular students and do not face academic discrimination in their local community. Therefore, countless students transfer from California community colleges to prestigious universities such as UC Berkeley and UCLA.
Of course, you can also choose not to transfer and obtain an associate degree (a lower degree than a bachelor's degree, but different from a junior college in China) after graduating from community college. For children from ordinary families who cannot get into university or even complete secondary school, after the age of 18, they can explore their learning interests, accumulate project experience, gradually find their own rhythm and future direction, and restart their lives through community college.
For working professionals looking to change careers, this is also a path where they can switch tracks at any time.
Because community colleges facilitate transfers, their curriculum is almost identical to that of first- and second-year students at regular universities, offering a rich variety of courses covering social sciences, humanities, STEM fields, arts, and physical education. Students are not required to choose a major upon entering community college, and even if they do, they can change it at any time. Furthermore, students have a great deal of freedom in course selection, allowing them to explore their true interests.
Although my major is feminist studies, I have taken almost all social science courses: when I first entered university, I was interested in psychology and sociology, so I took some classes; after the US election, I became interested in economics, so I took all the economics courses; after reading a lot about women's studies in sociology, I became curious about anthropology, so I took some anthropology courses... However, after exploring, I decided to stick to my original major.
Students in the school's ceramics class are holding a charity sale.
Community college teachers have only teaching duties and no research duties, so they can spend more time and energy designing rich classroom activities that combine subject content with current social issues and students' personal needs.For example:
- The women's studies faculty asked everyone to predict the outcome of the US presidential election (which was still ongoing at the time) and the potential impact of the election results on women's rights.
- Economics teachers and students analyze the economic policies of different presidential candidates after they take office;
- Sociology teachers have students play Monopoly in groups during class, assigning different starting roles to help them understand the relationship between social mobility and the individual.
- Anthropology teachers led everyone to make stone tools, start fires by friction, and dig for fossils in the back mountains, just like primitive people.
- Psychology teachers consistently emphasize the importance of mental and physical health—it's okay to be late for class (speeding isn't worth it), you can apply for an extension if you can't meet the deadline for your assignment, and you can seek help at the school's mental health center if you're feeling down; and so on.
Community colleges typically offer small classes, with 20-30 students being the most common configuration, rarely exceeding 50, and sometimes less than 10. I once attended a seminar with only 6 students, where the professor led us in a critical study of classic sociological theories—it was exactly like a graduate-level class.
A high student-to-faculty ratio means that teachers can interact more with students. Because office hours are easily accessible, I have had opportunities for in-depth discussions with professors from different disciplines. They have helped me secure speaking opportunities at academic conferences, guided my research projects and papers, and connected me with alumni at my target universities, providing me with tremendous support and affirmation. It is with their encouragement that I plan to apply for doctoral programs.
Because of its low entry requirements and wide and flexible range of majors, community colleges are full of people exploring at all stages of life.
Some people come to the US to accompany their parents and take the opportunity to study astronomy at a community college; some are dissatisfied with their schools and majors in China, so they drop out to study their preferred subjects; some didn't want to go to university after graduating high school, struggled for a few years, and then started their academic journey at a community college...
My classmates come from different ages, races, nationalities, and professional backgrounds, but probably because they have rich life experiences, most of them know what they want to do, or are consciously exploring what they want to do.
The diversity of students means that teachers' teaching methods and strategies must also be flexible and varied. In my memory, they would set many interesting assignments, such as observing people in a coffee shop from a cultural anthropological perspective, telling a story about a female character in a movie from a feminist point of view, or simply traveling in an environmentally friendly way.
The most interesting assignment I received came from my biological anthropology class—we were asked to go to the zoo to observe three types of primates. So, I went to the zoo and saw the Madagascar lemur, the West African baboon, and the Bornean orangutan. From this, I learned that the relationship between these three primates and humans progresses from distant to close: lemurs only share similar hand structures with humans, and their lifestyle is similar to that of an active cat; the baboon is clearly more human-like; while the orangutan's physical structure and behavior are almost identical to humans.
School Dog Therapy Day
At the same time, assignments also reflect a teacher's values to some extent. For example, a psychology teacher might consider students' mental health far more important than memorizing textbook knowledge, so she might assign tasks such as participating in school and community activities to encourage students to make more friends and connect with society. Considering that each student's background is different—they might have a job to support a family, children to spend time with, or family members to care for—the submission date for each assignment can be negotiated.
Most importantly, these assignments only require you to reflect your thought process; there is no right or wrong answer, because there is no absolute academic authority here. However, this will prompt you to think about the criticality and falsifiability that science emphasizes.
The community college I attend is an inclusive and supportive system: the school's mental health center has highly skilled counselors, the community center provides students with free fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, and dairy products, the learning center provides students with free academic tutoring, and there are free snacks in every student lounge...
More importantly, it has the ability to correct errors in a timely manner when vulnerabilities appear in the system.
A Chinese student once approached me about what she perceived as racial discrimination from her English teacher. During an online class, one of her Vietnamese classmates hadn't muted his phone, and a conversation he was having with his child who had just returned home, speaking Vietnamese, could be heard. Suddenly, the English teacher swore at the Vietnamese student. The oppressive atmosphere and sense of superiority emanating from the English teacher made this Chinese student acutely aware of the vulnerability of her international student status.
After understanding the situation, I immediately searched the school's anti-discrimination policy and the contact information for the complaints department on the school website and encouraged her to file a complaint. She later told me that an anti-discrimination staff member who received her immediately called her supervisor after hearing her description. After understanding the situation, the supervisor said they would directly report the situation to the head of the English department and request that the head of the English department meet with the teacher involved. In subsequent classes, the English teacher's attitude noticeably became more cautious and restrained.
A sound system means that even when encountering bad individuals, others can protect their rights through the system.
The biggest change I experienced during my year at community college was that the tension in my mind gradually eased. In this inclusive environment, no one forced me to learn anything, to learn it well, or to complete anything by a certain deadline.
According to my original plan, I should have completed my PhD application by 2025, ensuring I could start my PhD in the fall of 2026. However, applying while studying meant missing out on interesting internships, the leisure of daily life, and the company of family and friends, so I decided to postpone my application.
This would have seemed unbelievable to me ten years ago: "How could you waste time?" "How could you not give it your all?" But now, I want to take it slow.
Life can't be restarted, but it won't be decided by an exam either. Community college is a door open to every adult; push it open, and new possibilities await.
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