For Amy Tan, it all began at community college

0 Comments | USA TODAY, July, 2008 | by Angela Haupt and Mary Beth Marklein

Author Amy Tan, 56, whose best-selling novels include The Joy Luck Club and The Kitchen God's Wife, attended San Jose City College in California before transferring to San Jose State University.

Going to a community college "was a wonderful decision," she said at a meeting of the American Association of Community Colleges in April. "Perhaps it was the only decision I could have made. I didn't have a lot of money, and I was putting myself through college. I earned a little money working in a pizza parlor. Tuition back then was $10 per semester. I could afford that.

"We were like the $1.99 family where you went to the restaurant, and you took all you could, and you ate all you took. When I was in college, you could take as many courses as you wanted for the same...