This longitudinal study examines community college students' evolving perceptions on the value of developmental education. Through a series of semi-structured interviews, students described what they perceived of the advantages of beginning their college careers in developmental reading and writing classes. These advantages included becoming more skilled and confident writers, learning to read academically and for pleasure, and developing the ability to realistically assess their academic strengths and challenges. Additionally, students' initial perceptions of expediency as a marker of success evolved over time. Qualitative findings are juxtaposed against students' institutional records, which reveal positive outcomes in developmental coursework and credit-bearing English composition courses, but graduation rates that are consistent with those identified within larger-scale studies of developmental students in community college. Implications of these findings are considered in light of the burgeoning of accelerated workshop programs, aimed primarily at helping students circumvent developmental requirements and graduate as quickly as possible.