After moving through four years of high school, roughly 620 out of 629 students in the senior class will graduate on June 9.

Some of these soon-to-be graduates have come to Cam High within the past year, while others have attended for their entire high school career. Unfortunately, not everyone in the senior class will be able to graduate this year; however, many of those that will have bright futures ahead of them, starting with plans for a college education whether at a university or a community college.

Austin Torrence, senior, came to Cam High at the beginning of this year. He previously lived in Brazil, where he attended an international school in Brasilia. When he first came to Cam High, he realized that some of the classes he took in Brazil, such as Portuguese as a foreign language, would not count toward high school credits because those classes are not provided here.

In addition, he did not take other classes in Brazil, such as health, that one would typically take freshman year. To make up for these credit deficiencies he is currently taking health, as well as other subjects that will allow him to graduate in June with the rest of his peers.

Torrence has already committed to Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, where he plans on majoring in either Computer Science or Game Design. “I was looking for a school with a smaller than average population,” he said. “The campus and the city both had a very friendly environment.”

Although some students will be going out-of-state to study, many have chosen to stay local and attend either a University of California school, California State University school, or city college.

Jonathan Rosales, senior, made his decision to attend Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) during the fall semester, primarily because according to SBCC it was one of the nation’s best community colleges in 2014. “I want to get into Graphic Design because it’s interesting to me, and I have some basic knowledge about the subject already,” said Rosales.

Similar to Torrence, Rosales had his fair share of difficulties when he transferred from his previous school in northern California to Cam High. “I didn’t have my A-G requirements when I came to Cam, and by the time I found that out here, it was too late to apply to a UC or CSU,” he said.

On the other hand, Jordan Haliday, who has attended Cam High for all four years, is split between Gonzaga University and the University of San Diego for mechanical engineering, with his final decision depending on which college gives greater financial aid. “I like math, science, problem solving, and I like to build things, so I would [like] to be able to use those skills as a part of my career,” he said.

Despite college enrollment dropping in the past two years, the argument between two-year and four-year colleges has been something of a hot topic, and there is no one definite answer as to which one is better for incoming college freshmen.

“If money’s not an issue, it’s not even close,” said Mr. Thomas Taketa, Cam High counselor. “Not to demean community college professors, but all university professors do hold PhD’s, which means that they’re experts in their fields, so I do think the quality of education is a step up.”

Although four-year schools may be a step up in education, Mrs. Christina Bruggman, also a Cam High counselor, believes that community colleges still have some benefits.

“Saving money is an obvious reason to take the community college route,” she said. “Universities favor college juniors over freshmen as they’ve completed a two-year degree to show that they’ve stuck to their plan, as well as having matured and experienced a bit more of life.”