Los Medanos College has a lot of new attendees during this unpredictable year. The fall semester may be difficult for incoming freshmen to adjust to full-on distance education, but new students are slowly figuring it out.

“I am attending Los Medanos because I had already taken classes that had credits towards LMC… and it’s great for transitioning into four year colleges,” said Anthony Crews. “Since I had a quarter of high school online, then I took summer classes for LMC, I found the adjustment to be a little bit easier.”

While remote learning has been easy for Crews, it has been harder for others who have to navigate how each class is run. 

“Distance learning is very difficult, everything seems more confusing than it needs to be and the different styles of teachers makes it hard to keep up,” said Miles Oria.

But LMC has helped many students out financially, taking some stress off their shoulders.

“Los Medanos was a great option for me, money wise and because of its transfer opportunities,” said Cesar Paredes.

Distance learning may have started out as a struggle but Paredes is quickly getting adapting.

“I got used to the distance learning pretty quickly, it wasn’t too hard of an adjustment,” he said.

Oria has taken the pledge for the First Time, Full Time, Free Tuition program being offered by the Contra Costa Community College District. 

The FT3 program is a pledge “to support you in understanding and navigating your college and career journey, provide free tuition for up to two academic years of college (fall and spring terms only), and commit to help you succeed in meeting your goals,” according to the district website.

To qualify for the program, a student must be a first-time college student, enroll in 12 or more units, be a California resident, and complete the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid or a California Dream Act application.

“The free tuition was a big factor, not having to pay for two years while getting the education I need is going to help me in the long run,” said Oria.

For any first time college students that are struggling with the transition to community college, LMC’s website has a list of online resources to ease the struggle.