Who wouldn't love a nice campus, in a great location, with great teachers, green buildings and students from all over the world ? I love SMC and would recommend it to anyone who wants to attend a community college. No, it is not perfect but no school on Earth is.
Do you have any tips for prospective students?
Good teachers are more important than a good schedule but classes fill up quickly so be fast ! Crashing classes is also very effective way to get in if you did not enroll fast enough.
Also, make sure you check out the clubs ! SMC has a lot of great clubs ! Eco Action is my favorite but we have tons of other clubs (they're even starting a surf club this year ).
Do you find there’s enough academic rigor at your school?
SMC might not be a 4 year university but they're here to get you ready for it.
If you want good grades, you can get them but you're going to have to work for them, at least for most of your classes (I heard everyone had an A in Japanese 1 last semester...). If you are planning on attending SMC, be ready to work and to learn lots of useful and interesting things with great professors. Trust me, it will be worth it !
Describe the dorm life at your college.
No dorms at SMC but you can easily find a room close to campus.
Describe the food and dining at your college.
The cafeteria is a bit expensive but there are lots of choices and it is pretty clean and spacious. My advice: bring your own food ! Homemade meals are always better and healthier, and you'll save a lot of money !
What’s there to do for fun at your college?
As I already mentioned, join a club ! Santa Monica is also a great place for students, you can go to the beach, learn how to surf or how to skateboard, ride your bike around town, go hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains, go on the roller coaster at the Santa Monica Pier, go shopping on Third Street promenade or visit Venice, Malibu or Downtown Los Angeles.
Do you feel you’re getting value for the money you’re spending on college?
Santa Monica College is, in my opinion and according to several sources, probably one of the best community colleges in California and even in the US.
But you probably already know that and would like to learn things that you did not already read 200 times, I will try to help you with that.
If you are looking for the best teachers in California or the most beautiful school in the area, this is not the place. Why so ? because it is a community college, not a 4 year university. However, lots of people who come to SMC for the 1st time say things like Duuuuude, your school looks like a 4 year university, that's awesome , Wow they have like clubs and stuff happening like all over the place, that's insane or Free pizza ? Really ? Hell yeah !. So, as you probably understood, SMC tries to make the students feel as if they were already in a 4 year university. Teachers also do that in class by making their tests similar to tests you would take in a 4 year university. My history teacher said we don't want you guys to freak out when you arrive at UCLA or CSUN and see all of the homework you have to do and all of the research papers you have to write, that's why we'll start this right now. This might sound a bit scary but, since most students are here to transfer, I believe this is definitely a plus.
If you're reading this as an international student, you might like to know that most of the international students are form Korea, China and Korea but you can meet students from I believe every single continent. They're always happy to meet other international students since most of them got here on their own and did not know anyone else either when they arrived.
Even though we do not have dorms on campus, it is pretty easy to meet people and make friends here. Lots of people hang out at the quad, which is right in the middle of campus, clubs are also pretty popular and most teachers will ask you to work in groups at some point so you will necessarily end up meeting people a...
Share any unusual traditions or locations on campus
The CEUS is one of the little houses on Pearl St next to campus and if you're interested in doing something good for our planet, don't hesitate to go in, they have lots of resources ! The Eco Action club also meets in the back of that house in nice and well organized little area in the shade.
You can also check out the Organic Learning garden next to the Art Building, a really cool little garden that club grow takes care of !
Also, it is not official yet but they are about to create a surf club so, if you are into surfing, you might want to give a try ! Don't worry, you can join even if have never caught a wave before.
Which types of students will excel at your college?
If you are into environmental science or if you just feel like we should take care of our planet, SMC is the place. They lots of eco friendly clubs, green buildings a great center for Environmental and Urban Studies (I know, I keep mentioning it) with lots of resources and they are really trying to be more and more environmentally friendly. I actually believe they're one of the greenest campuses.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
If you're an AS member ( it costs 19.50$/year) you get to join as many clubs as you want form a long list of clubs that get really get funding and that organize a lot of activities. If you're not sure what club to join, wait for clubs week in October or just go to different meetings and see which ones seem fun and interesting to you.
Most clubs will organize activities to which everyone can participate and they are usually really fun.
SMC also organizes lots of events for students. For instance, August 29th was welcome day; they offered free In N Out to every one who came, they had raffles, workshops, fairs and lots of other things to help students get ready for the semester.
How would you describe campus safety? Do you feel safe on campus?
Campus Police is all over campus, especially since last year's shooting (yes, there was a shooting but the school was actually not the target, Google it for more infos) and I feel really safe on and around campus. Some classes end at 10PM and students who get out of class this late feel safe too. If you have evening classes and don't feel safe walking to your car by yourself for any reason, you can call campus police and an officer will walk you to your car.
But, honestly, SMC is extremely safe, especially for a community college in the middle of a city.
Who wouldn't love a nice campus, in a great location, with great teachers, green buildings and students from all over the world ? I love SMC and would recommend it to anyone who wants to attend a community college. No, it is not perfect but no school on Earth is.
Good teachers are more important than a good schedule but classes fill up quickly so be fast ! Crashing classes is also very effective way to get in if you did not enroll fast enough. Also, make sure you check out the clubs ! SMC has a lot of great clubs ! Eco Action is my favorite but we have tons of other clubs (they're even starting a surf club this year ).
SMC might not be a 4 year university but they're here to get you ready for it. If you want good grades, you can get them but you're going to have to work for them, at least for most of your classes (I heard everyone had an A in Japanese 1 last semester...). If you are planning on attending SMC, be ready to work and to learn lots of useful and interesting things with great professors. Trust me, it will be worth it !
No dorms at SMC but you can easily find a room close to campus.
The cafeteria is a bit expensive but there are lots of choices and it is pretty clean and spacious. My advice: bring your own food ! Homemade meals are always better and healthier, and you'll save a lot of money !
As I already mentioned, join a club ! Santa Monica is also a great place for students, you can go to the beach, learn how to surf or how to skateboard, ride your bike around town, go hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains, go on the roller coaster at the Santa Monica Pier, go shopping on Third Street promenade or visit Venice, Malibu or Downtown Los Angeles.
Santa Monica College is, in my opinion and according to several sources, probably one of the best community colleges in California and even in the US. But you probably already know that and would like to learn things that you did not already read 200 times, I will try to help you with that. If you are looking for the best teachers in California or the most beautiful school in the area, this is not the place. Why so ? because it is a community college, not a 4 year university. However, lots of people who come to SMC for the 1st time say things like Duuuuude, your school looks like a 4 year university, that's awesome , Wow they have like clubs and stuff happening like all over the place, that's insane or Free pizza ? Really ? Hell yeah !. So, as you probably understood, SMC tries to make the students feel as if they were already in a 4 year university. Teachers also do that in class by making their tests similar to tests you would take in a 4 year university. My history teacher said we don't want you guys to freak out when you arrive at UCLA or CSUN and see all of the homework you have to do and all of the research papers you have to write, that's why we'll start this right now. This might sound a bit scary but, since most students are here to transfer, I believe this is definitely a plus. If you're reading this as an international student, you might like to know that most of the international students are form Korea, China and Korea but you can meet students from I believe every single continent. They're always happy to meet other international students since most of them got here on their own and did not know anyone else either when they arrived. Even though we do not have dorms on campus, it is pretty easy to meet people and make friends here. Lots of people hang out at the quad, which is right in the middle of campus, clubs are also pretty popular and most teachers will ask you to work in groups at some point so you will necessarily end up meeting people a...
The CEUS is one of the little houses on Pearl St next to campus and if you're interested in doing something good for our planet, don't hesitate to go in, they have lots of resources ! The Eco Action club also meets in the back of that house in nice and well organized little area in the shade. You can also check out the Organic Learning garden next to the Art Building, a really cool little garden that club grow takes care of ! Also, it is not official yet but they are about to create a surf club so, if you are into surfing, you might want to give a try ! Don't worry, you can join even if have never caught a wave before.
If you are into environmental science or if you just feel like we should take care of our planet, SMC is the place. They lots of eco friendly clubs, green buildings a great center for Environmental and Urban Studies (I know, I keep mentioning it) with lots of resources and they are really trying to be more and more environmentally friendly. I actually believe they're one of the greenest campuses.
If you're an AS member ( it costs 19.50$/year) you get to join as many clubs as you want form a long list of clubs that get really get funding and that organize a lot of activities. If you're not sure what club to join, wait for clubs week in October or just go to different meetings and see which ones seem fun and interesting to you. Most clubs will organize activities to which everyone can participate and they are usually really fun. SMC also organizes lots of events for students. For instance, August 29th was welcome day; they offered free In N Out to every one who came, they had raffles, workshops, fairs and lots of other things to help students get ready for the semester.
Campus Police is all over campus, especially since last year's shooting (yes, there was a shooting but the school was actually not the target, Google it for more infos) and I feel really safe on and around campus. Some classes end at 10PM and students who get out of class this late feel safe too. If you have evening classes and don't feel safe walking to your car by yourself for any reason, you can call campus police and an officer will walk you to your car. But, honestly, SMC is extremely safe, especially for a community college in the middle of a city.