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Old 09-05-2013, 10:22 AM
 
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I keep reading about how some of the local community colleges are top notch and will get you to the CA school of your choice. I was talking to a prof from East Los Angeles College and he talked about his department as though it was that well regarded in it's field that if I did well there I could get into pretty much any CA university of my choice. I was floored. Back home where I am from you would be lucky if the local city college took a look at your transcript from CC. If they didn't have a partnership with that school already, it was about as much a luck of the draw as going in straight out of high school.

I already have my bachelors degree and now am looking back to start over again in architecture. So far I've found a great program at West LA College, but they partner up with a private insitution in Koreatown and their courses are too expensive; they would run me 800 bucks a month for a year!

East Los Angeles College is supposed to have a top notch Arch program too where supposedly their students who complete the two year basics go on to top arch schools like Cornell, UCLA, USC, Cal Poly and Woodbury.

I haven't checked Santa Monica College if they have a program but I keep hearing that SMC is a well regarded junior college with excellent transfer rates to the top UCs in the State. Is this true?

Also, the classes are so cheap (for in-state)! It's a great deal.
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Old 09-05-2013, 10:44 AM
 
Location: The city of champions
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Our community colleges are certainly top notch and do their best to make up for our high schools. All of the universities, whether UC's, privates, and Cal States definitely respect the local community colleges, you'll have no problem getting into any of the local universities if you do well enough. I feel it's a better plan for anyone to knock out the GE's at a community college first and then transfer, you'll save so much more money that way, especially for locals.

Like you said, many of the schools offer good career advancement programs. I, myself am completing certificates at West LA. Not too sure on arch though.

Santa Monica College is one of best JC's you'll ever find, but any of the LACCD schools can get you into any school as well. They are also cheaper with a much smaller student population.
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Old 09-05-2013, 11:20 AM
 
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I am still shocked at low the cost of courses are at these JC's. I am also surprised at the resources these JCs have too. East Los Angeles College's Arch program has top notch facilities, events, and profs.

I want to visit Santa Monica College just to see what all the hype is. Supposedly it's the best JC in the city if not the country.

Now I am not going back for a bachelors but trying to get into grad school for architecture. I would not mind going back for a second bachelors either but really I am trying my hand out at a masters.
You're telling me if I ace my classes at any of the JCs, but especially if it's a well regarded program, that I might have the best chance to get into the UC of my choice? What's wild is that I keep reading the testimonials, emails from profs, from professionals in the area and promotional material from the school itself but it's just so darn hard to believe that one's local JC's are that strong.
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Old 09-05-2013, 11:25 AM
 
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SMC is good, but it's crowded and hard to get into popular classes. I found El Camino College to be a better fit for me when I needed to take supplemental classes, they also have a good arch program. FWIW, I know a few people that went from East LA College into Sci-Arc and are doing quite well.
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Old 09-05-2013, 11:27 AM
 
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SMC is considered the best, yes. They send tons of students to UCLA and USC. I don't know about ELAC but I hear it's decent. So is West LA College. If you are a top student at any JC, you have an excellent chance of transferring into a good four year college.
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Old 09-05-2013, 11:32 AM
 
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Quote:
FWIW, I know a few people that went from East LA College into Sci-Arc and are doing quite well.
ELAC to Sci-Arc! That is AMAZING. That is like going from Bunker Hill Community College to MIT. Something that hasn't been done since Matt Damon did it in Good Will Hunting!

I just wanted to go from ELAC or any other reputable JC arch program to UCLA.
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Old 09-05-2013, 11:59 AM
 
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Originally Posted by radiolibre99 View Post
ELAC to Sci-Arc! That is AMAZING. That is like going from Bunker Hill Community College to MIT. Something that hasn't been done since Matt Damon did it in Good Will Hunting!

I just wanted to go from ELAC or any other reputable JC arch program to UCLA.
Funny. Does yby know that Sci-Arc accepts anyone who can afford its hefty tuition.
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Old 09-05-2013, 12:13 PM
 
10,097 posts, read 9,974,788 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by disgruntled la native View Post
Funny. Does yby know that Sci-Arc accepts anyone who can afford its hefty tuition.
Say what? I thought it had a pretty rigorous admissions process. Either way it's still one of the top ranked arch programs in the country.

The only thing that worries me, and a I set up an interview with the professors/advisors, is if taking their courses (which are usually undergrad courses) would help to get into a masters grad level program in Arch. I have no design background so I have to start straight from scratch.

The program I was looking into at West LA College which boasts a 90% acceptance rate to the school of choice (that includes Harvard, Yale, UC Berk) had the undergrads and the grads all together taking the same courses, so I am assuming someone lacking a design background has to start at the bottom.
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Old 09-05-2013, 01:22 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles (Native)
25,303 posts, read 21,387,412 times
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I went to West LA College in Culver City and then transferred to USC.

I think that it was a pretty good choice for me. I left high school early by taking the California high school proficiency exam and went directly to CC.

I agree with you that the CC's are a great value.

Many don't want to go that route because I guess they judge themselves by how big their student loan debt is ...the big the loan debt the better?

It seems to be a no brainer ,especially since as you mentioned it's considered easier to get in as a transfer to a university versus applying directly from High school.

I'm not too sure about the 90% acceptance rate though from CC to a school like Harvard. Maybe if you get straight A's in all the courses and have a lot of other super impressive things to show them? ..

Their acceptance rate is 5.9% , so I find it hard to believe it's 90% transferring in from a CC..

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/201...m1I/story.html

This shows that only 1% of transfers were accepted.
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/20...s-one-percent/

Not sure where the 90% figure comes from.
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Old 09-05-2013, 01:32 PM
 
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You can go to any California CC and transfer to UCLA, USC, Cal, Pepperdine, and so on.

It's not the CC's name that matters, it's your GPA, activities, achievements, and courses taken that get you into the university.

SMC has a good name, but the reason why it has the most transfers to UCLA is because it's close to UCLA, so SMC attracts students who plan to stay on the westside for their schooling.
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