Community college is a widely-popular alternative to a state college with 5.8 million students enrolled in the U.S. per year, according to statistica.com.

This option is less expensive, Statistica said, and serves the same purpose as state college with the additional factor of possibly living at home.

Macomb Community College student Jackson White said he enjoys his studies and plans on attending for the full four years.

“I was considering going to Michigan State or Grand Valley,” White said. “Since I am paying for my own college, though, those weren’t exactly realistic goals.”

White said with Macomb, he’s able to avoid housing fees, meal plans and outrageous state college tuition.

“I’m still able to enjoy the social aspect of college,” White said. “I can still study the major I’ve always wanted to while not being in debt for the rest of my life.”

Some high school students consider going to community college for some of their studies, but plan on transferring to state college after a few years, according to Elle Mcevoy ‘19

Mcevoy is looking forward to attending Macomb for one or two years before switching to Michigan State.

“If I can save some money going to community college, I don’t see a problem with that at all,” Mcevoy said.. “When I am applying for jobs when I’m older, I will still have a degree from Michigan State even though I went to Macomb to start.”

Grosse Pointe South counselor Eric Burson said community college is not only a great choice but in some scenarios the better choice.

“It’s hard in Grosse Pointe sometimes because the expectation is a four-year,” Burson said. “I think that’s changing because college is expensive and also some people know students who started at a community college, transferred to a university and did very well.”

Burson said in the long run, this option actually puts people ahead financially and academically.

“Students can get a two-year trade degree, and be off into the world of work without any debt,” Burson says. “There are some studies out that say five years after the fact, students who started at a community college are further ahead than those who started at four years.”

There are 41 top community colleges in Michigan, according to communitycollegereview.com, and more and more people are choosing to make the switch.