If you complete an AA or AS degree you will have the benefit of compact and/or course equivalency agreements which have been negotiated with four-year colleges and universities that allow you to transfer as a junior.
AA degree completion also fulfills the lower division general education courses of most transfer schools.
The AS degree contains additional math and science requirements. In most cases, students transferring to an Illinois 4-year college or university will complete the lower division general education courses after transfer (one additional course in Humanities or Fine Arts and one additional course in Social and Behavioral Sciences).