Why the US? – Sean Lim (UCLA ’21)

The United States has always been my top choice for furthering my education. The diversity of people and the flexibility of choosing majors makes the United States one of the best education systems in the world. Most importantly, the idea of a community college in the United States intrigued me the most as it gives students a fresh start, discounted quality education, and the chance to transfer to a world-class university. 

Choosing to start in a community college for my U.S. education was one of the most important decisions I had made. During my time at Foothill College, the stigma was that many people make comparisons between community colleges and “real” colleges — perpetuating the idea that a community college education is somehow less valid than one from a traditional four-year university. Community college was crucial as it was a huge second chance for me. My high school results were not always the best to get into the universities that I want to attend. Most importantly, the idea of spending four years in a public/private university that would have substantial financial cost wasn’t attractive, especially with no financial aids/scholarships available to me at that time.

Fast forward to today, I am attending my dream university, UCLA with a transfer scholarship from my community college! My time at UCLA has been amazing, especially with its abundance of resources and its balance of academics and social life. If I had the chance to restart my education career, I would undoubtedly choose to begin at a community college again as it had taught and shown me things that I don’t think I could learn from anywhere else in the world.