International student btw. I’m going this Winter, moving from LA because it was too spread out.
Since most community colleges are very similar in quality for me, all I care about now is the location.
Sold my car in LA so either I would rely on public transport or preferably living in a college town where everything is easy to access on bike or foot.
Also where student housing is available with a walking distance to campus.
Large international student body is also a major consideration for me.
Urban, suburban, or middle of nowhere doesn't really matter as long as I need no car and have a college city feel.
Huge campus would be better though.
Pretty affordable living cost.
I’m thinking about Shoreline or NSC but I would really love to hear recommendations from anybody who knows about colleges in Seattle.
I work at Everett Community College, 25 miles north of Seattle. It has a large and growing international student population and they just built brand-new dorms.
However, you are probably more interested in something closer to Seattle. I think that Shoreline would not be a good choice for a student without a car, as the college is a little off the highways, and is not that close to Seattle. Yes, there are buses, but they will take a long time to get into Seattle. North Seattle would be a better choice, but it too is not that close to downtown Seattle. It is quite close to Northgate Mall, so there is plenty of shopping and restaurants nearby. Have you considered Seattle Central, as that is on Capitol Hill, with downtown Seattle in walking distance?
Thanks for enlightening though. I don’t know but many students from my home country attend Shoreline so I thought it could be a pretty great choice.
Since I only visit downtown on weekends, I’d prefer to hangout nearby campuses on weekdays, spending most of my time in coffee shops, or spending time on the campus itself. Well, I highly prefer a college area where most students don’t use cars or where car is not necessary, so actually somewhere not close to downtown might suit me better.
I’m also considering Edmonds community college if the criteria fits. The thing about Seattle Central is that I am going to go for a homestay instead of apartment and downtown area campus would be far from the home where I stay.
Can you list me more? Green River, Edmonds, or anything else?
Green River probably has the highest proportion of international students than any other community college in Western Washington. However, there is not that much in the way of shops around that campus. Edmonds has a growing international student population, and is just a few blocks from Route 99, a very busy thoroughfare with many businesses and things to do.
North Seattle is across Interstate 5 from a huge mall (Northgate) with may surrounding stores. It would be a good area in which to live if you don’t want to drive. My favorite Indian restaurant is just north of the campus, and my favorite movie theater (Thornton Place) is just south of Northgate Mall.
Keep in mind though, that pretty much all of the community colleges here are primarily ‘commuter’ schools, and most students either drive or take public transportation to get to school. If you look at any one of these schools from the air, they are all surrounded by huge parking lots, and every one of them is experiencing problems with insufficient parking.
@ALF yeah I understand though, in LA it was totally impossible to survive without a car. I hope Washington is totally a different game. Since it’s pretty well known as a student city, I am sure that there is a good reason why.
I’m definitely going to commute since I am going for a homestay as I mentioned above. No matter where it is, it will be a commute for me. What matters most is the location, I am just trying to find a nice area, down to earth community with a distance not so far from city centre, in case I need to go to downtown on weekends. but I’m 100% not going for a car in Seattle though.
Based on my criteria, can you list me 2-3 schools with would be the best fit?
Most colleges that are by the city students get there by biking, taking the bus, or driving since traffic is difficult. Also housing is a tad bit expensive in the city and around closer to Seattle (I live in Renton close to Seattle). Maybe you’d like to checkout Tacoma? Clover Park Technical College? My bf said students live nearby and Tacoma is affordable and also city like!