Palomar College - Escondido Campus - Escondido, California

Brian A.

NOTE: This makes absolutely no sense to me. If possible, I would give Palomar a zero or negative number rating.

My niece (from Hawaii) moved in with us, so she can finish one last semester of her general education at Palomar College, before she tries to transfer to UCSD in the winter. Unfortunately, according to Palomar College, all of the credits/classes she took in Hawaii, are not transferable. In short, everything she accomplished over the past two years, (from another American college) are not up to Palomar's standards, and they want her to start all over again like some recent 2023 high school graduate. Again...let me reiterate that her credits are from another American community college, not from some foreign country.

It's not even like Hawaii's and California's general educational systems are that far apart in terms of quality. Looking at all of the online ratings, Palomar's a very mediocre and lowly-rated community college, and nowhere close to the prestigious Harvard University (which she got accepted to Harvard btw, but due to financial situation, could not accept their offer). You would think their counselors, admissions, and customer service teams would be more open and nurturing to the customer's needs, rather than trying to pocket more money from student loans.

With all of the news of college debt greatly surpassing any other debt in this country, why is the customer getting screwed over? Why is no one looking at all of the colleges/universities that are asking for an arm and a leg + a near lifetime of student debt? Don't these institutions practice what they preach with research? Look at hiring trends with the number of Bachelor degree graduates working in fields other than their major. Or, Associate degrees being as close to toilet paper as a high school GED.

I just cannot believe someone or some system is in place where they can look at a potential student/customer in the eye and sell them on an idea that they would be getting a totally different education than the one they just received. Not only that, but also
tell them they just wasted two years of their lives, that they also wasted money they've worked so hard for to go to an out-of-state school, and now have to start all over from "Go" again. There should be some type of loan bankruptcy/forgiveness for any/all students who have run into this similar type-of situation.

NOTE 2: I based this review off of my niece's experience with this campus. On the other hand, if this is a more widespread to other campuses, something has to be done. If our effing government wasted so much time, effort, and money with the baseball steroids scandal, because they felt it was robbing us paying Americans of legitimate entertainment. Then why can't there be an investigation with the BBB, FTC, DoE, on how these institutions are robbing us paying Americans of legitimate education and futures?

Martin

Okay campus but keep in mind it's a community college. I rate this 4/5 because I know they can do some upgrades and make it look nicer. It's clean and a really good place to study. The staff in there is nice and they have a nice computer lab, the library is nice too. Haven't been to the TLC so not commenting on that. A thing I don't like is how they set up their printing. If you want to take advantage of your activity card YOU NEED TO print in a center in San Marcos, if not, make sure to carry coins or have a decent balance for Go Print.

Adonis

Be wary of who you're talking to. I had two different experiences with two different counselors representing Palomar.

The first I told I wanted to go to UCSD to further my education. She replied telling me the student body usually transfers to Cal State San Marcos (nothing wrong with that, but I wanted a UC school). I left having no hope of going through Palomar to get into a UC.

Years later I returned to enroll in classes because I had a different experience with a different counselor. This counselor provided my guidelines to my path. With him, I was assured I had a clear shot at attending one of the most prestigious universities for an MBA.

My advice: Know your credits and figure out what you need to do to get there. Don't stop when somebody tells you it's not possible because if there's a will, then there's a way. Focus and grind hard to achieve your mission(s).

Bryce U.

Conveniently located satellite campus for those in the Escondido area. They have very friendly faculty and plenty of parking spaces compared to the main campus. On-site campus police are helpful and present providing a safe environment for students. The class choices are more limited compared to the main San Marcos campus, but that should be expected from a satellite campus.

Michael L.

Bogus satellite campus that doesn't even offer most of the classes I need or want to take, and it has no DSPS office. People in Escondido are forced to find transit all the way to the San Marcos campus just to get any decent classes or take care of any important business such as seeing a DSPS office counselor.

New W. L. N.

I love Palomar College. This review is only for the lack or struggle of parking. The locating does not accomidate many alternative parking options should you need it so either take public transportation or arrive early.

Teri M.

Very nice newly renovated and up graded. It's always nice to have ongoing education and a quality curriculum for each student. With a small library inside. Open to public

Dean M.

Great campus. Improvements have been very important to improving the campus. However, I feel they need nore options and classes.