My Journey From Community College to CSU Global

As a CSU Global alumni, I wanted to share how I navigated my educational journey as a transfer student from community college. Choosing the right college is an important decision; for me, CSU Global was the right choice.

Attending Community College First

By the time I began my pursuit of college education, I had been out of high school for almost 20 years. With this large gap in formal education, I knew I needed to build my foundation with general courses, primarily in math and science. I decided to begin my college experience by enrolling part-time in classes offered by local community colleges.

I started with a class that I felt more comfortable with, such as history or English, as well as one that I knew I would be more challenging, such as math or science. This combination of pairing easier classes with more difficult ones was a successful trend I would continue to follow throughout every semester in my college journey.

The community college courses I took helped me improve and reaffirm my abilities to write essays, build slide presentations, conduct research, and create the fundamental core learning components that I would repeatedly rely upon throughout my progress as a student. This helped me succeed at my community college as well as in my online classes at CSU Global.

Choosing CSU Global to Complete My Degree

CSU Global was appealing for a variety of reasons, and ultimately led to me choosing it as the best school to help me reach my goals.

• Price: Tuition rates at CSU Global are locked in and would not go up for as long as I was enrolled. Since I was receiving financial aid in addition to using my own money for textbooks, cost was very important to me. CSU Global’s tuition is very competitively priced when compared with other major universities.
• Location: I could continue my studies at CSU Global even if I had to move out of the state of Colorado – which I did in my last year as a student.
• Flexibility: CSU Global provides the flexibility to log in to classes at any time, from a location of my choice; whether it was at night, on the weekend, anywhere I had internet access. I was no longer confined to a certain physical location or time.
• Scheduling: CSU Global offers eight-week classes, meaning I could double the number of classes I would take during a traditional semester. This brought me toward my ambition to complete my degree more quickly than if I would have attended a traditional university with 16-week semesters.

How I Transferred to CSU Global

The advisors at the community college I attended, as well as the enrollment counselors at CSU Global were very helpful in helping me figure out which core classes I should take based on my career and educational goals. 

After speaking with my CSU Global enrollment counselor, they recommended that I complete 60 credits at the community college level before transferring to CSU Global. As I approached the completion of 60 credits at my community college, I began working more closely with my enrollment counselor to ensure I was on the right track to successfully transfer and continue my college journey with CSU Global.

My CSU Global enrollment counselors were crucial in helping me navigate class scheduling, and providing guidance for meeting the sometimes complex financial aid requirements. I recommend speaking with your local community college advisors, as well as CSU Global enrollment counselors in order to stay on track to fulfill your educational goals. 

My CSU Global enrollment counselors were incredibly personable, friendly, and dependable. They worked with me to ensure that the community college classes were appropriate and transferrable, taking much of my worries and concerns out of the equation. This allowed me to focus on what mattered, which was obtaining a degree – a mission that I have now accomplished.

Completing This Stage of My Educational Journey

I completed my lifelong goal of earning my bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership, with two specializations in Public and Nonprofit Management, as well as Small Business and Entrepreneurship. As a student, I frequently reminded myself that one’s educational journey is not a sprint, but a marathon. The long journey and sacrifice that a college education requires is well worth it, and I have benefited tremendously from this journey, both personally and professionally.