Giovanny Aguirre

Block 6

February 7, 2019

College Comparative Analysis Essay

For years I thought about going to college except choosing one to attend. At first I

thought college was for the gifted people, but as time passed on college was for those who want

a career that they can delighted. For some time I had trouble deciding which college I wanted to

attend because I did not know where to begin. During my senior year at high school I was

assigned to research 2 colleges of my choice for my senior defense. My top 2 choices are Los

Angeles Trade-Tech and East Los Angeles College, of the two colleges the one I plan to attend is

Los Angeles Trade-Tech.

One of the reasons I chose Trade-Tech was the cost of tuition. The cost of tuition for

Trade-Tech is $1,198 compared to Elac tuition cost $1,222, although the cost is relatively the

same the california promise grants me the first year of tuition free. The cost for books at

Trade-Tech is $1,710 compared to Elac’s cost of $1,840 having a difference of $130 which is the

average cost of a textbook which it gives me more money to save. With the FAFSA that I have

filled out I will be able to use the money for other expenses like helping out with the rent, metro

pass and laundry. This means a lot to me since my family is low income.

Although Trade-Tech has the major I want the graduation rate for Trade-Tech is 7.7%

compared to Elac’s graduation rate of 11.2% making it a difference of 4.5%, that being said it

shows that Trade-Tech is a bit harder than Elac. Throughout my research I found out that the

counselor to student ratio at La Trade-Tech is 1 counselor for every 2,000 students and there are

9 counselors compared to Elac for 1 counselor for every 2,800 students while having a total of 10
counselors. Although Elac has more counselors they do have more students to address, but with

Trade-Tech I will be able to communicate with my counselor more often than I would at Elac.

Getting to the either one of the two colleges also weighed in my favor to attend at

Trade-Tech. I had to look at what routes I need to take to arrive at the two colleges and from my

home to Trade-Tech all I have to do is walk 4 or 5 blocks and take the blue line at Florence

Station and get off at Grand / LATTC Station, plus the metro has partnered up with a few

colleges where I would pay $150 every semester for a Tap card and get on the trains and busses

and the card will cover it. Elac however was not on the list so I have $100 for every 30 days I

would have to walk to Holmes / Florence, take the 110 bus and get off at Gage / Atlantic, take

the 762 bus and get off at Atlantic / Riggin and walk to Elac. The plan to Elac would be a bit

difficult as traffic can affect the arrival to any bus.

This assignment has opened up my eyes a lot. I not only have to look at the admission

requirements, but I have took look at what I would be majoring and how much I would need to

pay with the financial aid I would receive. I needed to see how I would get to school or would I

have to live at a dorm. I didn’t realize how important this process was it really made me grow up

a lot. With this when I want to transfer to a 4 year university I will look into all this information.