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A Maricopa Community College

What is a Community College?

More Americans are enrolled in community colleges than in any other type of higher education institution. But these popular post-secondary schools are not very well understood outside the United States. What are community colleges? Why should international students take a closer look at them?

Community colleges offer several kinds of programs of interest to international students:

                         University-transfer program
                         Technical programs
                         Job-training programs
                         Basic, skills programs
                         Special-interest programs

International students are probably most interested in the first program on this list: university-transfer programs. Community colleges offer the first two years of a normal four-year bachelor's degree program. Thus, students who attend a community college can prepare themselves to transfer to a four-year institution by completing the lower division courses at the community college instead of at a university. After two years, students can apply to the four-year college or university to complete their degree.

For example:

For international students coming to the United States from other countries, community colleges offer some distinct advantages over other institutions:

• Easy, open admission policies
• Wide selection of academic and technical programs
• Basic skill courses including ESL
• Supportive learning environment with small classes
• Low cost tuition
• Credits fully transferable to other colleges and universities