Eversince Alberto Perez was a kid growing up in Dove Springs, he knew he wanted to go to UT Austin.
鈥淚 remember telling my mom, pointing at the tower, saying, 'that鈥檚 where I鈥檓 going to go to school,'" Perez remembers.
Perez went to Austin's Liberal Arts and Science Academy, a magnet school that's considered one of the best public high schools in the country. But during his senior year he separated a disc in his neck and tore his rotator cuff playing football with his friends. He started missing school to go see doctors. Then he started failing some classes. He was nervous he wouldn鈥檛 graduate on time, so he transferred to his neighborhood school, Akins High School. There, he discovered what he wanted to do with his life.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 where I actually took my first accounting class, and that鈥檚 where I actually fell in love with accounting,鈥� Perez says.
Perez graduated high school on time, but his GPA had taken a hit. It wasn鈥檛 high enough to get into UT. He and his parents decided he should enroll at Austin Community College.
鈥淚 took all the pre[requisites]," Perez says. "I took all my English classes, my math classes. I even took an accounting class there.鈥�
Plus, it was cheaper at ACC. Perez spent two and a half years there before he was accepted to UT. But when he transferred, he didn鈥檛 leave with an associate degree.
鈥淭he way I took my classes were [that] they didn鈥檛 really pertain to a degree. It was just all these courses are transferrable to UT. So, they gave me a list, and I just kind of checked them off one by one," he says.
Perez isn鈥檛 the only student to transfer from community college without getting an associate degree or certificate. In Texas, only 18 percent of the community college students who transfer to four-year colleges do so with more than a high school diploma.
鈥淏ecause they don鈥檛 see a clear path and because what they want is a bachelor鈥檚 degree, they jump ship early and they go to the university," says Davis Jenkins, who led .
Jenkins says even though students might take community college courses that transfer to a four-year school, the courses might not apply to their major.
鈥淚t means their education is going to be more expensive, and for the taxpayer it鈥檚 going to be more expensive," Jenkins says.
When students transfer without the associate degree or a certificate, Jenkins says they鈥檙e taking a risk. , a majority of Texas students who transfer to a four-year college don鈥檛 get their bachelor鈥檚 degrees within six years. Many have to fall back on their high school diploma, which limits their job potential. Perez says he understands that reality.
鈥淣owadays it鈥檚 so hard to get a job with just a high school diploma and even an associate degree," says Perez. "I mean, it鈥檚 some education, but I still feel like that's hard to get a job with.鈥�
ACC and UT have for students who want to transfer to a four-year college, including for specific majors. Perez says that was what he focused on.
鈥淚 never really had intentions to get an associate degree," Perez says. "It was always just, 'I鈥檓 going to UT. I鈥檓 going to a four-year college.' And, honestly, getting an associate degree wasn鈥檛 really brought up a lot when I would talk to counselors there. It was just kind of, 'Oh, if you want to transfer, these are the courses you should take.鈥欌��
Now a junior at UT Austin鈥檚McComb鈥檚School of Business, Perez says when he transferred, he was a few courses away from getting multiple associate degrees.
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