Hi everyone.
I’m an international student from Singapore and I’m planning to attend community college. So far I’m pretty impressed and am looking at SMC. Im leaning more towards SMC due to the high successful transfer rates, but I’m very concerned with not being able to get my classes due to the amount of students in the school. I’m hoping to do Film as my major. Would you guys recommend other community colleges with these schools UCLA & USC in mind (and any pros and cons if you could provide), and also your experience with SMC if any?
I am a SMC student (not international) and I highly recommend it! You’re going to find large amounts of students at any CC, so don’t let that deter you. Plus SMC has programs like the Scholars program http://www.smc.edu/StudentServices/Scholars/Pages/default.aspx that gives priority enrollment so you can get the classes you need.
Plus, it has great resources for international students!
There are some downsides however, like the Santa Monica area being very expensive to live in. Also, film is a very competitive major, so you might want to look into some other options to be safe.
I would suggest IVC (Irvine Valley College) in Orange county. They have the #2 transfer rate in the state and few of my friends have transferred from here into other UC schools like UCI, UCLA and UCSB.