Santa Monica College

The best college in Santa Monica. It has been a number one transfer college to UC for many years.

SMC is a fairly large campus. The atmosphere is very welcoming. The student body is a massive melting pot of interesting people. The staff and administration is top tier. Highly recommend Santa Monica College!!!

This school is said to have a high transfer rate, and many students choose to come here. I'm in my first semester and have enrolled in four courses. Among them, only one—**Communication Studies 9**—feels truly worthwhile. I feel like I've learned something, my English has improved a lot, and the instructor assigns reasonable homework to keep us on track and provides thoughtful, constructive feedback. As for the other courses, I honestly feel they are not rigorous at all—I haven’t learned much from them. **Especially English 1**—I can’t even tell what the instructor is talking about half the time. The second issue I have to complain about is the **cleanliness of the restrooms and cafeteria**—they are just too dirty, really dirty. Only the restrooms in the **IEC building** are somewhat clean. The others are extremely unsanitary. We pay so much in tuition; surely you could invest a bit more in **maintaining proper hygiene**. The area in the cafeteria where the **water dispensers and microwaves** are located is also filthy.

The best school, best faculty, best experience! Second chances are made here.

SMC has been ranked #1 in college transfers in southern California and LA. The campus is absolutely terrific and fully diverse from around the world to connect and build new friendships along your college journey. The art building is definitely a perfect place to enjoy yourself, and they have an amazing display in every student artwork from sculpting, drawing, painting, design, and everything else related to art. Coming here was definitely the best choices I've ever made and to improve my grades and GPA needed to attend to a 4 year college. This college campus helped me to transfer to CSULA and great courses offered online and in person to meet my college prerequisites to transfer. They now include a new student service building open in the fall of 2019 right at the entrance. I absolutely loved coming here since spring 2014 until spring 2020 during the COVID shutdown. Parking here is a big headache. I encourage you to take the expo line or Rapid 7 BBB for a faster ride. This college includes a radio station from KCRW 89.9 down by Stewart St. SMC has helped me meet my goals to transfer to CAL STATE LA and to pursue my goals as an art major after taking art courses. I also want to thank the wonderful professors I've met along the way by not giving up and to believe myself what I wanted to become. Thank you SMC 😊

Santa Monica swim center is wonderful! Helpful folks and a great place to swim. I bought the swim pass and am glad I did!!

The campus looks amazing and well kept. I took a semester course during the summer (as a high school student concurrently enrolling) and registering was a breeze! Staff are friendly and helpful! The school also has amazing transfer programs to other colleges. I highly reccomend taking courses here for a single semester or multiple semesters!

Very bad transition from high school to college. The counselors are not helpful and very passive aggressive. This school does not care about students, to them you are just a number.

I ATTEMPTED to go today purely as a visitor. Unfortunately, there were ZERO signs to indicate where visitor parking was, including the absolutely disgusting, vague various "permit parking" -? And who knew what/where the various differentiations were since ALL the signs AND placement choices were absolutely HORRENDOUS. NO ARROWS EITHER. Really? Are *arrows* REALLY that complex? I dared called the main number of the college and spoke to a VERY nasty "operator" who acted like I should've already known this information despite the fact that I've never BEEN there before. AND the website info was a ridiculous, bad joke!!!! So, she told me to go park beneath the student services bldg which was challenging to find, but what was MUCH worse was trying to find "P3" once I entered under the building. REALLY?!?!?!?! This "college" couldn't put signs DIRECTING people as to how to actually GET to P3 under student services? It was a sloppy, disgusting MESS down there!!!!!!!!!! Finally, I was so disgusted, I actually LEFT!!!!!! #DoBetter Santa Monica "College" - an INSULT to the word "college" -!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As of 6/24/2024, this review has been shadow-banned from Google reviews so I have to update it here. Yelp in the past has removed some of the photos from their platform making up reasons like bad lighting or because I updated the same review.

Amazing school. I went here and got a 3.5 GPA and transferred to UCSB. It taught me a lot about study habits.

Do not come to this school if you're looking into getting Financial Aid! They are so behind on payments Students aren't getting their disbursement until the last week of school. WHATS THE POINT IN THAT???

Don't trust ombudsperson at SMC. Their ombuds are a joke. 不惜一切代价避开这所大学 来なくてください。絶対最悪。 They won't take your matter seriously. What they advertise is not true. They side with professors and want to hide everything if you go further, they will threaten you. Please international students, go else where unless you want to be treated like a Asian cash cow. Go to colleges in East Coast or NorCal My suggestions are foothill college in CA Montgomery College in MD BMCC in NYC Do not come to smc ive seen many who regretted. The moral standard of SmC is subpar compared to that of other schools.

Just Love it had great experience and made friends from all over the world! recommend for the best college experience!

SMC DESERVES ZERO STAR! As a successful student in different colleges and universities with high GPA I would say If you wanna hold back yourself and dealing with a bunch of unprofessional, rude and self-centered staff, then go to Santa Monica College. Compare to other colleges in LA if I could I would give zero star to Santa Monica College. They are rude cold hearted and self-centered . I highly recommend you to go to East LA College, LACCD Pierce College or Valley College if your Time and your goal is important to you never walk into Santa Monica College NEVER!

I know that this review is late, but this school is a joke. I attended classes here 2 years ago and did not pay to have the administrative assistant at the CMD Center bother me by: treating me like I was in kindergarten, telling me to keep 6 feet apart from my classmates (even after covid and when things were better with our society health wise 2 years ago), and also to inform her if there was no one wearing masks. SO happy I've left this school and hopefully someone sees this review to pass it onto the appropriate person.

I spent a few years here before transferred to USC after met certain mandatory requirement. Here you get freshman and mostly early adult life. You get to drive the car for the first time. It was really fun and probably best lifelong experience. Never regret coming here. Enjoy life at SMC!

Been coming to this college for a very long time, and haven't been here since June 2017 which was when I got my A.A in Business Administration. I noticed a lot of the construction is nearly done and the campus is still looking as beautiful as ever. I decided to make a trip to this college to turn in some paperwork because I' m planning on taking courses for their new B.A Degree in Interaction Design, which is right up my ally for web design. Location: Located in the beautiful nice city of Santa Monica, and not too far from Santa Monica Beach. Price: Very affordable prices for students and they have a financial aid office to help with tuition fees.

I've been a student here for 4 years. I work full time so couldn't take too many classes each semester. I think that SMC is a great community college. I'm majoring in Early Childhood Education and can honestly say that they have the best ECE teachers in their department. I wish I could say the same on their counselors at the welcome center. They don't really care about your academic goals, I think they just want you to take a bunch of classes that you don't really need so you can stay at SMC forever. They meet so many students every day so you feel like you are just a number for them. Every counselor gave me a slightly different version of the facts. Their EOPS office, however, is great!! I suggest you sign up to the EOPS program because their counseling system is much better and super helpful. They are really here to help you achieve your goals! The only thing you have to do in order to be a part of their program is to schedule 3 counseling appointments during the fall and the spring semester. One of the benefits they offer is a $250 book voucher that you can use at the SMC bookstore to buy textbooks. That can save you a lot of $$$. EOPS students also enjoy an early enrollment date for classes. Also, the program offer a ton of workshops that will benefit you so much. The campus is nice and mostly clean. The cafeteria doesn't offer a lot of healthy options but they do have a salad bar.

Admission office let you more than 40minutes to verify on the system your evaluation or personal documents to proof your residence after you wait they just hung out. They charge me $998 for one class at spring, but I have financial aid. They are really unorganized and dosent care for students. I do not recommend to study here they will waist your time.

I am entering a new stage of my career and I need to learn new skillsets for it . I have decided to focus on leaning a second language and working towards my credits in Art History and English. My classes are all online as that suits me and my schedule. And even then I feel like I am getting the full experience that is offered to me .

This Community College is by far the best out of all the campuses in Los Angeles. It is located not that far from the beach and westwood. Probably the best choice to go if you want to transfer to UCLA. Some processors here actually teach at UCLA/USC and teach in SMC as well. If you pick the right ones you might get lucky get one of them. That's not to say that the other professors aren't good they're great as sell! I really enjoy the class better when the person teaching is passionate about the subject as well. It is more engaging and sets you up for success. I took some classes here when I graduated high school. I didn't know what I wanted to major in, but I knew it had to be stem related. Not to bash in the arts, bit I've known people growing up who majored in the Arts and ended up working at a job they didn't lime. I chose to play it safe and major in a stem field. Luckily I took a programming course and fell in love with it! They professor was also knowledgeable and showed us some pretty advanced and creative stuff with I appreciated.

Santa Monica College is not responding to any questions or answering any calls at this time! There website is trash and you need to take them off as a good college! Ridiculous! No help whatsoever

I love this campus. Ive been here for here 3 years and will miss it so much. The campus has grown so much and it's a lot nicer then when I started. The staff is great here. Admissions, counseling and financial aid staff are always so helpful and welcoming. I enjoyed their online classes the most. Easy to access and user friendly. Parking structures are clean as well as campus and classrooms.

My wife and I saved money for months so she could go back to school, something she has wanted to do for years. This took a lot of work and strength on her part. Then, on her first day, her professor changed the class schedule and days out of nowhere. Simply because she wanted to. My wife was forced to drop the class because there was no way she could work on this new personalized schedule the professor made. In the end, SMC refused to refund us our hard earned and sacrificed money, and instead someone told us, "You can sue us or go to the Better Business Bureau. Seriously. They have been nothing but rude, condescending, and down right mean. Go somewhere else for your education, there are plenty of options.

If you want to actually gain skills and get a job, th is school is useless. Hundreds of useless gobbledygook classes on feminism and globalist studies and foreign language but not. Asingle class that gives you a skill that can actually lead to a job. Professors are overpaid smug boomers who teach nonsense to kids who needs skills and are not getting them. This school is a scam.

I was here for two years and I have to say that this school doesn't know how to invest in teachers; most of these teachers don't have hospitality. And, they don't teach from their heart and brain, only read you from the book.

If you are a STEM major avoid this place at all costs! The only thing I would add to the detailed reviews is that this place BENEFITS from your lack of progress; retaking classes and spending more time there are what pays their bills. Tbh there are true gems at this college including Prof. Ebrahimi at chemistry dep. and Prof. Faridian at Physics but 95% of professors lack the skills and ethics of a teacher.

SMC is designed to assist students of African American descent in transferring to a 4-year university. California's #1 transfer college for 25+ years! Tops in transfers to UC, USC, and LMU, with a world-class education and endless possibilities. My favorite spot is possibly the bookstore and it's outside seating/study area. The apparel they sell is too awesome!

(This review is for the SMC citations dept) I am appalled at the number of fraudulent parking citations I have seen given out by SMC police in the last year! Are you a young, broke and stressed college student? Welcome to SMC... Where you're the perfect cash cow!! Even if the parking sign is blocked by a tree/ totally obscured, in a hazard zone (preventing you from safely stopping/ reading in your car), or EVEN if you call the police dept and they verbally "okay" you ahead of time- they will still GLADLY ticket you! If you prove your case - they will lower your fine. Instead of erasing the ticket like they should! Don't be fooled into thinking you will receive a "fair hearing" when contesting your citation with SMC. The only REAL fair hearing is paying $25 and filing your case in court! High chance you'll win your case - like I and so many others have.

Good luck on your education where ever you go. Understand that Santa Monica College has grown beyond their ability to be hands on with your education. My son went 8 hours waiting for his call back. They came up with one bs text back after another. How can you encourage your son to take the imitative when an institution can't be responsive and responsible in handling their inquires???? Pretty disappointing!!!

I started at SMC this Fall 2020, about 3 wks ago. Even with corona, and even more so I guess, SMC is INCREDIBLE!!! Staff, resources, (campus when it's open), and professors have been AMAZING. I can't say enough about how impressed I am by the quality, expertise, experience, and passion of my professors. I went to FSU, so I'm most familiar with 4 year schools, but I gotta say SMC is right their in stride with all the amazing things I experienced at FSU. I thank our TEACHERS first!! They're all so wonderful and just outstanding, even through this virtual world we're currently in. I'm soooo grateful for them!! And second, thank you SMC for EVERYTHING!! You're support, resources, staff, and classes have done so much for me. I'm so thankful to have enrolled and started learning at such a wonderful school. With ALL my heart!..THANK YOU.

To anybody looking for gen eds for STEM - avoid. I can't speak for non stem. In my experience, this is what I encountered. I would not recommend this school to anyone. The professors I had are absolute luddites and restrict the use of technology in their classroom. I would arrive at the correct answer for a problem but they didn't like my method or my work because I would write shorthands or find more efficient methods to the problems and would remove points. I left this school and got a job I previously thought I needed a degree to get as a software engineer because I'm able to learn and do things in a way this school does not accommodate for. Adapt or die. The past is gone and technology will only become more prevalent. You do not produce good students. You produce idiots who can memorize methods and will be the people you see saying "I have a degree in computer science but I can't write a single line of code what should I do". Because you never allowed them to grow. You never allowed them to learn, or find alternate methods that arrive at the correct answer, showing a greater understanding of the content. If you actually think you can make it, the debt from a good university that doesn't do this shit is worth it.

Well you live and you learn lol near the end of my semester I came in contact with a rather low educated instructor and honestly a lot of their instructors are like this big egos with little knowledge, their dispute process is an absolute nightmare and you're basically on your own even if you reach out to the admin's or heads of the departments it's a total mess. They actively do not follow their own set policy's or care, and hide behind very performative policies as well that stand behind their low educated administration not students.

If you wish to succeed in school, this is NOT the place to start or to be. Communication level is unacceptable, if you have an online class, forget about passing. Four out of five times my professor never got back to me. Counselors give you wrong information a majority of the time, told me the incorrect classes to take to transfer. I have also witnessed a professor act highly unprofessional including sexual instances, even hitting on students. Of course I complained to the chairman, what happened? Nothing. Is SMC the number 1 transfer school? Far from it. It's the place to fail.

It was not easy to find the basketball gym. Other buildings and athletic areas were clearly labeled and accessible. Parking is also limited to meters (free weekends) on the gym side and is across the street from a middle school.

Finally made it to enrollment and I am or officially enrolled as a student at SMC. Enrollment was was a challenge trying to find the bldg since they moved to the new bldg but thanks to security I found it

I use to attend a community college and work in their admissions office and enrollment offices for over 2 years, this was back in Boston, MA. Just to establish that I know the process of admissions, enrollment, establishing residency. I moved to CA nearly 2 years ago and decided that I may want to take a class here this summer. HUGE Mistake! I read their requirements alone, as I already have a BA and MA I didn't want to have to apply for admissions for a degree program well.... I call their admissions office this past Friday and some guy picks up with the worst attitude I've ever heard, he greets me with "What?" Not hello nor Santa Monica College Admissions, just "What?". I proceed to ask him if I have to apply for admissions if I already have my graduate degree and just want to take a single non-degree class. He says "yes" no explanation given, then I ask if I have to take the assessment classes, and he says "if it's only for one class, no" once again no explanation. Then I say thanks and he hangs up, no have a nice day or anything. Fast forward to today I apply for admissions and on the part where it says declare residence I given then my 20 month date of residence and some how that didn't qualify for in state tuition as apparently during the application process you have to have lived in CA for at least 2 years to be considered a resident. I'm in shock by this and continued reading residency requirements on the website and it clearly states to declare residence you only need to provide documents dates one year back.... So where does the 2 year requirement come into play? Next, I try to login to access my registration after being admitted and their system never sends me a confirmation email so it won't let me log into their registration system as my account is not active. End result I guess they won't be getting my money this summer. Their loss really. They need to train and hire better admissions employees and update their site so all info is correct not telling 3 different things. I'd recommend everyone pass on going here. Updating this review as the college finally sent me my admission confirmation email, 24 hours after the fact. Now waiting to see if they accept proof of residency. My review still stands regarding them needing to train their staff better. Another Update; it's been over 72 hours since I submitted documents to their admissions office for review and via their public SLA they say they respond/process within 72 hours. I'm thinking that's a lie. Really a shame as deadline is approaching and I did want to take a class here. Yet another update, June 10, they contacted me saying that they needed all pages of a bill for residency not just the front page, my mistake I guess.... June 13th, they messaged me saying that admissions has transferred my paperwork to another department for certification and it could take up to 3 days to confirm the information. Keep in mind that classes start on June 20th. There's definitely an issue with the staff at this institution. Simple things should only take 1 day not multiple weeks,

Best Educational Experience! I am still benefiting from the Art explosion and communication classes. I enjoyed the support of both the students and teachers throughout my years there. I sincerely love the school and my town! Thank you so much for the Bright and Shinning Star above ever journey!

I have very mixed feelings about this community college. I had a very bad first impression on the first day of winter session. It was unbelievable crowded. The line to pay fees and get parking passes was insanely long, and their computer system went down and they had told everyone they're shutting down... right when I was next in line.... after waiting about an hour. =____= Some of the staff members are rude, some are nice. I went to their health office one time, and while their nurse practitioner is cool, whoever saw me first to take my vitals was cold and seemed indifferent. Food is overpriced and they give small portions. And it's not even that good. Ugh The GOOD stuff is the campus which is beautiful, and the fact that they have winter session. Like seriously, THANK YOU SMC. Also, I was worried about their tuition, but I got their bog waiver thing quite easily. Other than that, I'm glad to be out. The overcrowdedness and the traffic of the city in general drove me insane. I can't even imagine how bad spring semester must be.

This is my first semester at SMC. From my experience so far they have a ton of services and resources to assist students on campus. I recently had some of their food at Eat St. Which is their main Cafè in the cafeteria. I paid $6.75 for a HUGE tostada salad bowl that I will never get again just because it is TOO much food. Oh the first world problems! They really give you amazing deals for the small amount of money you spend. Also, for lower income students or just students who need a few bucks for lunch, they have a program to assist you with this as well. Between 10a-12p you can go to the Cayton center and visit the Associated Students office and get a free $5 food voucher to use- that NEVER expires! They have two more cafés down the side corridor in the cafeteria that are great as well, one is more of a more gourmet style spot and theres also a TCBY I believe (they have small & quick stuff like coffee and sandwiches). Besides the eating part, the study resources are great. The library is a place I like to hermit to and spend most of my time. Its nice and quiet in there and has tons of resources. Be cautious of the hefty blonde lady at the front desk of the library, she can be a bit aggressive when seeking info. She is more concerned with being authoritative than actually helping out students. Besides that nearly everyone is super helpful on campus! metered parking is scarce, always, so I HIGHLY suggest a parking decal!!!!! Side Note: Make sure you set aside at least two hours if you are planning on visiting the counseling services as a "walk-in". They do the best they can to accommodate all students fairly! So be patient we ALL have to wait the same promise. Be completely aware of your program !!!Counselors will and DO overlook certain complexities and will have you taking more classes than needed unfortunately if you are not on top of it! I do not want to write so much as everyone will endure their own journey here, but rest assure you are in a great atmosphere with plenty to engage in. P.S. Don't forget to visit the beautiful organic garden!

This review is exclusively for SMC's Theatre Department. Today, I saw "Shrek: The Musical" at SMC. I truly enjoyed the production. I was a fan of the cast's acting abilities, the stage makeup, the costumes, and the set designs. I've seen a couple of SMC Theatre Department productions thus far, and have enjoyed all! I plan on seeing more productions in the future!

Worst experience here!! It's ridiculous, nobody answers the phone for weeks even If I've called early and later in the evening and nothing works. I do not understand what is going on there. It seems like zero operator there. How is it possible the students are going to get anything done with like this!! Staff making it just that much harder to go to this school. Why offer contact information if nobody is going to actually be helpful and be there to answer a phone. I would rather go there to straighten my problem out In person and kick some ass around jelling like : go back and work!!That is why students are paying for?

The financial aid office at Santa Monica is a complete joke. I spent over 2 months going back and forth with them in regards to receiving aid for Summer and they decided to let me know today --- the last week of my summer classes that they don't offer aid for summer courses. I spoke with them over 10 times before this trying to get correct directions in regards to financial aid -- you would think they would let me know that it's not offered at least one of those times. Their office has completely screwed me over. Good luck even trying to reach them because the office is open on different hours each day and if you don't join the virtual queue right away then you cannot speak to them at all that day because it fills up so fast.

Everything else is fine instructors,facility. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS SOME OF RUDE STAFFS. They are mainly positioned in new student building especially in Admissions&record department As you see from previous reviews, The faculty members from this dept has nice attitude toward students and they just don't give a f except their pay check. Shame on tax thiefs ! This is educational facility SMC! Before that you gotta educate these impolite tax thiefs first! Teach how to greet people "normally".

Nostalgia marks my experience whenever I walk in here nowadays. This college was the start of my undergrad and my pursuit of higher education, which continues in graduate work. The facilities here are well kept and state of the art. There is a plethora of activities for students to partake in. I was involved in two clubs, and was very active in the community. They have many events that take place by the clock tower or the tree-lined field by the fountain and the library. This was when college was fun, although I juggled being a science major and working odd jobs as well. The classes were hard, but that was expected for my field of study. The people I went to school with made it all worthwhile. I miss those good old days, and the great many things I learned in class those years. I recommend this place to start your college career. It has good transfer rates to UC school and many others. Take it from me: if you plan to be a science/pre-med major, study your butt off. The instructors here will prepare you well for upper division, you just have to put in your share of work. And don't listen to the nay-sayers, they will be weeded out by the time you hit O-Chem.

$26/unit $19 ASB member fee (gets you riding the blue bus for free... 150 pages to print on campus for the semester) $11/14 for health fee $13 student ID card fee Hey yelpers. I've been attending SMC for 1 year now... I love this place... SMC has been a great experience for me. I would recommend anyone looking for a college to check out SMC. Great campus... very multi-cultured... and for the most part... nice staff. Lots of different clubs... I'm in the JELA (Japanese English Language Association) club. This college has students from everywhere in the world... so you're bound to meet someone from your part of the world. BAD: Not a fan of the trash people leave in the parking structure... nor am I a fan of parking in the mornings during the week days since everyone is trying to park by 8am. So go early... luckily I'm walking distance to this campus. This year cost me a leg and arm paying out of state fees! So beware if you're not a California resident... you will be paying thousands for the first year... Especially if you're F1 visa. GOOD: Nice campus with water fountains and palm trees. The cafe has a pretty go variety of food choices. The library is awesome! Tons of computers. Bookstore has everything you need. Paul and the tutors in the mathlab are very resourceful. The counselors at the welcome center are helpful... and the health center is a great option if you need medical attention. Also... the learning resource center for science classes are helpful as well. Oh and I love the pool here, I need to check that out when winter is over. They also have a football team... don't think they are any good, although I have a friend who's on the team... opps. but you didn't hear that from me. I found SMC through a friends friend who's a fellow SMCer and I'm glad I cross paths with him. Online enrollment was easy and taking my placement testes on campus was a simple process. I was signed up in no time. My goal is to get into their nursing program (SMC offers a great nursing program)! I love SMC and happy I now qualify for california resident after 1 year of paying out of state fees! 5 stars for me.

Parking: BUY A PERMIT. Its only $15 and will save you a big ticket. They have two different lots of students to park and it has never been hard finding a spot, at most I spend 5 minutes. I drive a jeep and most spots are on the smaller side but besides that there are no problems. Campus: The campus is extremely appealing to the eye. They have everything you need when you walk on. Some building (interior) do need work but the exterior is beautiful. They have a pool, track and football field for those athletic people out there. Food: They have a food court which is small but everything you need along with food trucks during busy hours on one end of campus and coffee bars throughout campus. Across the street there are food places and not far is a Starbucks and Whole Foods. Experience: The one class I am in has been so far good. It is at a level I would say a community college class should be at, and the professor is nice. I recommend this school for anyone needing a class before grad school or for pre health requirements.

The staff here is literally the worst I have ever experienced. Despite living in California for over two years and having my driver's license AND voter registration being California, for some reason they classified me as a non-resident. How does that even happen?! I then spent over a MONTH going back and forth to no avail. They wouldn't accept ANYTHING as acceptable documents. And that's when I could actually get ahold of them. Never responded to calls, emails...nothing. The admissions staff here are THE absolute worst. The residency specialists are even more horrible, Alma Nevarez and Sandra Franco. Completely unhelpful. Almost never actually respond. When they do, they don't offer any help or useful advice. Completely unwilling to look into the situation rather than just present the generic information or actually help at all. Horrendous service. I've never experienced anything like this before.

The best thing about SMC is the bomb ass online course they offer. I've taken 5 or 6 so far and liked them all! Great instructors too. Joshua Coplen's business courses rock!!

Their system wouldn't let me pay a 15 dollar health fee online, so I call them and they wouldn't let me do it over the phone either, so later in the week I come in on a Friday and it turns out the office that processes fees closed at noon. SMC's bursar office staff are an absolute joke. There shouldn't be so many obstacles involved with paying a fee. The process should be as easily and streamlined as possible for students.

I've taken a couple night classes (pre-reqs) here and it went well. Classes could get really hard to get in though :/ espesh if you have a later registration date. Also it sucks that you have to see counselors in order to prove your pre-reqs are met or to take a placement exam for certain classes because the counselors are only avail reg bus hours and if you're working it's not possible to be there. They also won't take unofficial transcripts via email which is really inconvenient. The plus side to night classes is that you can park for free at the meters! The teachers I've had have been great though (lifespan psych and chem10), the campus itself is nice and welcoming. Library is huge! Only downside is that it closes too early for my liking.. I need late night cramming lol. I'd also like to note that library staff are very kind-- I had forgotten to print a lab report in which I was about to lose a ton of pts for (ughhh) and ran there in desperation to beg someone to print it for me and a guy working there named Pablo was nice enough to print my report from his account!!! I hadn't a clue how to add credit to my acct to print since I had never done it... Special thanks to Pablo @ the smc library who saved my grade!!!^^ All in all I've had good experiences taking classes here at night, fairly safe environment as long as you use common sense and try to walk with other people, parking lot is lit, police station nearby on pearl st. I've met some cool people here too!

Come on SMC! I wanted to take a class in the solar photovoltaic (PV) program and it isn't being offered due to under enrollment. What!? Solar is the fastest growing industry in CA. Energy transition is here and CA needs renewable energy professionals. Meanwhile, here is SMC, a self proclaimed leader in CA higher education not even "getting it done." If no one knows about the program why not? Sad. I've taken classes here in the past and found the instructors to be top notch. Generally the professors are true educators that encourage students and are experts in their field. SMC has a wide range of students and the professors seemed well trained to meet the variety of students' needs. The counseling staff on the other hand ... not helpful or informed.

SMC has it's ups and downs like every and any college, you can't expect the best of the best with everyone. I personally didn't have any issues with my schooling, so far, because I prioritize my education. if I don't like a teacher or their method of teaching in the first week, I look for a better teacher using my resources. Going to a community college isn't that bad, I'm going because I don't have money to throw at pre required classes at a university. An that's completely fine because I have an objective to get my bachelors and transfer to a medical school. Keep what u want to do as ur main objective, college isn't free and you don't have to spend tons of money for specific title; as long as u know ur stuff and focus, you'll be fine. Over all I would say community colleges are a whatever, they have school spirit And many opportunities; you just need to keep your eyes open. SMC has pushed me in the right direction to be successful and I was able to meet and experience new things that shape me. My advice would be to go with the college that fits you financially and will give you the best resources; SMC is a college that I'm proud to be apart of and transfer from. I wouldn't change that even if I wanted to.

This school doesn't accommodate middle aged adults returning to school to complete a degree. Instructors have a tendency to talk down to everyone like children. They don't distinguish between age groups even know I'm about the same age as a lot of the professors. One lady likes me to refer to her as doctor so and so. I get it you got your doctorates degree. I spent 10 years in the military. I don't go around insisting people call me staff sergeant so and so. I guess its like a dominance thing. I just want to show up, full fill the requirements and move on. I don't like pretending that I'm 32 and back in K thru 12. Anyways the workload for single classes is annoying. Instructors ought to be limited to assigning one assignment and quiz a week. And books and quizzes ought to follow textbook material. A lot of these instructors raise the bar and assign an excess of homework or projects with in an unreasonable short amount of time and they make up their own tests and quizzes that deviate from the learning material. Some of us have demanding schedules and priorities outside of class and such unreasonable requirements can overlap and conflict with outside responsibilities. The administration ought to put a muzzle or a cap on the amount of homework these instructors can dish out. Perfect example of why this campus sucks. I've been sitting here for over 40 minutes waiting to speak to a counselor, because they haven't lifted the block they put on my account to add classes. I'm sitting here wasting time and I need to hop on the 405 to get back to the valley.

The following details are 100% factual. A family emergency forced me home suddenly. Hours after receiving the phone call I was on a plane. I emailed both my instructors alerting them of my misfortune and I could not finish the classes. Both emailed their sympathies. This occurred during week four of a sixteen week semester. Six months later my enrollment was blocked due to past due fees. Neither class was dropped. In an attempt to refund the fees, I visited the SMC administration. I began my story for the SMC representative when he stopped me. "I can't refund your fees," he stated. "Why?" I asked. "Because in one class you received an 'A,' and in the other, you received a 'B' That concluded my studies at SMC. Went to El Camino College and loved the experience.

Pros: The professors are mostly knowledgeable. The food court is huge There are all kinds of events to help students with jobs or transfer Availability of different programs to fit your needs Cons: Food court food sucks The lines are super long at the beginning of the semester (for payments, financial aid, admissions, and the bookstore) There is Not enough parking (parking permits are 85 bucks for spring and fall, 45 for winter or summer) Overall Just here to transfer so I don't really care about the "amenities". So long as the professors know there stuff and know how to teach, I'm good.