California Community Colleges  is the largest system of higher education in the nation, with 2.1 million students attending 112 colleges. With a wide range of educational offerings, California Community Colleges provide workforce training, basic courses in English and math, certificate and degree programs and preparation for transfer to four-year institutions. Search Salary Surfer website to view combined median earnings of those who completed a certificate or degree in 179 of the most widely enrolled programs at community colleges.

 

State Center Community College District (SCCCD) currently includes four community colleges and two educational centers: Fresno City College, Reedley College, Clovis Community College, Madera Community College, Madera Community College at Oakhurst, and the Career and Technology Center. SCCCD serves approximately 1.7 million people across more than 5,500 square miles, including most of Fresno and Madera counties and parts of Kings and Tulare counties.

With 23 campuses, the California State University (CSU) is the largest, most diverse, and one of the most affordable university systems in the country. Many CSU campuses have higher standards for particular majors or for students who live outside the local admission area. Because of the number of students who apply, several campuses have higher standards (supplementary admission criteria) for all applicants. Make sure to learn about admission requirements early in your high school career.

California State University, Fresno (aka "Fresno State") gives "local preference" to students that attend high schools in the Clovis/Fresno area and are given priority admission over students from outside of the area.

 

 

 

Students can apply to any of the 23 CSU campuses on the Cal State Apply website. The application period for Fall 2025 admission will be from October 1 to December 2, 2024.

With 10 campuses, five medical centers, three national labs, and more than 800 degree programs offered, the University of California (UC) is the world's leading public research university system. There are nine campuses that offer undergraduate programs (UC San Francisco has only graduate programs and is exclusively focused on the health sciences). 

 

University of California (UC) admission guidelines are designed to ensure you are well-prepared to succeed at UC. If you're interested in attending a UC campus, it is very important to exceed the minimum eligibility requirements in order to be a competitive applicant. Students can begin working on the application for Fall 2025 as early as August 1 and it can be submitted October 1 to December 2, 2024.

There are hundreds of private colleges and universities from which to choose. There are 70 independent undergraduate colleges and universities in California alone. Private colleges and universities are quite diverse in nature, including research universities, small liberal arts colleges, faith-based colleges and universities, and specialized colleges.

The cost is higher than public colleges and universities. However, these institutions have a variety of financial aid programs that often make the cost comparable to a public institution. Your ability to graduate in 4 years at a private institution may be greater than at a public institution due to more courses being available to you as a student there.

Some independent institutions, such as USC, Stanford, and California Institute of Technology, are highly selective. Other universities are less selective in nature. Visit their websites for specific admission information. Transfer to a private college is possible after your freshman year at a community college or other institution. To explore private schools outside of California, we recommend using the search tool in Xello.

Many schools take applications through the Common App.

Fresno Pacific University is the largest private university in the Clovis/Fresno area. 

 

There are 105 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the nation. While the 105 HBCUs represent just three percent of the nation's institutions of higher learning, they graduate nearly 20 percent of African Americans who earn undergraduate degrees. HBCUs were created to support African American students but these institutions of higher learning are no longer exclusive for African American students. Today, HBCUs have a significant percentage of non-African American student populations that consist of Asian, Hispanic, International and white American students.

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