Florida is a great state in which to attend college. If you’re considering attending college in Florida, but want to save some money, you may want to consider some of Florida’s Community Colleges. Attending a Florida Community College will allow you to get your two year associate’s degree for less money than you’d spend at a four-year university, and all Florida community colleges that are public share a course numbering system with Florida’s public universities, making it easy to transfer to a university if you wish to continue your education.
Below is an overview of 10 excellent Florida community colleges, some of which offer much more than your standard two-year associate of arts degree. For more information on a particular college, click the name of the college to be directed to their website.
1. Valencia Community College (VCC):
The two main campuses, and smaller satellite campuses of this Florida community college are located in Orlando, Florida. Valencia has no on-campus housing, but both main campuses have apartment complexes within walking distance. In addition to offering excellent associate of science and associate of arts programs in many areas of art and computer science, this Florida community college offers “pre-majors”, which are Associate of Arts degrees designed to fulfill many of the lower level requirements required by the related Bachelor of Arts degrees at one of Florida’s state universities. Valencia also offers a number of classes that can be taken online, though many online classes still require a few face-to-face meetings. Finally, an A.A. from Valencia guarantees admission to any Florida state university.
2. Seminole Community College (SCC):
The main campus of this Florida community college is located in Lake Mary, Florida. There are also campuses in Heathrow, Florida, Oviedo, Florida, Altamonte Springs, Florida and Sanford, Florida. These cities are all near Orlando, Florida. Like Valencia, Seminole Community College offers no on-campus housing, but most campuses have apartments within walking distance. This Florida community college also offers Associate of Science, Associate of Arts, and university pre-majors. Like Valencia, Seminole Community College also offers a number of classes that can be taken online, though many online classes still require a few face-to-face meetings. Seminole Community College offers a “DirectConnect to UCF”, guaranteeing admission to the University of Central Florida to complete your bachelor’s degree.
3. Daytona Beach Community College (DBCC):
This Florida community college based out of Daytona Beach, Florida, but also has campuses in Deland, Florida, Deltona, Florida, New Smyrna Beach, Florida, and Flagler/Palm Coast, Florida. This Florida community college also offers no on-campus housing. They offer a fairly extensive athletics program, including baseball, softball, basketball, and golf. They offer associate of science and associate of arts degrees, as well as a handful of limited access programs in high demand areas of study. This Florida community college also reaches out to students in area high schools, offering an Early College option to juniors and seniors at select schools who have demonstrated academic excellence.
4. Florida Community College at Jacksonville (FCCJ):
With many campuses throughout Jacksonville, Florida, it’s convenient to get to class at this Florida community college. In addition to offering the traditional associate of arts degree, FCCJ will also be offering three bachelor’s degrees starting in Fall 2008, in Business, Computer Networking, and Nursing. This Florida community college makes communication easy by using Gmail as their preferred email service, and has created a Connections portal to communicate campus-related news through the web. There is no on-campus housing, but they do offer distance learning. According to their website, FCCJ is one of the nation’s leading providers for online education, making it easy for non-traditional college students to start their college career. They also offer degree programs designed to directly transfer to Florida’s public universities.
5. Miami-Dade College (MDC):
Located in Miami, Florida, this Florida community college has almost 160,000 students enrolled. In addition to the main campus in Miami, Florida, they also have campuses in Hialeah, Florida, Homestead, Florida, and Kendall, Florida. According to their website, MDC annually awards more associate degrees than any other community college in the United States. Like most other Florida community colleges, MDC does not offer on-campus housing. They do have some notable alumni, including Sylvester Stallone, Andy Garcia, and Hanna Guillen. In terms of academics, MDC offers the traditional associate of arts degree, but also has an honors college, a virtual college, and the New World School of the Arts, a “center of excellence” for visual and performing arts.
6. Palm Beach Community College (PBCC):
This Florida community college’s main campus is located in Lake Worth, Florida. They also have campuses in Belle Glade, Florida, Boca Raton, Florida, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and West Palm Beach, Florida. Amenities at PBCC include career placement and childcare. This Florida community college also reaches out to high school students in its area, providing a college readiness program. In terms of academics, they offer associate of science, associate of arts, and associate of applied science degrees in a variety of areas, as well as technical certificates and corporate education.
7. St. Petersburg College (SPC):
SPC has the many campuses. Their main campus is in St. Petersburg, Florida, but they also have campuses in Palm Harbor, Florida, Clearwater, Florida, Largo, Florida, Seminole, Florida, and Pinellas Park, Florida. To provide an excellent student experience, they provide career counseling, career development, clubs, intramurals, religious organizations, athletics, and a variety of social and service clubs. In addition to offering associate of science and associate of arts degrees, like FCCJ, St. Petersburg College offers bachelor degrees, but offers many more options, with areas of study focusing on education and health.
8. Santa Fe Community College (SFCC):
Though you’d expect the name of this Florida community college to be for a school in New Mexico, they are actually located in Gainesville, Florida. In terms of amenities, SFCC offers a range of activities and services. They have student athletics, including a softball team and multiple student organizations. They also have a counseling center, fitness center, a “Big open lab” equipped with Mac and PC computers, and a disability resource center. When it comes to academics, this Florida community college offers a “University Career Fast Track” which allows you to complete your associate of arts degree with a chosen (must be chosen by the time you reach 24 credit hours) and then prepare to make the transfer to a University.
9. Pensacola Junior College (SJC):
This Florida community college, located in Pensacola, Florida and Milton, Florida, makes earning your associate of arts degree easy. There are many on-campus options, as well as their eCoast distance learning program. In addition to the typical associate of arts and associate of science degree, SJC also offers a group of health-related programs, which are great if you are looking to get into the medical field but want to get your feet wet first. Student services and amenities at this school include student job services and disability support services.
10. Indian River Community College (IRCC):
IRCC is located in Fort Pierce, Florida, with satellite campuses in Stuart, Florida, Okeechobee, Florida, Vero Beach, Florida, Port St. Lucie, Florida, and Indiantown, Florida. IRCC is one of the few Florida Community colleges that offers bachelors degrees, with areas of study including teacher education, nursing, and applied science. Their bachelor’s degree programs started in January 2008. With the addition of the bachelor’s degrees, IRCC is currently voting to changing their name to Indian River College in Spring 2008. At this Florida community college, student services and amenities inlcude personal and career counseling, a laptop loan program, tours of local state universities, incentives for good grades (such as gift certificiates), success workshops, and transfer assistance.
These ten are just the beginning when it comes to the extensive list of Florida community colleges. For information on other Florida community colleges, visit the Florida Department of Education’s listing of Florida community colleges, which can be found here.
