Alyssa Indrajaya’s academic journey is a deeply personal one.

Her BA in Psychology and PhD in Cognitive Psychology was something borne out of a childhood where her grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, a disease that affects the brain and makes it hard for people to remember things, think clearly, and do everyday activities.

As hard as it was to receive such news, it sparked something in her and even her interest in psychology.

Usually, those interested in understanding Alzheimer’s or even dementia would pursue a degree in neurology. But for Indrajaya, psychology was where she wanted to dip her toes into.

“When I was researching possible pathways in psychology, I noticed there are several fields of it, and the most common one is clinical psychology,” she shares.

With Alzheimer’s being a brain disease, and how it can affect the behaviour, cognition, personality, and emotions, as well as how patients and families cope with the diagnosis, it seemed the right degree for Indrajaya.

Indrajaya completed a diploma in psychology from De Anza College in 2021. Source: Alyssa Indrajaya

Attending a community college is a cheaper option to study cognitive psychology at a top US university

Indrajaya began applying to schools in the US, with the University of California, Berkeley, as her top choice.

But she was rejected. What she did get into was Anza College, a community college in San Jose.

Before applying, Indrajaya already knew how expensive it would be to study in the US. Finance was a significant factor she had to consider when applying to universities in the US. Not only are the tuition fees expensive, but living costs are too, especially in California.

The tuition for international students at UC Berkeley is US$59,940 per year, with living costs estimated at over US$81,540 per year — a total of US$141,480 for just one year of studies.

It was too much. 

So, when Indrajaya learnt that she had been accepted into a community college, she came up with an idea — attend a cheaper, smaller school, then apply for a transfer to UC Berkeley for years three and four.

And that’s what she did.

Attending De Anza College would cost only US$26,907 per year for tuition and living costs, 80.90% cheaper than attending UC Berkeley. 

Indrajaya spent two years at De Anza College and applied for a transfer.

This time, she was accepted to UC Berkeley to finish her final two years of her undergraduate degree.

“It really helped alleviate the financial burden,” she shares. “I’m incredibly fortunate to have my parents and privileged that they can afford to send me abroad. I think my parents didn’t want to send me abroad to study, but to help develop my sense of independence and understanding of how the world works.”

Indrajaya was born and raised in Indonesia. Source: Alyssa Indrajaya

The stigma of community colleges

As amazing as her accomplishment is, to some people, attending a community college isn’t something to brag about.

In fact, there’s a stigma surrounding it.

Community colleges are often seen as “inferior” and are populated with “unmotivated” students. 

A Reddit commentator shared his story about attending community college: “There’s definitely a stigma, but don’t let that stop you. I hated myself during my senior year of high school because my sister and I were the only ones out of our whole class going to a CC, and it was my mum’s decision. Everyone looked down on us for it, but we couldn’t afford uni fresh out [of high school] anyway.”

Indrajaya, too, has received the same sentiments.

“No one has said it straight to my face, but hearing around the grapevine, people have mentioned that attending community college was less prestigious compared to going to a four-year university,” Indrajaya shares. “You don’t need to sit for the SATs to get into a community college, yet you need one for a four-year university. So, that’s another ‘prestige’ they talk about.”

The good news is that Indrajaya never had to experience discrimination though  she did feel “rushed” when she started classes at UC Berkeley. 

 

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“I only had two years to take all the required courses needed to graduate,” she explains. “So, it was rushed. That’s one trade-off.” 

Another trade-off is that she won’t have the usual university experience. Attending a four-year university means that you’ll be able to stay in the dorms and join events for freshmen. That wasn’t the case for Indrajaya. 

Either way, she believes that this was the best decision she has made for her education.

“At the end of the day, we all graduate with the same certificate,” Indrajaya concludes. “You just need to evaluate the challenges you’ll face and which would give you a better option.”

Today, Indrajaya is pursuing her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the National University of Singapore.