This year’s national Best Community Colleges list included several campuses from the High Desert and San Bernardino County.
Among the best in the county, Barstow Community College was ranked No. 1, followed by Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga at No. 2, according to WalletHub.
Barstow Community College received a feather to its cap as it was ranked No. 3 nationally for the lowest cost of in-state tuition and fees.
The survey also listed the Victorville-based Victor Valley College No. 3, with San Bernardino Valley College taking the No. 4 position in the county.
“A good community college minimizes costs for students while also providing an enriching learning experience that leads to high student retention and high graduation rates,” WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said. “The best colleges also help their students even post-graduation by offering employment services to help them find jobs with good salaries. Finally, many of the best community colleges realize school isn’t the only place people learn, so they offer credit for life experiences.”
California ranking
In California, the top 10 community colleges ranked in order by WalletHub include:
Also in the state, Barstow Community College was ranked No. 27, Chaffey College No. 28., Victor Valley College No. 29, and San Bernardino Valley College No. 70.
Nationally, the best community colleges ranked in order include:
WalletHub methodology
To determine the best community colleges in the U.S., WalletHub garnered a sample of 653 schools from the list of member institutions in the American Association of Community Colleges.
WalletHub evaluated the schools based on three key dimensions, including:
WalletHub constructed the three dimensions using 18 total metrics, each grouped with related metrics in the appropriate category and listed below with its corresponding weight.
They graded each metric on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the best community college.
Finally, WalletHub determined each school’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on X @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
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This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Barstow and Victor Valley campuses make WalletHub ‘Best Community Colleges’ list
Reporting by Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press / Victorville Daily Press
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