By Macy Yang

There are several pathways to pursue higher education in California. As tuition and living costs rise, families and students need to weigh the value of a college degree more carefully than ever. Choosing a college means considering all costs beyond tuition. Careful evaluation helps students and families plan effectively for more affordable higher education.

Xong Her, a Sacramento native, said that not going to college was never an option for her. She grew up in a family of 10 children, and is now one of three with a college education. Her parents are first-generation refugees from Laos, and while they didn’t have a formal education, they wanted their children to be educated. 

“They didn’t have anything,” she said. Her was raised on public assistance and a family farm business that generated more work than money. Community college was already a “defined path” for Her because of her family’s financial circumstances.  

Her’s parents couldn’t afford tuition. Community college was more affordable for Her and she was saving money by living at home. “My parents were dependent on me, and I didn’t want to go away.”

Evaluating the true cost of college

On top of tuition, students and families must consider the cost of living and what support the school can offer students.

“Affordability is more than just tuition,” said Gina Browne, vice chancellor of Program Operations and Systems Initiative in the Program Operations and Strategic Planning Division of the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. 

“It’s about really ensuring that students don’t have to sacrifice their own basic needs to attend and succeed in college,” Browne said “Because if a student must choose between buying groceries [and] getting child care, then college isn’t truly affordable. So that’s where community colleges come in because the students we serve, as well as community colleges, have evolved. Today’s students are more likely to be working, supporting families, balancing all kinds of responsibilities.”

Browne elaborated on her own college journey starting at a University of California campus right out of high school. 

“And like so many first generation and low-income students, I realized that being admitted wasn’t the same as being supported throughout. I didn’t have any financial or emotional support systems that were needed so I had to withdraw,” Browne said. 

Browne then enrolled at a community college in Sacramento. The experience highlighted the need for wrap-around services for students like “counseling about affordability, [and] what institutions can offer students.”

It’s also critical that the school creates an environment for students to succeed. “Affordability means institutions also have a responsibility for connecting students to things like financial aid, basic needs support, and community resources so that students don’t have to navigate and figure this out on their own,” she said. 

Browne’s own experiences inspired her to support and represent students during her tenure at Evergreen Valley College in San Jose, as well as with the California Student Aid Commission.

After 23 years supporting education, Browne’s leadership at the Chancellor’s Office gave her the “chance to be part of the largest system of higher education in the United States.” 

“And what I do every day is I help colleges give [students] the guidance, the tools and the resources they need to support students along the way,” Browne said. “So, my motivations are simple.”

Finding a college support system

At Sacramento City College where Her chose to complete her nursing program, she found a support system from the start that largely shaped her college experience. The nursing bridge program reduced Her’s schooling by a year, saving her money. After meeting her prerequisites, Her spent two years in the Licensed Vocational Nurse program, then entered a shortened one-year nursing program.

Through the program, she could rent or borrow textbooks rather than purchasing them. The college covered the NCLEX Testing, an online test for nurses to get licensed, which is an expensive test, Her said. 

Academic counselors played a critical role, guiding Her through course selection and ensuring she received priority registration for the classes she needed. Their support helped Her stay on track. 

Beyond the classroom, financial aid staff also guided Her through funding her education, making sure she understood her options and received the assistance she needed. Her felt that the faculty members further enriched her experience by embracing students from diverse backgrounds, offering encouragement and accessibility that made the campus feel personal. 

The California College Promise Grant

College costs can be a barrier for many low-income and first-generation families. Community colleges offer a wide range of financial support. 

The California College Promise Grant (formerly known as the BOG Fee Waiver), enacted in 2018, is a financial aid program that waives eligible students’ $46 per unit enrollment fee for up to two years of free tuition.

Browne suggests “one of the most important steps is to start with financial aid, completing the FAFSA, which is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the California Dream Act application as soon as possible.” 

“Those two applications are the primary gateways to grants, fee waivers, basic needs support, financial aid that’s available at specific campuses,” Browne said. “But beyond completing the FAFSA, it also helps students and their families to really have frank conversations about work responsibilities, school, and family responsibilities ahead of time. It’s important for students to realize the full scope of what going to college can mean.”

The priority financial aid filing deadline for most colleges and universities for the Cal Grant and the CA Dream Act Application is March 2.  

Browne also recommends visiting your local community college or university early on and speaking with the financial aid office and ask plenty of questions about housing, transportation assistance, food resources and help with books.

Most of the 116 community college campuses in California offer emergency aid for immediate student needs like rent, car repairs, expired bus passes, or when a student is short on money because of time off work — although the resources across the campuses may vary. 

In the years that followed the pandemic, enrollment impacted all levels of higher education, not just community colleges and many experienced a significant enrollment decline that had nothing to do with college affordability, Browne said. 

“But what we’re seeing now is so exciting and encouraging because as California continues to recover, community college enrollment has rebounded back to the pre-pandemic levels,” she said. 

According to Browne, “California community colleges led the nation in enrollment growth and equity driven outcomes. We saw a 4.6% undergraduate increase in the 2024-25 academic year, whereas the national increase was 2.4% overall and 4% for community colleges. And the Promise Program does play into that. It’s removing that barrier of enrollment fees, and encouraging full-time attendance, which is removing barriers and helping students get through college sooner.”

Community colleges offer career degrees 

There are more than 200-degree programs available at California community colleges. 

“You can have a full career at a community college … as long as the path you want is offered,” Her said. 

Encouraged by a teacher, Her decided to enroll in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. She is currently at UC Davis, with a goal to land  in education or policy within the nursing field. 

“The benefit of having that additional degree is going to help you get better positions in your nursing career — not just being a bedside nurse. If you want to go into management, or you want to go into education, that’s where the higher degree is going to come into play. So, that’s what I really wanted. I wanted to maximize my nursing license and get to where I wanted to get to,” Her said. 

There are so many pathways at a community college. The most common is to complete two years of general education and transfer to a 4-year university. But that isn’t the only way; there are certification programs that allow students to work right away, while other students work on increasing their skills. 

For more information on California community colleges visit www.icangotocollege.com. 

This story is part of a six-part series called “Solving California,” a project of the Solving Sacramento journalism collaborative that explores models to improve California. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, CapRadio, Capitol Weekly, Hmong Daily News, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review and Sacramento Observer. Support stories like these here, and sign up for our monthly newsletter.