What is the best community college for parties in California?

Santa Barbara City College. A lot of its students live in Isla Vista, the beach town next to UC Santa Barbara, which has one of the most famous party scenes of any college town in the country.

Do community colleges even have a social life?

Yes, it just lives off campus. Most community colleges have no dorms, so the scene depends on the town around them: a beach, a bar district, or a nearby university.

Can I party at community college and still transfer?

Yes, as long as the right classes get finished with good grades. Transfer admissions look at your major prep courses and GPA, not your weekends. A tool like Transfermatic lays out which classes those are so nothing sneaks up on you.

Is Santa Barbara City College a good school for transferring?

Yes. It sits about ten miles from UCSB and is a well-worn path into the UC system, and like every California community college it has full access to UC TAG and ASSIST agreements.

Best Community Colleges for Parties in California

Community college has a reputation for being quiet: go to class, go to work, go home. That's true at a lot of campuses. It is not true at these five. Here are the best community colleges for parties in California, ranked. Community college has almost no campus housing, so the scene lives in the town around the school.

Aerial view of Santa Barbara City College on the bluff above the Pacific Ocean

The best community colleges for parties, ranked

#	College	Known for	Vibe
1	Santa Barbara City College	Isla Vista	Beach town, all weekend
2	Orange Coast College	Newport Beach bars	Surf, sun, house parties
3	Santa Monica College	Venice Beach, UCLA crossover	Westside LA
4	Mt. San Antonio College	Game days and tailgates	Big crowd energy
5	Pasadena City College	Old Pasadena nightlife	Walkable, no Uber needed

1. Santa Barbara City College

The easy #1. SBCC sits on a bluff over the ocean, and a lot of its students rent in Isla Vista, the tiny beach town packed next to UC Santa Barbara. That puts community college students in the middle of one of the most famous party towns in the country, on the same streets as UCSB students. The campus is gorgeous. The Monday mornings are rough.

2. Orange Coast College

Orange Coast College's lawn and new College Center building in Costa Mesa

Costa Mesa, a few minutes from Newport Beach. Days at the beach, nights at the bars on the peninsula for anyone 21 and up, and house parties for everyone else. OCC is also one of the biggest transfer campuses in the state, so the people you meet here tend to end up somewhere.

3. Santa Monica College

Students walking across the lawn at Santa Monica College among palm trees

A couple of miles from the beach and a short ride from Venice. SMC is also the biggest feeder into UCLA, so a lot of its social life crosses over to Westwood. Westside LA energy, for better and for worse.

4. Mt. San Antonio College

Mt. SAC's stadium and campus plaza in Walnut

Mt. SAC is one of the largest community colleges in California, and it has a real stadium to match. Game days pull big crowds, and the tailgates feel closer to a university than a commuter school.

5. Pasadena City College

Pasadena City College's white main buildings and reflecting pools

The Metro line runs straight to Old Pasadena, a walkable strip of bars, restaurants, and late-night food. No car and no Uber needed, which is the most responsible thing on this list.

The part that keeps the fun from costing you

Every school here is also a strong place to transfer from, which is the whole point of going. The students who party and still get into UCLA or UCSB have one thing in common: they took the right classes and kept their grades up while doing it. The classes are the part people get wrong, because every university wants a different list.

If you're at one of these campuses and planning to transfer, a website like Transfermatic gives you the exact classes to take for your target school, so your weekends stay your business.

Have the fun. Take the right classes.

Put in your community college and your transfer university. That's it.

Get My Transfer Plan

Bottom line

The best community colleges for parties are the ones next to a beach, a bar district, or a big university: Santa Barbara City College, Orange Coast, Santa Monica, Mt. SAC, and Pasadena City College. Pick one, enjoy it, and keep the transfer classes on track. Two good years here beat four stressful ones somewhere else. Picking a campus on more than vibes? Here are the best community colleges for transfer rates.