Community Colleges of Philadelphia: Good Transfer Options?

I'm considering community colleges in Philadelphia to save on tuition before transferring. Does anyone know how well these schools prepare students for transfer to bigger universities? Any standout programs or schools I should check out?

Absolutely, community colleges can be an excellent starting point for many students, facilitating excellent preparation for further studies at larger universities. In Philadelphia specifically, the Community College of Philadelphia, often abbreviated to CCP, is known to provide a solid framework for students looking to transfer.

In particular, CCP has "dual admissions agreements" with many local four-year schools. These agreements allow CCP students to apply to certain schools while they're still in community college (often with waived application fees) and give them assurance of acceptance if they meet GPA requirements. Schools with these agreements include Temple University, Drexel University, La Salle University, and more.

CCP offers Associate of Arts (A.A.) and Associate of Science (A.S.) degrees designed specifically to facilitate transfers into four-year colleges' Bachelor's degree programs. These cover a wide range of disciplines, which allows students to get a lot of their General Education requirements out of the way at a lower cost before transferring.

Also, CCP offers some standout programs, aligned with high-demand fields. The Nursing program, for example, is quite popular and highly respected. There are also robust programs in Business, Computer Information Systems, Engineering, and more. It's worth exploring these in-depth depending on your interests.

One tip would be to keep eyes on your end goal: be proactive, work closely with a career counselor, and monitor the requirements of the universities you wish to transfer to. This will help ensure the credits you earn are transferable and relevant to your intended major. It'll also make the transitioning process smoother.