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This article summarizes a list of reviews of City College of San Francisco posted on the YELP website.
Overview of City College Reviews
The majority of the reviews about City College of San Francisco were positive to neutral reviews. Almost all the reviews on Yelp! agree that the cost to attend CCSF is reasonable. The vast majority of the reviews also credited the school with good, well educated professors, good educational value from classes and a huge variety of classes that are offered at CCSF. The main negatives recounted in the reviews about CCSF are the condition of the campus and classrooms, the quality of the help provided by the school’s administrators and councilors, overcrowding and difficulty to get classes.
Outside of the core plusses and minuses there were many folks that really liked certain departments and appreciated the lab equipment and the new Library and Health Facility. On the other side there were also many folks that knocked the traffic/parking situation around the campus and about the poor weather on the main Ocean Avenue campus.
The Pros for City College
Cost of Attending CCSF
In both the positive reviews and the negative reviews most reviewers agreed that the cost of attending CCSF is must cheaper that pretty much any alternative. The current price per unit is $26/unit recently raised from $20 due to the financial crisis facing California right now. Additionally, for students with severe economic need, there are waivers that can be filled out which can bring the cost for registration to $6 per semester.
Quality of Classes and Professors
Many reviewers mentioned the how great their professors were, and many stated the fact that a large percentage of the professors had excellent pedigrees (Doctorates from ivy league schools, UC Berkeley, etc.). However, there were stories about bad professors (there were 3:1 positive to negative professor mentions in the reviews). So to be sure you get a good professor many reviewers suggested reading reviews on the potential professors when deciding to register for a class. The 2 most popular professor rating sites listed were: RateMyProfessor.com and MySpace Professor Grading.
Variety of Classes
Approximately 22% of the reviewers for CCSF made direct mention of how much they like the variety of classes offered by CCSF. Several others raved about the diversity of the campuses which are spread out around San Francisco. (See list of campuses below).
CCSF Departments
About 10% of total reviewers mentioned that the sciences departments were top notch at CCSF. The nursing program collected a few rave reviews and a few rant reviews. One major downside to the CCSF nursing program is that they give to preference to local students. So getting into the program is done by a lottery which many find frustrating.
The Cons for City College
Condition of Campus and Classrooms
The most oft criticized characteristic about CCSF was the state of the classrooms and campus. Many considered the campus to be “depressing” and “run-down”. Many commented on the architecture looking as if the campus was constructed in the early 1900s and never updated.
CCSF Administrators and Counselors
Approximately 16% of the reviewers had general complaints about City College’s administrators and councilors and 6% complained about difficulties with transferring credits to CCSF. Many of the complaints about the administrators had to do with the matriculation process. Many students were frustrated that there were no clear guidelines for transferring credits into the college and when students went to administrators for help they felt they did not get adequate support. Outside of matriculation there were several reviews about school administrators that were just plain rude and unresponsive.
NOTE: There were also several positive reviews about CCSF councilors and administrators as well.
Class Overcrowding / Difficulty in Registration
12% of reviewers complained about the crowded classrooms and campus and another 8% specifically mentioned difficulties being able to register for specific classes. Due the inexpensive class offerings and the dense population surrounding this campus classes are often impacted. Especially the required classes that are needed to attain an AA degree.
Demolition Derby
Approximately 17% of the reviewers on Yelp expressly complained about the parking problem at CCSF. Many complained that there wasn’t enough parking; other complained that the lots were too far away from classed, and others complained about having car break-ins. In addition to the parking complaints there were many reviewers that mentioned traffic jams when approaching the main campus, especially during the first two weeks of each semester.
On the whole, CCSF scored pretty well with the Yelp community. It seems that the older students and students with degrees returning only for specific classes were much happier about their CCSF experience than were the students which started with CCSF right out of high school. This is likely because younger, AA degree track students need to take high demand impacted classes which have experienced cut backs, whereas older returning students were taking less crowded general interest courses. However, it also seems that older, or returning students had a more positive attitude about education in general and tended to rate their overall CCSF experience better.
Miscellaneous Comments
New Library and Health Center
CCSF just completed construction of a new state-of-the-art health facility which was mentioned by several reviewers. CCSF offers several types of exercise classes which use the new facility. Also the library is up to date and many reviewers gave it special mention as well.
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