At a typical university, classes cost between $400 to $600 per credit hour, whereas community college is about $45 to $250 per credit hour, according to Discovery Student Loans. Community college will save students more money in the end, however, seniors still seem to choose the big schools.

“I’m picking TCC (Tidewater Community College) over a four-year university because I’m not really sure what I want to do yet,” said senior Makayla Altgilbers.

What some students do not realize is that community colleges and universities have the same core classes, but universities charge more. Community college gives the opportunity for students to explore different classes if they do not know what they want to major in. Not to mention, community colleges have more flexible schedules.

According to Community College Review, recent trends show that community college creates an increase in distant learning through the computer, increase in community college and four-year school partnerships, and more enrollment across different student groups.

Celebrities such as Tom Hanks, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Star Wars creator George Lucas all attended community college and still turned out to be some of the most successful people of their generation.

However, community colleges have downsides too. They lack the campus life that most high school seniors crave in a four-year school, such as greek life, sports, and clubs. Also, the workload for community colleges is substantially less and lighter than a university.

“I’m afraid of the fact that it might be too laid back and not prepare me properly for a university,” said senior Maddigan Aleshire.

On the contrary, the laid back schedule might allow college students to get a feel of something harder than high school, but easier than a university, allowing for a smoother transition.

“TCC is cheaper and you learn the exact same thing, while also getting ideas of what I want to major in when I go to an actual university,” said senior Nate Solak.