In 2011, Maria de Abreu Pineda, 22, moved with her family from Venezuela to New Jersey.

Moving to the United States got Pineda one step closer to her dream of obtaining a college degree, but she faced the huge hurdle that many prospective students do—the expensive cost of higher education.

According to College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees at a private four-year college for the 2015–2016 school year was $32,405. And at $23,890, the cost for a public four-year college doesn’t fall far behind.

Instead of taking on large amounts of debt, Pineda decided to attend a two-year community college. With the average cost of a community college at about $3,440, her decision would save her more than $200,000.

“A lot of students graduate with debt, and I didn’t want that,” explains Pineda. “So, with my brother’s guidance, I decided that I should attend a community college first and then transfer to a four-year university.”

Even though attending community college is far more affordable than a four-year school, only
about seven million students attended a two-year institution in the fall of 2015. About 13.2 million attended a four-year institution.

Pineda tells Yahoo Finance that one of the biggest misconceptions that people have about community college is that the quality of education isn’t as good as it is at four-year schools. But she believes it’s up to students to make the most out of their experiences.

During the two years Pineda attended New Jersey’s Bergen Community College, she took honors classes and excelled in her studies. The low cost of $2,670 per semester at Bergen allowed Pineda to pay off her Associate’s degree before she finished school.

After graduating with honors in 2014, Pineda transferred to Stevens Institute of Technology, a private university in Hoboken, N.J., that costs about $65,000 a year. In order to attend, Pineda applied for financial aid and more than 30 scholarships. The total awarded to her in grants and need-based financial aid adds up to about $200,000.

“Without scholarships I wouldn’t be able to go to Stevens,” she says. Out of the 30 applications she submitted, Pineda was awarded two that made her dreams possible—the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship (JKCF) and the Hispanic Business Council Scholarship Foundation (HBCSF).

Pineda is now enrolled in her last of three years at Stevens and will be graduating in May 2017 with a Bachelor of Engineering.

Although hard work and dedication have contributed to her success, Pineda largely credits her debt-free education to her decision to attend a community college.

“I’m passionate about promoting access to education,” Pineda tells Yahoo Finance, “I constantly go back to Bergen Community College to talk to other students about scholarship applications, tips and the different opportunities available.”

Read more:

How Visa is using Marvel’s superpowers to teach your kids about money

4 simple steps to take before you invest in the stock market

6 ways to teach your kids the most important lessons about money