Many seniors at San Luis Obispo High School are currently going through the process of college applications and are anxious about the schools that they may or may not get into. Despite the fact that we have a good and affordable community college in our own backyard, it is not uncommon to see high achieving SLOHS students roll their eyes at the thought of Cuesta College as anything more than a fallback.

   This thoughtless disregard is ridiculous considering the number of benefits that Cuesta has to offer for high school students in SLO County.

   “I chose Cuesta for a lot of reasons. From an economic standpoint, I believe it is the best education for the best price. Especially with the first two years completely free. Many professors from Cal Poly teach at Cuesta, making it a relatively high-quality academic school. I also don’t know exactly what I want to do yet, so Cuesta allows me to continue my general education while exploring new career paths,” said senior Kiran Heidler.

   Some students might argue that Cuesta wouldn’t give them the desired college experience, or that they would like to move away for college. Both of these points are valid, however many students’ rejections stem from a popular want to impress others, particularly parents and peers.

   Students in an environment as competitive as SLOHS feel that the college that they attend reflects their worth in society. Seeing as community colleges are not particularly prestigious, many automatically discredit it as an unworthy candidate for their future, without considering what they might gain from attending. Cuesta provides SLOHS students with a free education for two years (Cuesta Promise), as well as an excellent place to discover possible interests that may lead students to transfer to Universities.

   SLOHS students need to take the time to step back, look at the big picture, and consider that Cuesta might be their most intelligent choice of college. If not, students must respect and understand others who have already made the decision that Cuesta is the optimal place for them to be.