Fresno City College

I believe Fresno City College is a good school. At this moment so many people are attempting to get into the school, luckily for me representatives came to my high school to enroll. If you have to enroll at the college campus it could be a hassle with how many people are trying to get in. Of course this means you just have to come extra early or take extra care to get admission stuff done (I had to wait about three hours in a line to get financial aid but I had to do it so I have no complaints).

The education is fine. Classes for me aren't too challenging, as long as you do the work. I do notice that people who slack tend to have trouble. This is fairly obvious and if you turn in all assignments and do moderately well on tests you'll get a passing grade. Professors are people too: Sometimes you'll have classes with ones you like and other times you'll have classes with ones you don't like. I've only had one professor I didn't really like and I used ratemyprofessor.com so I knew ahead of time what I was getting into. I suggest you use that site. SO far it's been extremely accurate for me. I'll throw out a name for my favorite teacher: Dr. Vang who teaches Sociology. She's amazing.

I've read about staff being not so helpful. Like you'll run into anywhere else when you interact with people you'll find nice people and not so nice people. I really respect the counseling department. However, if I have one complaint it would be the business office. On average I've not ran into many friendly people. But let me say this: If you want to have people be helpful and nice to you be polite and smile and happy with them. If you're nice and don't cop an attitude I guarantee your interactions will be pleasant :]

I don't really interact with the students very much because I'm honestly there to learn and get my units done to transfer. I'm friendly but I'm not interested in screwing around or partying. So that means I'm not too helpful about the student body. I do know that people in class, although they appear to be serious, are friendly if you just talk to them. Try it, it's incredible what happens when you are friendly first to people.

My biggest complaint is...the parking! This is not something that can be sugar-coated or played down. Face it, parking here sucks. But I should say that this is more so at the beginning of the semester and once people start to drop out (after a month or so) parking becomes easier to find. You can park down the street in the neighborhood if you don't mind walking, but the convenience of being three minutes from your car (as opposed to ten or so) can be pretty nice. And if you park in the neighborhood at night there might be a little concern about safety walking to your car. I've never had a problem but I could be somewhat naive about the situation. But while I' mentioning parking and walking let me say that this is Fresno. You may not be a very happy camper if you get to Fresno City and find no parking so you have to park in the neighborhood. You'll get out of the car and realize it's 100 degrees or very close to it, sometimes over. Yes, it can really be annoying and that is one of the reasons I'm ready to transfer away from Fresno. If I could I'd take Fresno City College and put it in a city located on the coast where it's about 20 to 30 degrees cooler on Summer days and I would say it's the perfect school experience. I would also like to note that the campus is pretty in my opinion. I've walked around Fresno State and between the two Fresno City College is so much prettier and more interesting to me.To sum up this rather long review let me just say that at first getting into classes will be hard, but if you stick with it things will get better. Waitlisting may not be fun, but keep an open mind when registering for classes. Once you get some units down you'll have better priority for registering and your life will be easier. If you live in Fresno you should attend the college to cut the costs of your first two years of college: I didn't attend a CSU or UC immediately out of high school and I'm very happy that I chose this path.

1st Year Male -- Class 2011

Education Quality: A+, Surrounding City: D

I am attending this college after a 27 year delay. Fresno City College provided an excellent atmosphere for changing careers, by equipping me with the tools I need to be marketable in my new career. There is a negative stigma attached to FCC, but I'll have to disagree with the naysayer's who don't judge by merit or experience, but by other people truths (or fallacies). The staff was very helpful, the instructors were unique each to thier own field of expertise. My overall experience was great. I obtained everything I intended to get and even more. I came in with drop-out status, and I am leaving with honors. Thanks to all those at Fresno City College who pride themselves in making dreams happen, and my dreams are counted in that number.

2nd Year Female -- Class 2008

Faculty Accessibility: A, Campus Maintenance: C

Everyone talks about Fresno as being the worst part of California. I was born and raised in San Luis Obispo, CA and moved here when I was 16, and I've got to say that a lot of what people say is unfounded: obviously, the grass always seems greener when you're on the other side.

FCC is a good school, with a great campus, considering that it's a community college. The art programs are awesome, and the faculty is for the most part well educated and highly respected in their fields. My architecture and dance instructors (dance is my minor) have been incredible. Particularly helpful were Stephanie Powell, the dance department director, and Ken Zamora, of the architecture faculty. Both have led highly successful careers apart from city college. Ms. Powell still travels all over (and out of) the country teaching master's classes and is in high demand. Mr. Zamora has had a successful firm and continues to stay active in the design community, including being an important member of the AIA (he administers the license exam, architecture majors!). All in all, FCC is a great jumping off point. People who complain about the school are probably the same lazy people who make the school look bad. They're just angry because someone expects them to actually work.

3rd Year Female -- Class 2005

Education Quality: A, Faculty Accessibility: C+