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

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 community colleges have been leading the mode for a long fourth dimension. As the name implies, community colleges serve communities. They grant two-twelvemonth associate degrees, certificates, credentials, and diplomas that prepare graduates for a fulfilling career or successful transfer to a baccalaureate program. Many offer standing and adult education courses. Some offer dual-credit programs to expanse high school students. In these ways and many more than, community colleges—often called junior colleges, city colleges, or technical colleges—have a tremendous impact on their region and its population.

Sponsored Schools

According to the American Association of Customs Colleges (AACC), 44 percent of all undergraduate higher students are enrolled at a community college. Customs colleges offer students the opportunity to relieve money, prepare for transfer to a four-yr college, get set up for a career, attempt out higher, and/or take advantage of a flexible schedule. There are many good reasons to consider a community higher every bit your first step into higher education. Here are v of the near common:

  • Community colleges are affordable! The AACC reports that in the bookish year 2016-17, the average estimate of total-time price for a student to attend a community college was $17,000, which included an boilerplate $3,520 for tuition, $8,060 for room and board, $i,390 for books and supplies, $1,760 for transportation, and $2,270 for other expenses. Students ofttimes pay much less than the "sticker cost" after student assistance and other benefits are factored in. In comparing, in-state students at public four-twelvemonth schools can look to pay closer to $25,000; out-of-land students approach $twoscore,000; and students at private schools can pay $l,000 or more per yr.
  • Community colleges are inclusive! Community colleges exercise non have stringent admissions standards that require high scores on an admissions tests or a sure grade-betoken average from high school. In most cases, anyone with a high schoolhouse diploma or equivalent can enroll. More and more customs colleges are making it easier for high school students to enroll in college courses while still in loftier schoolhouse, often earning high school and college credit simultaneously. Starting at a customs college gives students a chance to improve a high schoolhouse tape earlier transferring to a university. Open up admission does not necessarily hateful that students tin can have any course they want. Students usually are given placement examinations and and then advised or placed into developmental courses if they are not upwardly to college-level work.
  • Customs colleges are a function of your community! Nearly customs colleges are supported past local taxes. So the best of them work at having a positive influence in the community. Other than the obvious way of providing affordable higher education, community colleges also work with surface area companies to stay abreast of the workforce needs in the region. They make adjustments to their programs and curricula to meet those needs quite ofttimes, whether it is through a caste plan, a career enhancement course, an adult education class, or a technical certification program. Customs colleges keep a finger on the pulse of the community.
  • Customs colleges are convenient! Because they are in touch with their communities, customs colleges offer classes at times and locations that are user-friendly for students in those communities. Classes are often offered at several locations, during the twenty-four hour period, in the evenings, or on weekends. An abundance of online and hybrid courses provide more than alternatives to make educational activity convenient to those who must fit school around work or family unit responsibilities. Many customs colleges fifty-fifty offering childcare services for the parent-educatee. And class sizes are typically smaller at community colleges compared to similar courses at 4-year institutions.
  • Community colleges are diverse! Community colleges take the most diverse group of students. Students of the widest array of historic period, ethnicity, degree of ability, socioeconomic status, nationality, and much more than nourish community colleges. The opportunity to collaborate with and learn from students with many different backgrounds and life experiences is another big reward of attention a community college. The multifariousness at community colleges, in some means, amend prepares students for life in our various world. Just in improver to having diverse students, customs colleges likewise have diverse programs. Community colleges offering both vocational programs and academic transfer programs. For instance, community colleges prepare almost of the nation's registered nurses, law officers, paramedics, firefighters, and advanced-skill technicians.

What Are the Best Community Colleges?

College Choice has correlated information from Aspen Plant's Higher Excellence Plan, Payscale, and individual community colleges to compile a list of the 50 best community colleges in the land. We considered several factors in developing an institutional operation score, including first year retention rates, three-twelvemonth graduation rates, credentials awarded, etc. We likewise factored percentage of non-traditional and minority students, pct of Pell grants, and minority graduation rates in order to create a diverseness score. Finally, nosotros compared in-district tuition rates and potential salary to requite united states a sense of the render on investment. Since much of the focus at Higher Choice is on helping y'all choose a college, we did not consider schools that did non offer an acquaintance degree, and we eliminated those schools where acquaintance degrees were an exceptionally low per centum of their annual awards. In the end, we believe these fifty schools represent the best of what tin can be a wise decision for many prospective college students.

Top x Best Community Colleges

Encounter our rankings methodology folio.

  1. Santa Barbara Urban center Higher

    Location

    Santa Barbara, CA

    Founded in 1909, Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) is the oldest of California's 113 community colleges. Information technology is located in the Santa Barbara Mesa on a 74-acre bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The college serves all of Santa Barbara County likewise as many others who are attracted to the beautiful setting of the California coast.

    SBCC is a fully accredited customs college that offers over eighty degrees and over fifty career technical programs, grooming in a wide range of career technical fields, and transfer programs that provide the first two years of study toward the baccalaureate degree. Over 30,000 students attend SBCC in some capacity. Of those, more than 28% are full-fourth dimension students. Each year over 2000 students earn a degree, nearly 1500 are awarded a document, and shut to 3500 transfer to a 4-year establishment. 2 out of every three full-time students who begin at SBCC graduate within iii years, a charge per unit well over the national boilerplate.

    The school's Transfer Access Guarantee partners with seven University of California campuses, California State University Channel Islands, and one individual/independent college. And its Transfer Academy provides comprehensive back up services to empower, inform, and educate students seeking to transfer to one of these or many other 4-twelvemonth institutions.

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

  2. Broward Higher

    Location

    Fort Lauderdale, FL

    Established in 1959 on the western border of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Drome, Broward Higher is part of the Florida Higher Organisation and now has three campuses and several centers throughout Broward County. The school likewise has four International Centers located outside the U.s.a., each of them offering standard, contiguous Broward College courses identical to those taught in Florida, including complete associate caste programs.

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

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

  3. The about sixteen,000 students who attend Santa Fe College cull from more than 50 accredited technology and practical sciences programs, near of which are two-year degrees. The bulk of Santa Atomic number 26 students nourish classes at the master campus in northwest Gainesville, though the school has vi other centers throughout Alachua and Bradford counties. Founded by the Florida Legislature in 1966 and now a function of the Florida College Organisation, Santa Atomic number 26 College is one of the meridian x 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 program culminates in a ii-year liberal arts caste that can be transferred to near institutions offering available's degrees. The descriptions, form numbers, and content of classes at Santa Fe are the same as those in the first two years at Florida's public universities. Santa Iron'southward liberal arts courses are also transferable to most public and private 4-yr schools in the US.

    The Engineering science and Engineering Programme consists of courses designed to ready students for careers in skilled professions. Some of these courses are transferable to a four-year college or academy. Most lead to a degree or certificate. Finally, Santa Fe College offers 8 bachelor's degrees: Clinical Laboratory Science, Early on Childhood Education, Wellness Services Assistants, Industrial Biotechnology, Information Systems Applied science, Multimedia and Video Production Engineering science, Nursing, and Organizational Direction.

  4. Flint Hills Technical College

    In 1963 the Emporia Lath of Education founded a vocational and technical school that would come to exist known as Flint Hills Technical College (FHTC). It wasn't until 1995 that FHTC began awarding associate degrees. The schoolhouse became an independent 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 nineteen programs of written report for its over 1,000 students that respond to today'due south technical industry needs, through dynamic easily-on education and existent-world experience. The primary focus of the schoolhouse is vocational and technical training, yet over a quarter of the awards are acquaintance degrees, giving many students the opportunity to transfer to four-twelvemonth institutions.

    Flintstone Hills Technical College is proud to have a high-tech, hands-on approach toward educational activity that offers flexible training options for its students. To that end, FHTC has several active student organizations, offers splendid task placement and career services, and provides quality hybrid and online courses. The school as well offers several ways for loftier school students to begin earning higher credit even before graduating from high schoolhouse. There are 16 Acquaintance of Applied Science Degrees, 14 Technical Certificates, and 7 Licensure/Certificate Programs targeted to requite students existent world skills and experience. The school prides itself on having smaller than normal form sizes with an average of 15:ane pupil to faculty 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 ane of three community colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District. Los Medanos has a cute 120-acre campus that has increased classroom space by 50% in the last ten years. The nine,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 twenty certificates of achievement. About 60% of students receive an associate degree, while many others become certification in a specialized career, and nevertheless others accept courses to enhance career skills. The many fantabulous student resource include a state of the art library; science, math, and music study labs; more than 700 computers for educatee use; career center; free tutoring for electric current students; Honors Scholars programme; 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-twelvemonth establishment. Well-nigh thirty% of students who complete coursework at Los Medanos transfer to a college or university offering baccalaureate degrees.

    Not just are the educational possibilities endless, Los Medanos boasts an extremely diverse student body, with no i ethnic group comprising a bulk. Hispanic students make up the largest ethnic group at 39%; white not-Hispanic students are 27% of the student population; and 15% of the student torso is African American.

  6. Two hours east of Dallas, TX and an 60 minutes westward of Shreveport, LA, rests Kilgore College (KC), home of the world-famous Kilgore College Rangerettes, the showtime precision dance squad in the earth. But Kilgore College is more than home of the Rangerettes; it services residents of twenty school districts in the Pineywoods of Northeast Texas with numerous degree, vocational, and continuing education programs. Over 7700 students enroll in credit and non-credit courses each yr.

    Founded in 1935, KC'due south original curriculum was designed to serve academy-bound students, but today, the college as well offers education and grooming in wide multifariousness of workforce programs. Well over half of all awards given are associate degrees. Kilgore College promotes piece of cake access through open-door admission, distance learning opportunities, dual credit courses, developmental education, and a comprehensive fiscal assistance program.

    In improver to its renown for the Rangerettes and its prominence as 1 of the about affordable customs colleges in the state of Texas, Kilgore College is too home to the East Texas OIl Museum, which houses a large collection of memorabilia documenting the period of Texas history in which the college was founded. And for the final 32 years information technology has been host to the annual summer Texas Shakespeare Festival.

  7. Palm Beach State Higher (PBSC) was founded in 1933 as Palm Beach Junior Higher and was the showtime public inferior college in the state of Florida. The college'southward initial goal was to provide additional training to local loftier school graduates who were unable to find jobs during the Bully 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 most popular 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 twelvemonth. Amidst the about 700 associate in science degrees awarded, the nursing program has the highest enrollment and number of graduates. In 2009, the higher started its first baccalaureate plan, a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Supervision & Direction. Palm Beach State now offers three bachelor'south degrees in six tracks and averages near 300 graduates each year.

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

  8. Though simply budgeted fifty years of existence, Valencia College in Orlando, FL has distinguished itself every bit 1 of the largest and best community colleges in the nation. Valencia has several campus locations in Orlando with boosted campus locations in Wintertime Park and Kissimmee. It is ranked fourth in the Us for the number of acquaintance degrees awarded annually, and it is second in the number of one-twelvemonth certificates.

    Fifty-fifty with an almanac enrollment of over 68,000 students, Valencia is able to maintain an average class size of merely 23 students. Valencia offers over 120 programs, offering certificates and acquaintance degrees. Many of the acquaintance degrees are terminal, but most are function of a transfer plan. Valencia has a unique but pop avenue for transferring to the Academy of Central Florida through its DirectConnect program. The plan guarantees Valencia graduates access and a smoothen transition to UCF. Approximately 45,000 students have indicated that they are DirectConnect students. Nearly 25 percentage of UCF's upper partitioning students originated from Valencia in 2011.

    The Valencia Foundation's $68 meg endowment is near 12 times the average community college endowment, which reflects an abnormally big commitment of local business concern, organizations, and individuals, including the foundation's board of directors. In addition to the large community support, Valencia likewise reflects the variety of its region. Its student body is made up of nearly eighteen% African American students, shut to five% Asian/Pacific Islanders, and a almost equal number of Hispanic and Caucasian students at 32.five% apiece. With these big numbers information technology is no surprise that Valencia ranks fifth in the country for the number of acquaintance degrees awarded to Hispanics and seventh for the number awarded to African Americans.

mini icon

Online College Resources

Helping y'all ready and gain the most out of your educational feel.


Discover a program that is right for yous.

Search schools to find the program that is correct for yous.