Berkeley City College Campus is so gorgeous. I have seen students, staff, and teachers in friendly communication. I felt comfortable in the college. I took ASL classes and digital photography classes for my major. Good coffee shops and restaurants are close to the Berkeley City College campus. I took the Bart from San Leandro to Berkeley College, and it's easy and fun. Thank you! read more

Get a better gate keeper. Everything Seems so irrelevant to him. Get someone wants to actually help people.

BCC is awful. I gave every one of my teachers a 1 star rating on Rate My Teacher .com. Administration has a policy of not hiring teachers with a good educational background. BCC teachers do not have doctorates even though UC Berkeley is right up the hill and full of professors who have doctorates and need the money from teaching. I believe Administration maintains this policy because they themselves have such a low bar for their administrators that they are too stupid, uneducated, and lazy themselves to be able to handle real professors at the college raising the bar and making the school a better place to learn. BCC is simply a holding pattern to screen students for UC Berkeley. BCC isn't there to help students learn. Each class is like sitting through detention. I will never attend BCC again even if my life depended on it. BCC SUCKS. read more

This review is solely and specifically in honor of a fabulous lady named Paula Coil, who works at the Transfer Center at BCC and pretty much saved my life today. I had left her a voice message this morning after reviewing transfer requirements from Assist.org and ending up thoroughly confused. My mind started going where it always goes when I can't figure out stuff regarding my education: I envision myself in my late 30s, turning a Vanagon or Astrovan Camper into an illegitimate and dubious ice cream truck with spray painted images of the sub par treats I offer. A few minutes after I called, Paula called me back and started telling me she was pretty sure the classes I had mentioned in my message were actually to be taken at CSUEB, not the Peralta Community Colleges. Like a fool, I doubted Paula. She informed me that her computer wasn't working and the cord attached to the telephone she was on couldn't stretch to another computer. Frustrated with myself and slightly embarrassed that I was probably frustrating her too, I told Paula I wasn't sure but that I would figure it out myself. There was a certain sadness in my voice that is definitely not suitable for operating an ice cream truck, ever. When we got off the line, I was convinced I was engulfed in an educational system that had no desire to see me succeed. And then... Paula called back! And had found out the information I needed to know and even discussed my options in another area that I hadn't mentioned to her. It was seriously amazing and by the end I was thanking her profusely and really grateful for professionals like her, that make the college experience that much more productive and personable. read more

Classes are fine. I am rating most of their administrative staff from all 4 colleges. Everytime you call they have such an attitude. I swear! Why take a job you hate and just be plain neutral and so careless to questions asked. Others don't have a clue and wonder around ignoring you. Of course I've met a few nice people who deserve their job bc they know it is a job and they represent their job therefore respect it. But come on fix the people on the desk bc their phone etiquette and service sucks. They give such an unwelcoming vibe, such a ghetto like atmosphere. I work administrative in a hospital and I would have been fired a looong time ago if I ever answered the phone like these people do. Every single time I call someone answer with an attitude. Leave the ghettoness at home be thankful you have a job, do it right. read more

I wouldn't have given BCC any stars (it's not an option, I know)... but counselor Noel (or however you spell his name) saved it from that. I met with Noel to discuss waiving prerequisite classes for a Spanish class. Making the appointment with a counselor was fast and easy, and he was friendly. He reviewed my high school and college transcripts, put in the request, and I was good to go. However, the same cannot be said for the Refunds Department. They canceled said Spanish class due to low enrollment and promised a refund "soon." Now, I understand that refunds don't happen overnight and that mistakes do happen. However, after two months of no refund, three phone calls all spaced out several weeks between each other and an e-mail threatening to get the Refund clerk's supervisor involved, the clerk refused to help me and then had the audacity to dare me to get her supervisor involved. So I did. To the supervisor's credit, she actually tried to help. However, it turned into an even bigger mess and I ended up having to go all the way to the Peralta CC District Office's accounting office to speak to that supervisor to get my refund. The DO's supervisor told me that while most of the Peralta CC District processes refunds promptly, all of the refund problems have been with BCC students. I consider myself warned now, and please do yourself a favor and learn from my mistake. So, that is it. Admittedly, I can't rate the quality of the professors or class because that Spanish class was supposed to be my first class. A friend recommended the class to me because he had previously taken it and enjoyed it. He obviously didn't have to deal with the Refunds Department. Bottom line: BCC really likes your money. They just might keep it, even if they give you nothing in return. Make sure you are okay with the possibility of being parted with your money for a long time if you are owed a refund. I could make jokes about the impact of reduced state funding on education, but this wouldn't be appropriate. My name isn't Arnold. I won't be back. read more

I've gone to a lot of City Colleges (WLACC, SFCC (actually CCSF), SMCC (actually SMC), SBCC & others) and a number of other colleges & extensions. BCC has a high quality facility, great teachers, and is overall the best resource in any city college that I have ever encountered. There are a few drawbacks, like Passport software which doesn't work right, but hopefully that will be fixed (or removed?) soon. And parking is not easy, but the school is very close to BART. However, the number of computers & computer labs, the cleanliness and beauty of the building, the interest and high quality of the teachers, and the low cost of classes -- I'm not sure what could beat it. I've taken various multimedia courses, video/film, and screenwriting here. I also have been a Teachers' Assistant in several courses here. I have paid $400 for a film course at a private school that was covered quite thoroughly for $60 at BCC. That's quite a deal, I think. As for the negative posters on here -- my questions for them would be 1 - are you being negative about your classes? Or the Passport system/parking/ overworked administrators? 2 - Have you ever gone to ANY other city colleges? How did they compare? If you DO get stuck/confused using Passport system, here's my tip (yes, this works): If you want to add a class but Passport blocks you, 1 - go to enrollment admin and tell her that you have 'real life experience' that meets all prerequisites of the class. OR 2 - get an add form and go to the class, have the teacher sign it, and drop it to enrollment -- and you are in. Please don't hate BCC b/c of the poorly designed Passport system! That's like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Passport was a Peralta-wide decision, and I have heard the system can work well (somewhere?) -- but in this case, it hasn't been implemented correctly. Maybe they will fix it? Who knows? ** My work-aroundfor Passport ** (Hello BCC/Peralta infrastructure people? Read this!) DO NOT allow it to block people from enrolling in classes, but if a student does not meet minimum requirements, it should put a STAR by their name, and on day 1, the teacher can chat with the student and verify whether they meet minimum requirements or not. Whew -- done. read more

Just recently moved to Berkeley and its been taking me 2 months and counting to get my enrollment and financial aid finished. Other than the one counselor that has been very helpful, all of the other staff members I have encountered here have been snappy and rude. I've been having a lot of trouble communicating with the staff here trying to transfer transcripts, signing up for classes, and getting financial aid. I've had to come into the school at least 5 times now waiting hours on end just to speak to a rude staff member for about 5 minutes. With that said, I understand that the wait should be expected but its nervous racking when I'm forced to come in because they could not understand my question via email. Just now I came to the counseling office an hour early so I decide to check on my financial aid making sure I wasn't missing anything. There was no line has just opened. I ask "I want to check on my status on my fasfa just to make sure I'm not missing anything". Her reply was "Do you think we can file paperwork within a week? It's going to take 4-6 weeks and we will email you if we need you to come in." I asked a simple question because I've had to come in multiple times when it could have been resolved in one meeting. I've never had this much trouble with school enrollment before and cannot comprehend why the staff here is so bitter. The students workers here are more helpful and nice than the staff themselves. Bothered me so much that I created a yelp account just to post this. read more

I loved the animation class I took here! The professor is excellent! The facilities are gorgeous, and for the price you pay, which is virtually nothing, you get top-knotch professors who actually have time for you. A lot of the people teaching across the street at UC Berkeley teach here too. I don't understand why people are hating on this place. usually comunity colleges have gnarly faciltiies, but this place is completely new, renovated and gorgeous. Also, if you're getting a bachelors you usually don't need a huge research institution to learn the basics. Plus the college is across the street from UC Berkeley so you can attend and network at many of the world class events there for free! read more

I haven't Yelped in awhile (le gasp!), and in light of The Commodore's latest achievement, I thought I should Yelp BCC. I've been to many college campuses up and down the Golden State in my day, and not many stand out architecturally for me. My top favourites thus far are as follows: 1. The Geology Department at UCSB (duh! how can I not love my own department?) 2. The Life Sciences Building at UCB 3. Berkeley City College So, what makes these particular buildings so great? Well, I've gotta say it must be the overall essence of the building - from the archietectural design, to the decor, to the faculty and students that inhabit the building. My top 2 shall have to Yelped another day, however, for this review is for BCC. I'd never attended this campus of the Peralta String back when it was Vista College, so I can't vouch for the before and after make-over. My brother has, though, and to him it was "Meh". Since the renovation, however, my eyes are treated to a visual masterpiece each time I step into the building for class. I appreciate the way the architects were able to fuse concrete, metal and wood into a cohesive and aesthetic way that doesn't feel cold in the least, which is what you would assume from the industrial structure if on the outside. The security smiles each time you walk in through the front glass doors, and if you're not inclined for some physical activity, there are 3 elevators waiting to take you to where you wanna go. I do like listening to the elevator lady call out which floor you're on. She's got this accent that's really hard to place. It's cute. I want to say British-Canadian, but I could be wrong. The view from the 5th floor lounge is stimulating, especially around sunset. From there, you can glimpse the fading light reflected from nearby giants, with the Berkeley hills looming in the background. I also love the vending machines, with their fine selection of beverages and snacks that won't rip out your pocketbook for a song and your vocal cords. The computer labs are great, filled to the brim with as much hardware as to get a g33k girl's fan into overdrive, and loaded with the latest software that the poor college can afford (which really isn't that bad at all, imo). The printing lab is awesome too, should you ever be lucky to take a Digital Printing class. The attendants are all very friendly and helpful, and I heart the fact that they love Photoshop over Lightroom. So come on down and take a class here sometime. Pick the right one and I'll see you there. read more

If I were to review this based on my class experience with my professors they would get a five star. The problems I've had are actually with financial aid this would get a single star and only because they fix it. I have never had to chase a financial aid office down to receive my aid. This has happened every semester so far. They miscalculate my aid and are off by thousands of dollars. When the attention is brought to the situation it gets resolved, but I am forty seven and can do this. If I were a student in the average age range of 18-24 I might let this slide but don't!! I'm writing this review for students that aren't sure if they are getting the right amount ASK EMAIL AND CALL!! The beginning of your college education should not be a financial catastrophe. Good luck on your education goals and get that money! You should not go hungry or be stressed about books or rent you deserve an education!! read more

I am very impressed with BCC-- It took me a while to check it out- and finally, here I am taking a writing workshop with the charming Tom Moniz. The class is large, and by jiminy gosh, they are a bunch of GOOD writers. Enrolling in the class was easy. I feel sorry for the regular students,. they are probably just as smart as UCB guys, BUT they don't have a campus, and have to hang out on faux marble benches ( not donated by alumni), and see all the ill mannered Berkeley High louts and other louts (love that word) walk by a-hollerin' and shoutin'. Very important in re the building- the women's bathroom is very clean, and sooo bright ! I feel quite safe in the building, in spite of the raffish Downtown "element" because there is a very stern face woman seated by the front entrance ( who acknowledges my presence with a smile) read more

BCC is full of annoying 18 year olds that remind me of myself when i first graduated from highschool. and that doesn't do anything other than make me walk around pissed off all day and angry at myself for ever being such a stupid little punk. thanks BCC. read more

I hate this School. The only good thing about this School was the Teachers. The only reason they get 2 stars instead of 1. Once you leave the classroom and have to deal with their employees/website it's a nightmare. Their website is sooo frustrating. In order to log-in you have to go under "Enroll Now". But wait I'm already enrollled? Yeah it's confusing. I'm so glad that I moved and get to go to another School (Palomar College). Granted when the semester I started attending was their 1st open semester at their new location on Center Street. Oh yeah so this School is in the Peralta District of College but it is hands down the hardest. I attended classes at other colleges in the same district and after talking to other students BCC is definitely harder academically than any other college in the District. I think this is because of how close the campus is to UC Berkeley. The administrators assume that everyone aspires to be a Cal attendee and make the classes harder in order to prepare you. Something else that sucks is their phone line. If you call 510-981-2800 it prompts you to dial an extension and if you don't you get hung up on! Loretta from Admissions & Records is more unhelpful than anything else. My dad had to get on the phone with her because she was giving me such a hard time enrolling! read more

Great School. Great teachers. Word of warning: don't let the counselors convince you to take Calculus without a thorough understanding of trigonometry. It's impossible and a huge nightmare; and guess what- about a third of my class was in the same position and we all had to drop and take trig. Overall I would recommend that you go to advisors at the school that you want to transfer in to, they will have the best advice. read more

I'm writing regarding for the math tutoring center at BCC. this place will single-handedly keep me at Laney until I'm done with my pre-req courses to change career paths. Laney rules, by the way. I had a sexist, arrogant dude named Lev tutor me over the summer who made me feel like "a girl taking a math class," which NO ONE has made me feel like, ever. Not even in high school, when I told myself that i wasn't a math person. So i return to college, doing the sciences and math for the first time in over ten years, and I get nothing but support from teachers and tutors alike. Until I start taking stats with Dr. Zhiv (who was fine, don't get me wrong. funny and all that) but the tutoring center didn't seem to care that they have a completely condescending man tutoring stats. After telling the head of the center my concerns, he sort of brushed it off and said, well, we'll get you understanding stats in no time. My session included this guy cutting me off when I was trying to explain something, trying to define outliers by encouraging me to think of "a beautiful woman walking down the street, and every guy goes looking at her; THAT'S an outlier," (when i pretended I didn't know what he was talking about, I'm certain he deemed me a humorless feminist. I'm a feminist, damn it, but i'm not humorless), and finally at the end of the session he said to me, "Look, i can tell you're really nervous," proceeding to psychoanalyze me and how i came across in our session. I'm nervous, cuz you're a dick. That's all. BCC math tutoring center, lose Lev or tell him to stop being a sexist and to start treating women with some respect. read more

My seventh review of Berkeley City College ("BCC") located in the People's Republic of Berkeley. A retrospective review of 3.5 Stars. I attended BCC from August 2008 through December 2013. Why so long at BCC? My original intent was to upgrade my administrative assistant work skills and get back into the workforce. Along the way, I decided to not only to upgrade my AA workskills, I decided to transfer to UC Berkeley in order to be even more competitive in the job market. It took an additional three years at BCC but all the hard work, sweat, and stress paid off with much gratitude and thanks to much of the faculty and staff at Berkeley City College. Thanks to BCC I discovered I could major in Film and Media Studies at Cal. I was able to get a lower division film course at Cal waived since I took an equivalent at BCC. I took more film history and some art history courses that helped in describing miss-en-scene elements in film and media. However, no gratitude and no thanks to the chatty students at BCC, many of them who feel they are still in high school Version 2.0 or back in high school. As I have said before, "There is no respect for the instructors who are here to teach and the other students who are here to learn, not to socialize, in the classroom. I do not mind them talking when the instructor is not lecturing or they are assigned group work. I do give a *deleted expletive* when they are talking at the same time as the instructor." By the time I left, many of the instructors and professors have been shutting down the chatty students in class. I do not miss the chatty students at all--I am so glad they are history as far as I am concerned! As for the committed, serious, and studious students: "Community college is the first step to getting either professional training or transferring to a 4-year institution if one was not able to get in after high school, among other reasons. Well, training and transferring costs and right here is where one starts paying through sweat and hard earned work!" Other things I do not miss at all are dealing with Financial Aid and the Record and Admissions (R&A) offices on the first floor. I am not surprised the comments have not been favorable regarding these departments. There are some people in those departments that leave much to be desired, to say the least. I concur the Financial Aid office appears to be short-staffed. I do not miss the long wait in line to talk with a financial aid staff member, there is usually either one or two windows open when there are at least three windows in total that could be utilized. There was really only one staff member in Financial Aid I enjoyed talking with. There was a staff member on R&A whose grasp of the English language leaves much to be desired. I did my best not having to deal with them as much as possible, I preferred talking to the R&A supervisor and would ask to speak with them. I would have to go the Counselors' Offices at least three to four times a semester since I was on financial aid and would have to submit an education plan every semester. The wait to see a counselor leaves much to be desired. There is a period of appointments that starts about two-three weeks after the semester begins and ends about the same period of weeks before the end of the semester. I remember waiting for specific counselors for about three hours' time/most of the afternoon just to get updated paperwork and get it signed off if they were on duty counseling drop-ins. During my time there, there were only three full-time counselors and the other counselors were part-timers. The BCC Transfer and Career Center. I was quite fortunate to have this invaluable resource at BCC. I was there more than two times a week, and participated in transfer seminars and college fairs every semester. I have heard BCC has the best transfer center in the Peralta Community College District out of all the four colleges. I transferred to Cal Berkeley with three liberal arts degrees, three associates degrees, and two certificates from Berkeley City College. And a member of the BCC administrative staff gave me a compliment in letting me know that I am one of their success stories. Thank you BCC for opening my mind to possibilities and helping me transfer to UC Berkeley. Here's to another 40 years to BCC in transforming lives and helping students succeed! Cheers! read more

The building is nice and new, the wireless pretty solid, you'll lose your cell phone signal in the elevators and in the bathroom, but it's rude to use it there anyway. The best thing about this building is the fifth floor student lounge. Wide open windows facing the Powerbar building and Berkeley hillside, nice and bright, generally quiet, but it's not meant to be a quiet room. Plenty of vending machine snacks that take bigger bills (sometimes it's fun to pretend you hit the jackpot when you're getting 18 $1 coins back from a $20). So, bottom line: Free internet, lots of snacks. read more

This is a review of the building itself- which used to be called Vista College (which I happened to like the layout 10x better). I just happened to take a summer class here and this design sucks! Whoever designed this building must have been nuts or watching INCEPTION- layer of dream upon layer of dream. Yeah this is what this place does to you, causes to question am I dreaming? Or am I awake? Hmmm place looks vaguely familiar....in fact all the floors look familiar- but something is different the numbers (damn I am not dreaming or am I?) What not to do in architecture- Do not and when I say do not I mean DO NOT!!!!! put one of the most WIDELY used rooms- the registrar, business office, and financial aid in the SAME room!!!!!! And on top of that put that near the freakin entrance!!!! I came here to enroll and pay my fees and this was a nitemare because the line that came out of this room wrapped aound spilling out of the room. To make matter's worse they put computer's all around in the center so then as you are standing in line- people are cutting through the line to hop on a computer, or to get off from a computer, or too get to the other side of the building,....horrendous design I tell you.... This is also a square building- yup! But the inside is circular...why? because they wasted all this space putting a huge empty space in the middle. Only cool thing is that you can say wave to someone on the other level or shout real loud and hear an echo. But- yeah this is a waste of space especially because this is a small building, though it has I believe 4 levels (the there is one more level below the main entrance). If there weren't that many students I can appreciate the design like if it was a gallery or museum....anways I had a great professor here (5 stars for him) read more

As someone who wasn't always the most academically minded person I believe that BCC is a great place for people to figure out what to do with their lives. I've spent the last 3 years here building the credits for transfer and I'm honestly a little sad to be moving on from BCC. While BCC is mostly a one building college the people are some of the most helpful people working in the public education system. I have always been surprised by the knowledgeable professors that teach many of the classes in this institution. Being an English/Political Science Major my experiences in both departments have mostly been great and I've only experienced a few professors who have been less than knowledgeable. I will mention that BCC's support network I.E. Financial Aid and Counseling were the only times where I felt that my experience as a student was like a number in the DMV office rather than a student trying to find assistance. If I had to give some advice to people who are thinking of attending. Make sure you know where you plan on going after BCC, which would have helped me a lot. Building a plan and specifically choosing what classes you want to take during your time there will yield you much more returns than simply taking a random smattering of classes (which I did when I started here). All in all I personally felt that my time at BCC has come to a close as I hope to take on opportunities at UCD and UCSC. read more

They have great professors! Even when I wasn't able to find my professor on ratemyprofessor.com I still ended up with a great teacher. I honestly don't think I could have picked a better college. read more

I'm not sure why there are so many negative reviews. BCC is far from perfect, but most of my professors have been wonderful. I will be transferring soon, I have paid nothing, and I have learned quite a lot. Many of my classmates are brilliant, interesting people and I've made some good friends. It can be difficult to figure out the peculiarities of the system, you have to be persistent, but the staff always tried to help me as best as they could. The Peralta board is corrupt and underpays the staff while lining their own pockets, so sometimes things work slowly. But I previously went to a community college in another state, and compared to that place, BCC seems like Harvard haha. A tip for new students: spend as much time as you can in the Learning Resource Center. Work on your homework, get the free tutoring, but also, talk to people! Ask them what their experiences were with professors that you are considering taking, and check rate my professor too, there are a lot of duds. read more

Crap. overcrowded, A joke really! Financial Aid lines are insane, as well as admissions. This place hosts so much attitude! I went here for one full-time semester and I decided I would much rather commute to DVC then go here, which by the way is a great school. if you need any assistance they are happy to help. At BCC all you get is ATTITUDE and a lot of BS! If you wanted to be treated like a second class citizen, then go here. read more

I've been to each and every college in the Peralta system and this is by far the best. It gives you that legit "college" feel. It's a tall building on center street so parking can be super hard to find. Most of it is metered parking or 2 hour parking so I would consider public transportation if you can - there's a Bart station at the end of the street directly across from Wells Fargo. Many eateries, cafés, bookstores, etc. going on down Shattuck and University. The school has many resources: the learning resource center for tutoring, the spacious and clean library, a large student lounge on the 5th floor and the counseling department is wonderful (shout outs to Gabe!). Overall, I love this school and would recommend it to those who are wanting to attend a community college. read more

Berkeley City College - Graduation in May! - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Berkeley, California

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This review is based on current (Fall of '06) attendance at Berkeley City College. Formerly Vista Community College, Berkeley City College is part of the Peralta Colleges and is a great place to further your education or just take some classes for fun at the community college level. BCC is in a new building on Center street, about a block away from the former Vista site at the intersection of Milvia and Addison. What I've seen of the new building is nice...of course, it's new construction. My class - ASL II - however, is located at the "Annex" a block away on Allston next to the Ross. (I was led to believe that he handful of classes at the Annex were being held there due to some of the construction at the new building being incomplete at the start of the fall quarter. What BCC will do with that location in the future, I don't know.) The Annex as well as the main building are centrally located to downtown Berkeley. Numerous restaurants and shops are within easy, easy walking distance. Parking can be a little of a hassle, but if you plan to get to class early, you'll have time to browse the shops of Berkeley before class. If your on bike or public transit, you're in good shape - Bart, bus and plenty of places to lock your bike up are all right there. In my limited experience here...great teachers, friendly administrators and reasonably priced - for credit - classes. Got Knowledge? read more

I enjoy the campus environment and I have met some very talented people who make me really appreciate the community college way of being. Yes it's a bureaucracy nightmare, but then again what establishment isn't? I hear that it is an absolute nightmare trying to get financial aid funding together and that must be extremely stressful. Staff are very forthcoming and generally willing to work with people's needs. Some positive personal experiences I have had with professors have been with Dr. Freeman in Poly Sci (phenomenal), Dr. Kies in Anthropology (Equally incredible), Ms. Hardy in English (One of the most driven teachers I've ever met), Ms. Chemouni in Math, Mr. Simon in Economics (Dude wears a new suit every single class) and others. I will say you should be careful as to what classes you take so as to not be wasting your time, energy and money but overall this school has a wonderful wealth of resources and is an absolute steal for the price. If you stay focused and plan your escape, you will enjoy the ride along the way (hopefully...) BIG shout-out to Paula Coil in the Transfer Center whom i saw was mentioned before, she really is a spectacular human being and deserves some sort of award for providing consistently kind and supportive help. Also Heather Dodge in the library is wonderful in many ways and deserves much praise. May not be perfect but it's a well oiled machine to say the least. OH and they are planning to expand their campus in the next few years so definitely something to look for. Also their acceptance rate to UC Berkeley is the second highest in the country if you didn't know. Not too shabby BCC, not too shabby... read more

How can Berkeley City College collect the gifts which graduating students could make to the School? No. I am not taking about money, I'm talking about the connections which students make during the classes they take before the end of the classes or certificate program. In Poetry there are the connections which students make during the class such as editors to whom they submit material for publishing and the result of their submissions. Collecting the various editors names and publications and keeping them as a resource would help the coming class of students as well as to secure the prize of being published as a reason to keep courage. How and where could such resources be located? Are there such resources in each and every certificate program let alone in each and every single class taken? Could you, the student, get benefit from such a gift? read more

Went here for a semester and had to go through the longest process to register to this school in my LIFE! Waiting in the lines for financial aid, admissions and records, and counseling are horrific. If you need to see either one of them, prepare yourself to wait in a line for at least 1 hour. MAKE SURE! that you have all the questions either written or in mind and ALL of the paperwork you need or else you'll find yourself waiting for so long only to be spoken to for a couple minutes with rude service and be told to come back again because you forgot to bring one small document and/or paperwork. I feel like they are understaffed and overwhelmed with all the students who have questions and need assistance. Sometimes I feel like some of staff members don't care which is sad because students are coming here to get an education. The programs seem like the usual but I wish they had more options but I like how they have an Animation Program which is different and would probably be a lot cheaper compared to those big name Art school in the Bay Area. Overall, I feel like it's the amount of care and service that got me on this one. The location is great! It's right next to Downtown Berkeley Bart and is near UC Berkeley. The classes are what you expect from a community college, very similar to high school. read more

I legit enjoy going to this school, while it can present some of the normal difficulties that come with signing up for/attending college it seems to be fairly manageable without toooo much difficulty......... The honest downside/warning? The Internet here is total shit. Don't plan on doing any of your homework that requires the Internet on campus. Other than that the facilities are actually pretty decent. read more

Where do I start. Dropped me from all my course because I "did not pay before the semester started" I showed them my receipt. Their response "Ah, this receipt is for the previous semester, not this current semester." Only one problem with this. I did not attend bcc the previous semester. The administration at this school is a joke. The woman answering the phone did not even state the schools name, just a "uh huh." They had no idea how to fix my problem leading me to resolve the issue through the bank. The woman behind the counter threatened to have the IRS called on me because I was disputing their incompetent handling of my money. (which i paid them in full, and never received what I paid for) This school is a joke, do not go here unless you like dealing with incompetent morons. I am now attending Diablo valley college and the administration there is 10x more professional. Please dont gamble with your education by letting these people screw you over like they did me. read more

I signed up for the 2010 fall semester of Art 20 (Beginning Drawing and Composition) at Berkeley City College. It was taught by Sharon Siskin, but subs filled in for the first three weeks. My motive was to better my understanding of the drawing process, as much of what I had learned up to this point had been self taught. On the first day of class, I went to room 51 as instructed by the catalog. Unfortunately, there had been a last minute change and no notice was posted on the door. I did not think to double check the website. So I waited along with several other students for someone to come and open the empty room 51. After a while I finally went to the information desk. First they told me the teacher was probably late. Then they said she just must not have come, so here, fill out the names of all the students who showed and take it to administration. When I took the list to administration, they said Oh, that class is in 514. Everyone else who'd been waiting with me had gone home by that time, but better late than never I suppose... What I caught of the first class consisted mostly of the substitute telling us to buy various materials listed on the syllabus -- which, it turned out, we were never going to need (more or this later). The first substitute was a woman whose name escapes me. She taught from a Buddhist viewpoint ("we contain the universe inside us"). She had us draw white popcorn on white paper. She also had us rehearse the "seven motifs" or drawing symbols. I had misgivings at this point as "symbol drawing" is something I have specifically taught myself to avoid; it is the single biggest obstacle to drawing realistically. But, eh, it was what they were doing in class, so I did it. No big deal. The second substitute was a Mr. Seth Eisen, a competent artist who knew his stuff. He had us drawing -- really drawing. All right -- now this class was getting interesting! At this point I relaxed and got my hopes up for the rest of the term. After three weeks Mrs. Siskin took over. This was my very first class at BCC, so at first I wasn't sure what to think when she was more interested in showing political films such as "The Story of Stuff" than in demonstrating drawing techniques. Nor did I understand why she wanted us to purchase and carry so many art supplies (especially the 18x24 newsprint pad) when we didn't use them in class; she usually sent us home to draw our assignments. After a few weeks of weeding my bulging tote so I could change trains and make it to school without pulling a muscle, I stopped bringing it. Week piled on week, one drawing assignment after another, and to my horror I slowly realized that this nice lady had no intention of teaching anyone how to draw. The focus of the class was critique, critique, and more critique... At this point I thought about dropping out, but it was too late to do so without penalties and I was loathe to let go of the $80 class fee, $17 health fee, and $100 or so in BART fare I'd already invested. It didn't get any better. I saw this teacher draw exactly once during the entire term, to demonstrate one-point and two-point perspective. The drawings were crooked. I'm not down on beginning artists, but I expect more from a teacher. The "teaching" of drawing basics promised in the course listing consisted almost entirely of photocopied handouts. I skipped out a lot since it seemed pointless to be there when there wasn't any drawing, and finally kissed my fees goodbye and gave up on BCC entirely. As far as I'm concerned it was a huge waste of money and effort. I went from getting up excitedly at 5:30am so I could pack my lunch and catch a ride to BART, to dragging my feet and wishing I didn't have to go at all. Finally I realized that, hey, I'm an adult, right? I can decide not to go if it's not worth it. It wasn't, so I didn't. Being told in class that Dada was brilliant for moving a toilet was the last straw. Perhaps other classes at BCC aren't this bad; however, I reasoned that if they were, I would be locked into them as I was into this one. I had no interest in once again warming a seat while someone else told me what I ought to think about government spending or global warming in what was supposed to be a drawing class. I thought beforehand that I could endure a certain amount of stupidity to get a degree that would ease my way on the job market. After severe brain pain, I changed my mind. I'm going back to my local civic center, where I can learn from real masters who love drawing at least as much as they love showing you how to do it too. If you are looking to score some easy credits in a class where no real effort or learning will be required of you, take this one with this teacher; you'll have a ball. She IS nice although her view of "Art" is very different from mine. If you want to learn how to draw, though, and expect to work hard and have fun, this is NOT the place. For me, the whole experience was a huge disappointment. read more

I've taken a couple of classes here and enjoyed my experience here even though it was for a short time. The school is located down the street from Berkeley High School l, which makes for a great transitional school for high school graduates from that high school. The college is in one whole building which makes it easy to find all of your classes. They have several floors of classes which are all decent sizes. They have a large library/studying area on the main floor which is great for quite time to catch up on work of studying. As far as the professors and classes, they are definitely better than most other community classes I have been to and they have much more variation of classes here which is great for students of different majors. As far as parking, there is a huge parking structure across the college which is super convenient! Come check this place out! read more

EXTRAORDINARILY UNPROFESSIONAL! I tried for almost 3 months to schedule an assessment test. I contacted the course instructor, other instructors in the department, the department admin, counseling. NO ONE returned a phone call or email. I finally got some assistant in the department on the phone, and she gave me attitude. Classes start soon and I can't get the test done in time for this term. The assistant actually said I should have started SOONER! Seriously??! I don't understand how they're allowed to waste taxpayer money like that. They need oversight - BIG TIME! I get it if it's your only choice, but if it's not, there's better choices in the Bay Area. read more

They need to get rid of those 2 old biddies at Admissions and Records. They are so rude and never smile and act like they have an attitude when you ask the simplest of questions. The online system is a mess and their financial aid department is the worst I've ever experienced. They need to have a drop box where people can just drop off their paperwork into and they need to integrate a system where people can check their award status online, instead of having to wait in a long line just to ask a few questions. read more

Indeed, an excellent organization. Berkeley City College truly makes the world a better place for students and all. There is great talent and wisdom here. read more

update: they're actually picking up their phones! I called the Cashier's office and someone actually answered and was thoroughly helpful. I'll up my stars if they continue this kind of service to the students, but for now the helpful guy at the Cashier's office just earned them another star. ----------------------------------------------------------------- The teachers are great, but what's up with the Cashier's office, Financial Aid, and their Counseling office? On the rare occasion that I get to speak with a live person on the telephone, they act like I've just interrupted their lunch hour or something. NEVER get straightforward answers, and they stand with their couldn't-care-less attitudes. When I inquired about having left a message two weeks ago, I was resonded to with a scoffing laugh and a "oh, they never return their calls. they're too busy." And as a student with a full time job that makes me what....... full of free time to deal with their bull?! read more

I can't speak to the quality of the classes or teachers yet, but I have *never* had worse service at a college. The following is a nonexhaustive list of reasons why. Directly in the middle of the enrollment period they decided to close and upgrade Passport, which enables students to view course availability and enroll in classes. It's been closed for about 5 days. The notice said it would be back functioning at 3am, so I set an alarm to wake up in the middle of the night to sign up for classes. It's still not up, and it's now 4am. The counseling office is also rude and understaffed. If it's your first time enrolling and trying to sign up for classes at BCC, I recommend not doing so for the summer session. I had to take off work to go to a counselor so she could remove a block on the classes I am able to enroll in based on my assessment scores. Why couldn't this be done automatically? When I tried to see the counselor, she was in a staff meeting and no one was allowed to sign up to see her until an hour and a half later. I inquired if there was a waiting list I could sign and the boy behind the desk informed me: "no, you have to wait in line just like everybody else." When time finally came to sign up, the list was only open to people who'd sat in the counseling office waiting for an hour. Another girl who'd taken off work, driven up from Santa Cruz, and arrived early in the morning was turned away because she'd left the counseling office to actually do something productive in her 3 hrs of waiting time. This is the first for-profit business I've seen in the U.S. that can treat their customers like an inefficient government bureaucracy does and still stay in business. Don't try to do drop-in counseling on a Friday; there's usually only one counselor there. They cram the mandatory orientation that tells you a lot about how to navigate the school systems into about 15 minutes before the placement test when all you're thinking about is how nervous you are. Ostensibly they were open to questions. However, when I asked one, I was given a hasty answer that was unhelpful in the same way as a dictionary that uses the word you're searching for as that word's definition. read more

The new Berkeley City College in downtown Berkeley is fantastic. The facility itself is conveniently located near Berkeley BART and is a vast improvement over the old falling-apart moldy building with the outdated computers where Vista computer classes used to be held. I have taken a number of courses from the Peralta community college system (which includes Berkeley CC - the former Vista CC- as well as Merritt College, Laney College and Alameda). There are a lot of courses here that are designed to help people who are already working in specific industries get a leg up on the competition or just improve their skills in the workplace or at home. Need to know Microsoft Access so you can impress your boss with some new skills or want to take a Japanese culture class so you don't feel like an idiot next time you order sushi? Brush up on your high school Spanish for your next vacation to Mexico or learn how to get the red eye out on your digital photos? There's a great mix of people here- high school students who are overachievers, old people who want to learn how to turn their computers on, and just regular folks just looking to keep on learning. Classes are affordable and financial aid is available too. The computer classes here are great- the new facilities boast new Macs and PCs with the latest versions of industry software. You can learn FinalCutPro, Flash, Dreamweaver, 3D animation, databasing, etc. And there are plenty of evening and weekend classes so us working folks can better our minds in our spare time. Also, I have found the instructors to be very helpful and accomodating of my work schedule. Also, there are lots of evening open lab times so you can stop by after work to finish up class projects if you don't have the software at home. read more

Being a Veteran, I have been to many community colleges in the US. I am a fan of this institution. It is in the middle of Downtown Berkeley. It resembles a typical college campus you may see in Manhattan or Boston. Most community colleges tend to be in suburban settings. Berkeley City College sets the example of perfect Urban Planning. More community colleges need to put their campus in downtown locations. This school is a tree hugger's dream come true. Reason I say that, in California, community colleges are high strung on providing parking and paying for a parking sticker. Berkeley City College, there isn't campus provided parking, there are parking garages that a student must pay, but the Peralta Community College District charges 31.00 USD per semester for a semester long bus pass, only draw back, it isn't usable on BART (Bay Area's version of Metro or NY Subway). It is one block from the Downtown Berkeley BART Station. More community colleges need to locate in this type of setting. It would help Downtown Redevelopment in many parts of the USA. There are many eating establishments and coffee shop within four blocks. At this campus I don't have to play Frogger to get to any eating establishment or coffee shop. When I mention playing Frogger, I am implying how most US community colleges are in suburban settings, where a student have to cross a highway like boulevard to get to an eating establishment or coffee shop. When I poke fun at playing Frogger, I am implying Solano Community College, Contra Costa College, Coastal Carolina Community College, Chabot College, SD Mesa College, and Miramar College. The building is brand new and LEED certified. Per WalkScore.com, Berkely City College received a walk score of 100 or 100. read more

Very rude and helpless staff . These two were just chatting while I was in line, saw them glance at me knowing I was in line for some help didn't even hesitate to ask. Weak sauce! read more

Berkeley City College - yea chilling and chatting instead of helping a student in line . - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Berkeley, California