A college education is condign more and more essential for people who want to be competitive in today's job market place.

Best Community Colleges Badge

And these days, from the best online colleges to the best distance learning programs, accessibility and affordability is the name of the game. In this regard the nation's over 1600 customs colleges take been leading the style for a long time. As the name implies, community colleges serve communities. They grant two-year acquaintance degrees, certificates, credentials, and diplomas that set graduates for a fulfilling career or successful transfer to a baccalaureate plan. Many offering continuing and adult education courses. Some offer dual-credit programs to area loftier school students. In these means and many more than, community colleges—often called inferior colleges, city colleges, or technical colleges—have a tremendous bear on on their region and its population.

Sponsored Schools

According to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), 44 percent of all undergraduate college students are enrolled at a customs college. Community colleges offering students the opportunity to relieve coin, prepare for transfer to a 4-twelvemonth higher, become ready for a career, attempt out college, and/or take reward of a flexible schedule. There are many practiced reasons to consider a customs college as your first footstep into higher teaching. Here are five of the most common:

  • Community colleges are affordable! The AACC reports that in the academic year 2016-17, the average estimate of full-time cost for a educatee to nourish a customs higher was $17,000, which included an average $3,520 for tuition, $viii,060 for room and board, $1,390 for books and supplies, $one,760 for transportation, and $two,270 for other expenses. Students ofttimes pay much less than the "sticker price" after educatee assistance and other benefits are factored in. In comparison, in-country students at public four-yr schools tin can expect to pay closer to $25,000; out-of-land students approach $40,000; and students at private schools can pay $50,000 or more per year.
  • Community colleges are inclusive! Community colleges do not have stringent admissions standards that require high scores on an admissions tests or a certain grade-signal average from high schoolhouse. In most cases, anyone with a high school diploma or equivalent can enroll. More and more customs colleges are making it easier for high school students to enroll in college courses while even so in loftier school, often earning high schoolhouse and college credit simultaneously. Starting at a customs college gives students a chance to better a loftier schoolhouse record before transferring to a academy. Open access does not necessarily hateful that students can take whatever course they want. Students usually are given placement examinations and then advised or placed into developmental courses if they are not upwardly to college-level work.
  • Community colleges are a part of your community! Most customs colleges are supported by local taxes. So the best of them work at having a positive influence in the community. Other than the obvious mode of providing affordable higher educational activity, community colleges also piece of work with area companies to stay beside of the workforce needs in the region. They make adjustments to their programs and curricula to meet those needs quite often, whether information technology is through a caste program, a career enhancement class, an adult education grade, or a technical certification program. Community colleges keep a finger on the pulse of the community.
  • Community colleges are user-friendly! Considering they are in touch with their communities, customs colleges offering classes at times and locations that are convenient for students in those communities. Classes are often offered at several locations, during the day, in the evenings, or on weekends. An abundance of online and hybrid courses provide more alternatives to brand education convenient to those who must fit school around piece of work or family responsibilities. Many community colleges even offering childcare services for the parent-student. And class sizes are typically smaller at community colleges compared to similar courses at iv-year institutions.
  • Community colleges are diverse! Community colleges have the nearly diverse group of students. Students of the widest array of age, ethnicity, degree of ability, socioeconomic status, nationality, and much more attend community colleges. The opportunity to interact with and learn from students with many different backgrounds and life experiences is another big advantage of attention a community college. The diversity at community colleges, in some ways, meliorate prepares students for life in our diverse world. Only in addition to having diverse students, community colleges also accept various programs. Customs colleges offer both vocational programs and academic transfer programs. For case, customs colleges prepare nearly of the nation'due south registered nurses, police force officers, paramedics, firefighters, and advanced-skill technicians.

What Are the All-time Community Colleges?

College Pick has correlated data from Aspen Plant'southward College Excellence Program, Payscale, and individual community colleges to compile a list of the l best community colleges in the land. We considered several factors in developing an institutional operation score, including get-go year retentiveness rates, 3-year graduation rates, credentials awarded, etc. We also factored percentage of not-traditional and minority students, percentage of Pell grants, and minority graduation rates in guild to create a diversity score. Finally, we compared in-district tuition rates and potential bacon to give us a sense of the return on investment. Since much of the focus at College Choice is on helping you lot choose a higher, we did not consider schools that did not offer an associate caste, and nosotros eliminated those schools where acquaintance degrees were an exceptionally low percentage of their almanac awards. In the finish, we believe these l schools represent the best of what can be a wise conclusion for many prospective college students.

Meridian ten Best Community Colleges

See our rankings methodology page.

  1. Santa Barbara Urban center Higher

    Location

    Santa Barbara, CA

    Founded in 1909, Santa Barbara Urban center Higher (SBCC) is the oldest of California's 113 customs colleges. It is located in the Santa Barbara Mesa on a 74-acre bluff overlooking the Pacific Body of water. The college serves all of Santa Barbara County besides every bit many others who are attracted to the beautiful setting of the California coast.

    SBCC is a fully accredited customs higher that offers over lxxx degrees and over fifty career technical programs, grooming in a wide range of career technical fields, and transfer programs that provide the showtime two years of study toward the baccalaureate degree. Over 30,000 students nourish SBCC in some capacity. Of those, more than than 28% are full-time students. Each year over 2000 students earn a degree, nearly 1500 are awarded a document, and shut to 3500 transfer to a 4-twelvemonth institution. Ii out of every three full-time students who begin at SBCC graduate inside three years, a rate well over the national average.

    The schoolhouse'south Transfer Admission Guarantee partners with seven University of California campuses, California State University Channel Islands, and one private/independent higher. And its Transfer Academy provides comprehensive support services to empower, inform, and educate students seeking to transfer to one of these or many other four-year institutions.

    The student torso is as diverse as the degree programs offered. Over a third of SBCC's students are Hispanic, over half are female person, and most a 3rd are over the age of 25.

  2. Broward College

    Location

    Fort Lauderdale, FL

    Established in 1959 on the western edge of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Aerodrome, Broward College is role of the Florida Higher System and at present has 3 campuses and several centers throughout Broward County. The school also has iv International Centers located outside the United states of america, each of them offer standard, face-to-face Broward Higher courses identical to those taught in Florida, including complete associate caste programs.

    More than 63,000 students enroll in classes at Broward College each twelvemonth, helping the schoolhouse to rank 5th for the number of acquaintance degrees conferred annually. In addition to having a large number of students, Broward also boasts one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation, with students from over 180 countries. Of the more 5700 degrees awarded, African Americans earned over 1700 and Hispanic students earned over 1800, placing Broward College in the top 5 for both.

    Students at Broward have over 140 programs from which to cull. These programs lead to one of 4 certificates, 3 associate degrees, or three baccalaureate degrees. Over 4300 one-year certificates are awarded each yr. However, near a two-thirds of awards are are 2- to 3-year associate degrees. Earning the Associate of Arts degree guarantees graduates successful transfer into 1 of Florida's four-yr state colleges or public universities.

  3. The nearly 16,000 students who nourish Santa Fe College choose from more than fifty accredited technology and applied sciences programs, most of which are ii-year degrees. The bulk of Santa Iron students attend classes at the main campus in northwest Gainesville, though the school has half dozen other centers throughout Alachua and Bradford counties. Founded by the Florida Legislature in 1966 and at present a office of the Florida College System, Santa Fe College is ane of the tiptop ten colleges in the nation for number of Associate of Arts degrees awarded.

    Awards are given in three categories. The Associate of Arts degree consists primarily of liberal arts and sciences courses. The programme culminates in a 2-year liberal arts degree that tin be transferred to most institutions offering bachelor'southward degrees. The descriptions, course numbers, and content of classes at Santa Iron are the aforementioned as those in the kickoff 2 years at Florida's public universities. Santa Fe's liberal arts courses are as well transferable to most public and private four-yr schools in the U.s.a..

    The Technology and Applied Science Program consists of courses designed to prepare students for careers in skilled professions. Some of these courses are transferable to a four-year college or academy. Almost atomic number 82 to a degree or certificate. Finally, Santa Fe College offers eight bachelor'south degrees: Clinical Laboratory Science, Early Childhood Educational activity, Health Services Administration, Industrial Biotechnology, Data Systems Applied science, Multimedia and Video Production Technology, Nursing, and Organizational Direction.

  4. Flint Hills Technical Higher

    In 1963 the Emporia Board of Education founded a vocational and technical school that would come up to exist known as Flint Hills Technical College (FHTC). Information technology wasn't until 1995 that FHTC began awarding associate degrees. The school became an contained institution in 2004. In a short amount of time FHTC has grown to a much respected school for vocational grooming, career development, and educational preparedness.

    FHTC has 19 programs of study for its over i,000 students that respond to today's technical manufacture needs, through dynamic easily-on teaching and real-world experience. The master focus of the schoolhouse is vocational and technical grooming, still over a quarter of the awards are associate degrees, giving many students the opportunity to transfer to 4-year institutions.

    Flint Hills Technical College is proud to take a high-tech, hands-on approach toward education that offers flexible training options for its students. To that end, FHTC has several agile pupil organizations, offers excellent job placement and career services, and provides quality hybrid and online courses. The school also offers several ways for high school students to begin earning college credit even before graduating from high school. There are 16 Acquaintance of Applied Scientific discipline Degrees, 14 Technical Certificates, and vii Licensure/Certificate Programs targeted to give students real globe skills and experience. The schoolhouse prides itself on having smaller than normal course sizes with an average of 15:ane student to kinesthesia ratio.

  5. Opened in 1974, Los Medanos College is situated in eastern Contra Costa County, California forth the Sacramento River and in the foothills of Mt. Diablo. The school is one of three community colleges in the Contra Costa Customs Higher District. Los Medanos has a beautiful 120-acre campus that has increased classroom space by 50% in the last x years. The 9,000 students each semester savor the updated facilities, the friendly atmosphere and ethos, and the idyllic surroundings of Pittsburg, CA.

    Los Medanos offers over thirty associate degrees and over 20 certificates of achievement. About 60% of students receive an associate caste, while many others get certification in a specialized career, and still others take courses to enhance career skills. The many excellent student resources include a state of the art library; science, math, and music report labs; more than 700 computers for student use; career center; free tutoring for electric current students; Honors Scholars program; and several learning communities and special academic programs. The Transfer Academy works with students to structure a curriculum for a successful move from Los Medanos to a four-yr establishment. Nigh 30% of students who consummate coursework at Los Medanos transfer to a college or university offering baccalaureate degrees.

    Non merely are the educational possibilities countless, Los Medanos boasts an extremely various pupil torso, with no one ethnic group comprising a bulk. Hispanic students brand upward the largest ethnic group at 39%; white non-Hispanic students are 27% of the educatee population; and fifteen% of the student body is African American.

  6. Ii hours east of Dallas, TX and an hr west of Shreveport, LA, rests Kilgore Higher (KC), home of the earth-famous Kilgore Higher Rangerettes, the first precision dance team in the world. But Kilgore Higher is more than home of the Rangerettes; it services residents of 20 school districts in the Pineywoods of Northeast Texas with numerous degree, vocational, and standing education programs. Over 7700 students enroll in credit and non-credit courses each yr.

    Founded in 1935, KC's original curriculum was designed to serve university-bound students, but today, the college also offers education and training in wide variety of workforce programs. Well over one-half of all awards given are acquaintance degrees. Kilgore College promotes piece of cake access through admissible admission, distance learning opportunities, dual credit courses, developmental education, and a comprehensive fiscal help programme.

    In addition to its renown for the Rangerettes and its prominence every bit one of the almost affordable community colleges in the state of Texas, Kilgore Higher is also home to the East Texas OIl Museum, which houses a large collection of memorabilia documenting the catamenia of Texas history in which the higher was founded. And for the last 32 years information technology has been host to the annual summertime Texas Shakespeare Festival.

  7. Palm Beach State Higher (PBSC) was founded in 1933 as Palm Beach Junior College and was the beginning public junior higher in the state of Florida. The college'south initial goal was to provide additional training to local high school graduates who were unable to find jobs during the Great Low. Today PBSC enrolls nearly 49,000 students in over 130 programs of written report for associate degrees, baccalaureate degrees, or short-term certificates.

    The about pop programs of study for the over 7200 degrees and certificates awarded annually are the acquaintance in arts degree and the various vocational certificates. Over 3500 Associate of Arts degrees and over 2700 certificates are awarded each yr. Amid the nearly 700 acquaintance in science degrees awarded, the nursing plan has the highest enrollment and number of graduates. In 2009, the college started its beginning baccalaureate programme, a Bachelor of Engineering caste in Supervision & Management. Palm Beach State at present offers three bachelor'south degrees in six tracks and averages most 300 graduates each year.

    PBSC is proud of its diverse student population. Over 156 countries are represented among its student body, and no indigenous group constitutes a bulk. The school as well enrolls over 15,000 students in distance learning programs, broadening its touch on in Florida and beyond. And its Honors College provides over 430 students an opportunity for academic achievement in a highly stimulating environment, a mentoring relationship with an teacher, and a context for developing patterns of bookish excellence.

  8. Though only approaching fifty years of beingness, Valencia Higher in Orlando, FL has distinguished itself as 1 of the largest and all-time community colleges in the nation. Valencia has several campus locations in Orlando with additional campus locations in Wintertime Park and Kissimmee. It is ranked 4th in the The states for the number of associate degrees awarded annually, and it is second in the number of 1-year certificates.

    Even with an annual enrollment of over 68,000 students, Valencia is able to maintain an boilerplate class size of just 23 students. Valencia offers over 120 programs, offering certificates and associate degrees. Many of the associate degrees are final, just most are part of a transfer plan. Valencia has a unique but popular avenue for transferring to the Academy of Cardinal Florida through its DirectConnect program. The program guarantees Valencia graduates admission and a smoothen transition to UCF. Approximately 45,000 students have indicated that they are DirectConnect students. Nearly 25 percent of UCF's upper division students originated from Valencia in 2011.

    The Valencia Foundation's $68 million endowment is nearly 12 times the average community college endowment, which reflects an abnormally big commitment of local business, organizations, and individuals, including the foundation's board of directors. In improver to the large community back up, Valencia also reflects the diverseness of its region. Its educatee body is made up of nearly 18% African American students, shut to v% Asian/Pacific Islanders, and a nearly equal number of Hispanic and Caucasian students at 32.v% apiece. With these big numbers it is no surprise that Valencia ranks 5th in the country for the number of associate degrees awarded to Hispanics and 7th for the number awarded to African Americans.

mini icon

Online College Resources

Helping you prepare and gain the nigh out of your educational experience.


Discover a programme that is correct for you.

Search schools to find the plan that is right for you lot.