Trouble enrolling at Community College in OC (Santa Ana, Orange: 2014, school)

[zerinelizabeth]

Has anyone with a bachelors degree, or who knows someone with a bachelors degree, tried to enroll at a CC in Orange County with any luck?

I have tried for FOUR SEMESTERS in a row to enroll in pre-med classes only to either barely make it onto the bottom of a wait list or not on the wait list at all. When I attend the class in an attempt to petition, the professor just says that since the course is full he can't let anyone else in.

When I ask counselors how to improve my registration priority, all they can say is that I need to take classes at the school in order to bump up my priority. That said, I attempted to enroll in totally unrelated courses too, pilates, yoga, art, history, poli sci, anything in order to improve priority... only to not get into any of those either.

When I try to speak with the department directly, they are totally unresponsive and unhelpful.


Is there a smaller, less busy CC I should try to enroll at? I have been trying at Fullerton College.

I WOULD just register and try to enroll at every single CC in the area, but I can't afford to send my college transcripts to that many places (about $20 each time).

HELP MEEEE.

[Electrician4you]

Have you tried OCC or GW college? I don't know if they have the program you want but they might

[Fran66]

Sign up to volunteer a couple of hours a week. You'll get into the college. Well, you will if it needs volunteers anywhere.

Unfortunately, Fullerton CC is pretty popular because Cal State Fullerton is 'right there' too.

I agree -- try OCC and GW. They are very good CCs.

[RudyOD]

You don't NEED to send your college transcripts to any of those CC's (it actually depends on which courses you are trying to get in.) They are satisfied with just seeing unofficial transcripts. I've taken courses at just about every CC in OC (haha I have a student ID # at all the districts). In the North there is GW and Cypress College. Central you have Santiago Canyon, Santa Ana College, Orange Coast and Coastline. In the south you have IVC and Saddleback. Of all those, the least crowded is Santiago Canyon College in Orange, and they have brand new spanking labs that got finished being built last year. They are part of the Rancho Santiago Canyon CC District so you can also take classes at SAC. I had the same issue a couple years ago (my local CC would be Cypress and Fullerton), and I find the staff at Rancho Santiago very responsive, and the professors quite helpful.

IVC and OCC are also great, but they are really crowded. Saddleback is cool, but just so far (I took a digital photography class there).

Santiago Canyon College doesn't have as wide selection of courses as IVC and OCC, but it has all you need in terms of pre-med reqs (I should know, I'm pre-med). Once you have established priority registration you can take some at Santa Ana College since they are the same district...and Santa Ana, being older, has more science courses available. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions, and remember that Assist.org is your friend.

[RudyOD]

Alternatively, you can take an online class at Coastline (should be easy to get in), and once you get priority registration, sign up for the lab classes at Orange Coast College. Remember that once you have priority registration at one community college, you have priority registration in ALL CCs within the same district.

For example, if you want to still try Fullerton College, try to see if you have better luck at Cypress College. They won't need your transcripts if you already sent them to Fullerton since they are the same district.

[daneonethebeach]

I did most of my classes at Saddleback and IVC. The competition can be tough when you dont have priority. I have usually always gotten the class anyways with a little careful planning.

1. Email the professor teaching as much ahead of time as you can! Explain your situation. Sometimes I have had instructors email me an add code back. Other times I get no reply, but you never know.
2. Petition the class. Some teachers raffle off the remaining spots by drawing numbers out of a hat. I have sat in on classes for a week and taken someone else's spot after they dropped. You have to be persistent. There are people that will drop. It is just a matter of time.
3. Realize that many classes are only have full by the middle of the semester. Professors know that. Use this knowledge wisely

Good Luck!!!

[nightlysparrow]

It will not help to shop around to other California CC's. In fall of 2014 the law will go into effect for all CC's (some had already implemented it early) that will place students who have earned 100 units to the very bottom of the priority list for admission.

[RudyOD]

Originally Posted by nightlysparrow

It will not help to shop around to other California CC's. In fall of 2014 the law will go into effect for all CC's (some had already implemented it early) that will place students who have earned 100 units to the very bottom of the priority list for admission.

I have more than 100 units, and it wasn't difficult for me to get priority registration at Fullerton College under the new system. Fullerton College Counseling Center :: Priority Registration

As long as you are pro-active and don't wait until the day before registration to get things done, it isn't too bad.