Best CCs in the country?

[yozoraahlf]

Santa Monica College!

[transfer2010]

I loved Norwalk Community College (NCC). Definitely the best CC in Connecticut.

[Sachin J]

De Anza College should crack any Top 3 list.

They consistently have one of the top 2 transfer rates in California, sending over a 100 each to Berkeley and UCLA annually.

They boast one of the best, if not the best, course selection out of any community college. For example, their political science department has multiple classes in grassroots organizing/theory--something most four year universities lack. Further proof comes from De Anza's Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies with an impressive list of environmental studies/science courses(about 20 to 30).

De Anza's professors are nothing short of the best. Most of them could probably teach at a number of prestigious four year universities(some do on the side like Stanford) but choose to invest in community college education.

De Anza's unique course selection, professor strength, and top transfer rate makes it one of the best community colleges in the country.

[majestic1]

I'm from Community College of Philadelphia, and I believe that students make the school.

[emilyburd]

Im last quarter at De Anza and transferring to UCLA---I have to say it is certainly the best.

Im also a political science major, and De Anza has some fantastic teachers.

De Anza College is certainyl the best, indeed

[FindAPlace]

Santa Monica College is hugely successful in getting its students transfered in to all levels of the UCs, USC, other privates and more. I know a guy who works in the dept that assists the students in doing so and SMC has this down to a science.

[mytime09]

I've heard good things about De Anza. I'd definitely go there if I lived closer to Cupertino. Skyline will do for me I guess.

[B Man 22]

I hear MC-Cubed (or Mercer County Community College) in West Windsor, NJ is one of the best CC's in the country. Of course I would never think of going there though.

[MHC2011]

Wow, I know too much about this.

In Connecticut, Manchester is considered the most successful, followed closely by Norwalk. Norwalk has way more financial resources, meaning they give more scholarship assistance to students and can provide more extensive programming in some cases, but Manchester's reputation for national recognition is untouched. (Quick example: It's the ONLY college in the country to have ever successfully nominated a Truman Scholar...and they've done it FIVE TIMES. Five Jack Kent Cooke Scholars, too, plus a slew of All-USA First Team members, Guistwhite Scholars, etc.) It also attracts more national faculty and administrators, though Norwalk is starting to catch up with that. Manchester is considered the flagship of the Connecticut system - check any news articles about the system, or the fact that for years, they were the only one to have articulation with UConn's liberal arts college - so sorry, Norwalk students, even though I love you and your school.

In New Hampshire, NHTI in Concord, definitely. I think the fact that they have a large residential population helps. In Massachusetts, you could make good arguments for several of them, but I would lean towards Quinsigamond in Worcester or MassBay in Wellesley - like with Manchester, you simply can't argue against their scholarship and transfer successes. Bunker Hill has a lot of success simply because of its sheer size, but they cater largely to ESL and developmental students.

A lot of the NYC community colleges are genuinely outstanding. Same for a lot of the Illinois ones, especially DuPage and Elgin. And Texas is really good to its system, especially with schools like Cy-Fair that serve as national models in a lot of ways. Valencia Community College in Florida is known for having the best honors program of any community college in the country, and Miami-Dade has a reputation for putting out really successful graduates. For California, Santa Monica and De Anza are givens, but don't forget colleges like Butte College that have amazing honors programs as well.

And yes, Mercer is really good, but oddly, so is Essex County College. You wouldn't think of a Newark college as attracting fantastic students, but they do. The New Jersey system as a whole is pretty exceptional.

Okay, enough from me. But this is my research area, so...you got me going.

Edit: Wait, forgot one thing. For people linking the so-called "rankings" for community colleges...those have been roundly trashed and discarded by researchers and advocacy groups, including the AACC and AAC&U. That survey was incredibly flawed and included a lot of colleges known for being UNsuccessful in a lot of ways, not shining stars. Just something to keep in mind.

[ivg1991]

Has there been someone successfully transferring to Berkeley with an engineering major from community colleges?

I've heard that though some of the courses in community colleges are hard, the science courses are so easy that students with majors in engineering would have a hard time transferring to Berkeley, UCLA or other top colleges.

[MHC2011]

ivg1991, it depends on the community college's sciences department. They're definitely not all the same. You have colleges like MassBay Community College, as one example, that fairly regularly put out Goldwater Scholars.

[missyujin]

Mt.SAC, represent!
Transferring after this semester. Got into UCSD, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and Boston College so far.

[ThisCouldBeHeavn]

That rankings' criteria are wrong. It should be about transfer opportunities, since that is basically the function of a CC. I suppose some people may just be in it for the AA or to learn some, but generally they just go to the local college.

[ivg1991]

Oh, I see. MHC2011, do you have any ideas on community colleges with good science departments?

I want to major in Computer Engineering. I applied to 6 schools in US, got rejected by all, so I'm planning to attend CC then transfer to those schools again, but my friend said that transferring to a top school with an engineering major from CC is nearly impossible. It's like they won't give a damn on the mediocre engineering courses you took in CC. What do guys think?

[tangapin]

buuuuuummmp