Community College of Philadelphia - Main Campus — Local services in Philadelphia

EDIT as of 8/24/2025 - As a transferring student, I can honestly say I regret spending so much time at CCP. I should’ve gone straight to a four-year institution instead of wasting two years here. The school I’m transferring to already has all of my paperwork, everything is in order, and communication has been clear — and I haven’t even started there yet. Meanwhile, at CCP, it feels like constant confusion and a lack of accountability. I’ve been trying to resolve a financial aid issue regarding a subsidized loan that I accepted — yet my CCP student portal shows it as declined, even though my loan service provider confirmed it was disbursed on June 24th. I also believe my aid is being miscalculated, and I may be missing funds. On top of that, I received a scholarship at the beginning of the summer, but I was told it won’t be disbursed until November 2025, nearly four months away — which makes no sense. I contacted the appropriate departments by email, explaining everything in detail — but the replies I received were short, vague, and one-sided. It felt like no one actually read what I wrote or even checked my account to understand my issue. I also called both my loan service provider and FAFSA, and both told me to follow up with the school. But when I do, CCP has been the most unresponsive and least helpful part of the entire process. I even came to campus in person — I visited the student financial window and guidance counseling office because I was overwhelmed and just looking for real help. When I spoke to someone in the counseling office to ask for some guidance and direction, the woman I encountered got smart with me instead of helping. It was clear I was already frustrated and trying to be respectful, and instead of support, I was met with attitude and dismissiveness.

The photo I’ve attached to this review shows the kind of short, unhelpful communication students are expected to deal with at CCP and this is a response I got back after i sent a email regarding my refund for summer 2025 and this is how they talk to you— and it’s unacceptable.

As of 11-23-23 (yes, thanksgiving)I’m writing this review to say This place is a JOKE! I’m guessing for better engagement they don’t have phones or any departments have a direct communication to make you physically come to any building. I went to the admissions building and walked straight in. I walked around the buildings for an hour straight and NO ONE stopped me. (Very scary) NOT only did I walk around I walked into departments and it was a ghost town…AND AGAIN NO ONE STOPPED ME! I walked up to the security desk and she directed me to go around the corner again..the online (first -time student) portal doesn’t even make things better. They give you the run around for 3 months straight before an express enrollment event randomly pops up for you to start classes. I get discouraged by stuff like this and it’s already making me NOT WANNA FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THIS...

As a former student at this community college, it has been about 4 years since I graduated from this 2-year college with an associate's degree in IT. Based on my experience from this college, this college is generous with being the cheapest to afford than 4-year universities, such as Temple University and Penn State, it offers federal government aid that is enough to cover all of its tuition fees, and it is much smaller than universities to focus more on students who need assistance in education from professors. Furthermore, unlike in elementary and high schools, students get to wear any non-uniform clothing they want, and they can schedule their own classes either in the morning, afternoon, or at night without being forced to wake up early. Lastly, many of the students and some of the faculty members were chilled and respectful, and I managed to make plenty of acquaintances and receive the majority of passionate professors along the way.

On the other hand, the textbooks at this college is expensive, which the costs range from approximately 300-to-1000 dollars and it is a rip-off, if you don't have financial aid or cheaper digital textbooks. Every single major degrees require a little too many excessive number of filler or general courses that almost no students will ever use in the real-world, and real-life courses, like cooking and child care-taking, should have been taught instead. In the STEM field, most of the professors don't care about their students, and they enjoy failing their students with their complicated teaching from outdated textbooks or usual lateness at the costs of students' precious money and time. In other words, it is either a hit or miss opportunity to get a good professor. Finally, just like with all other community colleges, this college doesn't permit students to live on campus to get away from home in order for them to learn the responsibility of being independent adults.

If you are low-income and you want to study anything that is not related to STEM (e.g. liberal arts, public health) while being undecided, then I recommend to attend here for a few years to transfer to a university. On the contrary, if not, then go somewhere else for a better quality, though you have a good chance of taking out student loans and paying them back later on at a...

I wasted my time and $20 worth of parking money trying to get classes that I am qualified for. These people tried to get me to take CIS 103, which is a joke. I shouldn't have to waste my time with something I already know. Colleges shouldn't make you waste your time and money with useless classes, that should be a policy. Also this campus sucks at displaying well lit signs for people trying to find their way around the campus. Apparently there is a map of the campus on 18th and Spring Garden, except at night it turns invisible maybe because there are no lights. So you have to imagine where your building is based on the fragment directions given to you by the security guards. Their system is unorganized and terribly inefficient. They want your money before they help you find a path to your education success. I swear I felt as though I was talking to the wall when I was trying to fix my registration issues with at the registration desk. The jerk wouldn't listen to the words that were coming out of my mouth, he was making assumptions as though I was oblivious to my own objective. Their website is the worst I have ever seen, beside the fact that it's ugly, it is unorganized and inefficient just like the school itself. I can't believe I almost applied to this substandard, depressing institution. If you want a real education with professional people seek a better university. I literally felt as though I had to teach the staff how to do their job because they don't know how to communicate. I am the kind of student who knows exactly what I want, and I always have my documentation current, so in theory I should be an easy student to process into the system. it just sucks knowing that these robots, that's right ROBOTS, not people, who are ruining the lives of students everyday with their BS "policies". These people don't have an ounce of...