Mendocino College is part of the California Community College system, which consists of 116 public community colleges in California. “Junior Colleges”, such as Santa Rosa Junior College and Modesto Junior College, are also part of this system. All of these colleges are considered 2-year colleges, because they offer college courses at the freshman and sophomore level, and because students can earn an Associate Degree in two years (four semesters) if they complete 15 units per semester.
In most cases, all you need to do to transfer to another community college is to submit an application for admission and enroll in classes at the new college. However, it is also recommended that you complete the new student orientation, satisfy the math and English placement step, apply for financial aid, and meet with a counselor. You will also need to request that Mendocino send your official transcript to the new college.
Some programs of study at community colleges are selective entry programs. That means that you, as a prospective student, must complete specific courses (prerequisites) and meet specific GPA standards to be eligible for selection. These programs generally have more applicants than can be admitted, so selection is competitive. The Registered Nurse program and the Physical Therapy Assistant program at Mendocino College are two examples of selective entry programs. The Dental Hygiene program and the Radiologic Technology program at Santa Rosa Junior College are also examples. If you want to apply to any of these programs, you can take the prerequisite courses at Mendocino College. We recommend that you talk to an academic counselor for details.
Students can complete the freshman and sophomore requirements of a 4-year degree at a community college and then transfer to a CSU or UC to complete the junior and senior requirements. These students are given high priority for admission to one of these two public university systems. See the information below and talk to an academic counselor for details.
Public colleges and universities in other states will have somewhat different transfer admission requirements than the CSU and UC schools. Private colleges in California and in other states also set their own transfer admission requirements. For this reason, it is necessary to research school websites for each of these schools. An academic counselor at Mendocino College can help you with finding and understanding this information. See the information below for a few more details.