When TWU, Baylor, Midwestern, etc. DECLINED me to their nursing program because I took my courses at a community college and told me to try getting a degree in a different field...El Centro College accepted me into the nursing program on my 1st try. well, I attended every dallas county community college except for Brookhaven for financial reasons and because I the courses offered were able to fit my schedule. I worked while I attended community college and even in the nursing program. Out of all the colleges in Dallas, I found El Centro the most diverse in student body which I think made it fun. I used the free bus pass occasionally, when I didn't there is a $2 parking lot under the bridge close to Hooters. El Centro is my favorite because of their nursing program which is AMAZING and tough, but you are ready to be a nurse afterward. I passed my NCLEX board exam for TX on the 1st try, 75 questions (which means I aced it). Some of my other favorite courses offered at El Centro were French, Painting, and Microbiology. All three were made memorable because of the talented teachers. They were very passionate about the subject they taught and they taught it in a fun interactive way. After I completed the nursing program, El Centro offered a bridge program with UTA for a Bachelor of Nursing degree. A UTA representative came and spoke with my nursing class at El Centro. The presentation and my dedication inspired me to further my education and earn my BSN from UTA 1 year after earning my ADN from El Centro. When people ask me where did you graduate nursing school from? I proudly think of and say EL CENTRO first before UTA. They gave me a chance to fufill my dream of being an awesome nurse. I hope to inspire young and old people to not give up on their dream just because a University declines them. read more

The worst college ever. I went to Navarro College, and their staff provided me with more assistance than this school. Every campus whether it's Richland, Ceder Vallery, or Eastfield does not answer calls, their virtual chats literally have you waiting for over 2 hours just to get in touch with an advisor. If you plan on going here in person or online DON'T. Staff is lazy they get paid to sit behind a desk and not provide any important information that you need to succeed. Plan ahead and double check everything you need in order to pass the class and TRANSFER! Be prepared to have a class dropped on their own time even if you already paid for it. BTW -can't even get in touch with any presidents of any campus. I'm surprised Dallas College is still up and running! read more

Please beware ! The admin's behavior is unprofessional and scamming. Charge for classes in which I attempted to dropped before class and was told by success coaches, admin will drop the classes. The Classes were not dropped until today and now I have a balance of $700.00 owed. I have contacted the BBB. If you value your self respect, do not attend this college. Horrible experience for any freshman. read more

Dallas college as a whole is terrible. Avoid this sorry excuse for a community college if you can. No one is helpful at all and they only care about profits, they raise tution despite delivering subpar education. Many students including my son STILL have not gotten their PELL grant despite it being near the end of the semester. The school is a joke. read more

Garbage . This schools leadership let cancel culture totally screw it up. Dont believe the good reviews. Very nieve and unaware of earth. The work isn't simple like it should be. Every professor can grade how they want. Which means why wouldn't Dallas college line veterans up with college professor already? ??? Why why why. This is just another way to Fuck our country and our service members over. Im pissed off that this last year has gone by as poorly as it has. Ive tried everything. I wish I had chosen a different college. It almost makes me wish I hadn't even come to Dallas at all. Most of the professor have been good. Ive had two specifically that had issues in there life, and it totally destroyed my views of college and everything in the US. Im in my 40s. And im not perfect with technology, but its embarrassing to see how they handle the fact that they dont know their own system either, but are very excepting of failing you. Makes me wonder why they dont go back to pen and paper so students can actually learn and retain, and be grateful for an experience instead of wondering if they're understanding reality like they're supposed to. Everyone knows they're wrong. They'll be sued here real soon. Mark these words. They dont have enough IT guys to fix all the work there system has erased. Or enough good professor to help the bad ones give you the slightest chance in hell. Good luck with what ever future you carve out. read more

I spent $1200 for a CE Phlebotomy course here. The "teacher" was a piece of work. She came 15-20 minutes every single class period late we had to wait in the lobby on her. When she was in class, she stayed on her cellphone. She wanted the students to move supplies from building to building when had to relinquish the class to the EKG students. She would get snappy with you at times. To top it off, we had to give each other phlebotomy sticks. One of the students put the needle in my arm too far, and I was in pain periodically for many months after that, that she did damage to my arm. The teacher was there when I screamed out and didn't even bother to come over and see what the problem was or ask if I was ok when I hollered out that she put the needle in too far. The instructor didn't care. I also took a General Chemistry class an another course at DCCCD. The chemistry teacher would walk away from you when you were approaching her with a question. She wasn't from this country. Her handwriting on the board was chicken scratch. The class was full of high schoolers. I gave up in the course and will have to retake it. It may be cheap here, but not a quality education, if you ask me. You get what you pay for. I attended UT Arlington years ago, and the vast difference is very noticeable. UTA is hardly considered a top notch university, but education quality was way better than at DCCCD which is nothing more than an extended high school. read more

I have to give some mad props to the culinary department at El Centro. I just recently found out that during the Fall and Spring semesters the culinary department offers a 4-course meal to the public for only $12. You can either go Tuesday night for dinner, or Thursday afternoon for lunch. Check out their website for the weekly menu and to make reservations. I went last night for dinner, and it was really good. The dinning room area where the dinner was held was decorated with white table clothes and linen napkins. The theme was a Florida buffet so they had a slideshow showing some of the famous landmarks around Florida and nice "beach themed" music playing in the background. The menu consisted of (with my comments): Mixed green salad with tropical vinaigrette (yummy!!) Chopped cucumber salad (yummy!) Asparagus (a little too mushy) Rice and Garbanzo Pilaf (bland) Coconut Crusted Mahi Mahi with Passion Fruit Drizzle (delicious and great flavor) Mandarin Chicken (very tender and tasty) Key Lime Tart Bites (I did not try, but had some cheesecake and chocolate truffles that were AWESOME) There was also an assortment of different rolls that I over indulged myself in. Some students from the pastry department were also on hand selling different cakes and breads. I saw a huge chocolate cake sale for $2. I didn't have cash with me, but it sounded like everything they had was between $1 and $2. CHEAP! The theme last night was a buffet (it's usually a sit down dinner from what I've been told). We were treated like we were in a fancy restaurant. There was a maître d that greeted everyone at the door. We had a lovely waiter that took our drink order (coffee, tea, water), and other people going around picking up plates and getting anything you needed. I saw a bunch of older people come in and have dinner and buy things from the pastry students. I heard that some of these people have been coming to El Centro for years to cash in on this awesome cheap experience. This felt close to 5-star dinning. You can guarantee I'll be back for dinner on Tuesday. I can't wait to see what the menu will be!!!! read more

I'm giving it one star because it was decent when I first started but when I came back the staff totally changed for the worse and seem to can't hang on to who they hire. Anyways let me start with the counselors. Used to have good ones but the last time I went to schedule classes they make you do it online instead of doing it in person I'm like really why even take the job. Now let me move on to campus police. Now they are a piece of work. I walked in one time with my badge clearly on my neck and this latino cop angrily screamed at me and couldn't be nice about it a total power trip. If you lose something at the lost and found the cops there are useless in that'l area as well with an attitude. The lady working the lost n found it wouldst surprise me if she keeps whatever stolen along with a few other of that staff. The cops at that campus don't want to come with a good attitude. They rather drag the rest of everyone down with their sour attitude. I respect most cops but not these jokers who are lazy and rude that wouldn't make it on a real police force. Now with the gym they closed it down for students and now you have to pay to use it. This campus is a money grabbing place as well. Oh yeah one of the fashion design teacher in color theory named ms Murphy is a very bad teacher. She blames students when she doesn't explain things correctly don't take her class. Saying that there are some good professors there but unfortunate the rest of the staff outside the professors kinda ruin it. I haven't been on this campus in years but hopefully they improve soon. read more

I was a Professor of Interior Design here for almost 4 years. I taught there because I loved to teach, not for money or acclaim or recognition. Most of my years there I had very happy students and glowing reviews. Dallas College - El Centro, since the beginning, has had absolutely no concern for students or their instructors, despite their continual words to the contrary in the public eye. The place is so bad that I even told my students in my last semester there before I resigned, my Res I and Fundamentals classes to RUN - go to a real school, a real college, not this one that has no idea what it's doing nor any desire to do what's best for the students, only what serves the school. The students in EVERY semester I taught told me how awful they were treated by the administration and some by their instructors and how they never know what to expect . The administration there would not tell me what I was teaching until a week or two before the semester giving me NO time to prepare, they allowed students to take courses out of order and without any concern for pre-requisites or how that would slow down and possibly hinder the learning by the students whom had completed them already as required by the curriculum. They NEVER had books ready, often times students wouldn't get their actual hardback books until the MIDDLE of the semester IF at ALL, despite being promised to be part of their tuition, whether they were requested or not. They literally NEVER gave me a copy of my contract that I signed with them as a full time professor, The "Dean" of the Arts and Humanities departments, Giraud Polite is a JOKE and should NOT be a Dean of anything other than how NOT to talk to people - he literally yelled and screamed at me in a meeting and refused to let me speak or even listen to my grievances or any explanations for teaching choices, not to mention using a condescending and combative tone via Teams even before we started talking. I actually have a video that I recorded of him and his asinine behavior that I will be posting all over Google and many other outlets on the internet so they can see what I, teachers, and students are dealing with at Dallas College. Beyond all of this, the interior design program lost its CIDA accreditation and the credits only transfer to one other university in Texas for the most part. I told my students if they wanted a real career, to go to a real school not this hell hole of "higher learning". The fact that it's cheap doesn't make up for everything else that's wrong with it. There's nothing wrong with community college per se, however, THIS community college is filled with and ran by a completely inept staff - from HR to the Deans to the general administration, it truly is a terrible place to work, to learn, or to even BE. It's as if the crazy people are running the asylum, and it might as well be one. TRUST someone who KNOWS, whom has been there and heard the students complaints and experienced the ineptitude of the administration first hand. Go to one of many online full Bachelor programs in interior design that all ARE accredited by CIDA and actually have their stuff together. If you don't, you'll regret it. read more

The tutor center here is a joke. You're on your own! They look at your like your weird for wanting extra help. Will never go back. read more

DO NOT... i repeat DO NOT ever take classes her or any of their other colleges. they are so unorganized. I tried to drop a class last summer and it still counted against my GPA. it took me the whole summer to try to drop ONE class. i tried to come back this summer to get credits transferred to my university and now i can't even revive financial aid because the class i never took counted against me. these people are VERY UNHELPFUL AND CARELESS. read more

**This review is for the SONOGRAM CLINIC, not the school itself.** I came in to get a sonogram and had a great experience. My former OBGYN, and his sonographer, sucked and couldn't find the sex of my baby at 18 weeks and then wouldn't schedule me for another one. When I heard that I could get a sonogram for free and get pictures with it as well, I jumped on it. My sonographer was great and I felt very welcomed here. She was able to find the sex almost immediately and that's the main reason I came in. The only thing I didn't love was finding parking ($5-7), but that comes with going downtown. I will be back in a few weeks for a 3D sonogram. read more

Per usual, El Centro College admissions/registrars office is as useless as can be. DO NOT GO TO SCHOOL HERE No one can ever answer the phone therefore making you waste your time and money because to get ANY service you have to be physically present. All I'm trying to figure out is if admissions received a fax of mine. As I write this review, I have been on hold with this department for 33 minutes and counting. I also left a voicemail yesterday and have gotten no call back. I have been to 5 different schools and have never experienced such poor service. Save yourself the headache and go to another school. Thankfully, this is my last semester at this "college". read more

Just visited El Centro this week to get everything going with my Application Process and start getting registered for some classes. The Registration office was quick, efficient, and while not all that friendly, the girl helping me still answered my questions politely. With so much traffic in that office I imagine it's a stressful position to hold. I was impressed by the quick in/out I was able to accomplish with the semester starting so soon. The advising office had an hour wait, about what I expected. They had buzzers (like when you wait for a table at restaurants) that I feel are super efficient for them. The advisor I met with wasn't all that great but I do come from a University where I had the same advisor for 4 years that I loved. The El Centro advisor was able to help me get into the classes I wanted right on the spot, and thoroughly explained the program I was interested in to me. I'm looking forward to my classes and will have to do review updates as I go along! read more

Dallas College El Centro Campus - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Dallas, Texas

DCCCD is the worst college system to attend. They charged me for out of district when I lived in the district. I had a Professor that greeted the class the first day but never provided a syllabus or contacted any student again. Even after repeated emails and messaging. Yes, I have that documented and no one cares. If your willing to wait for a half hour to an hour to talk to financial aid, they might help you. Their self serve class scheduling system has problems but they insist that you use it. I wish I could give negative stars for this college system. read more

In class on the fourth floor, i have a seat in the back row and in the pencil tray i found something horrifying.... read more

Dallas College El Centro Campus - A maggot found on a desk at El Centro - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Dallas, Texas

This review is for their THURSDAY LUNCH not the college. This really IS the "best kept secret in downtown Dallas"!! 3 course lunch for $12. Today's lunch was New Zealand theme and it was FANTASTIC. Reservations are required. My friend's grandma wanted to pay for an extra dessert to take with her, but couldn't because they didn't make extra. Only enough to serve. The students needs to work on their people skills. Don't forget to tip and leave your comment cards on the way out! 1st course- grilled shrimp salad with mixed greens in a lemon vinaigrette. YUM!! I can just get a full order of this and be satisfied. My shrimps were slightly undercooked, but still very good. -OR- cherry tomato, kiwi salad- no one at our table got this. 2nd course- Leg of lamb with stuffed goat cheese and spinach. Served with a side of grilled sweet potatoes and corn & zucchini medley with bacon. It was tasted awesome! I finished every single bite. The lamb was cooked very well. Mind you, these are students cooking, so I didn't expect the lamb to be cooked perfectly. 3rd course (dessert)- Fruit tart with lemon curd. Fresh fruit tart resting on a lemon custard cream on a buttery crust. I think this is the best fruit tart I've had yet. So much better than La Madeline's. The pastry chef came out to tell us that the lemon curd is actually a lemon custard and they added whipped cream to it to make it light. SO GOOD!! "4th course"- assorted breads. Today's selection was cranberry butter rolls, sunflower zucchini bread, and sliced baguettes. The only thing I would complain about is that the breads were cold. Wish they were warm. We'll DEFINITELY be coming back for lunch!! I hope it stays a secret because I would hate to find out one day that they're all booked for lunch. read more

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Every week, I look forward to the day I have my sewing class at El Centro College. I took Pattern making and the Advanced sewing class in their Continuing Education program. The classes are only $95-$150 for 32 hours. The instructor is super-patient and encouraging. He used to sew for the Todd Oldham label in the 90's, so he shares all his practical experience and proper tailoring techniques that you can't learn from commercial pattern instructions. Other continuing education classes offered include millinery, jewelry making (we visited the studio; looked pretty cool), sommelier training. If I weren't absorbed in sewing right now, I would sign up for one of those. I'm not familiar with their degree programs, but they look like a cost-effective way to get practical training for the job market. I docked one star because there is only street parking or paid lots. It's also not an area I'd want to be caught late at night. read more

Pick a selfless advisor, prep your questions and learn to navigate community college, where there's a will there's a way. Rates in community college in NYC were 4 times higher and professors not as committed (attn) to those students who are engaged in their learning. Yes you have to be self-motivated to navigate the system, but isn't that true for all colleges & universities? Suggestion: Take accuplacer right at the beginning so know where you land on Math (and others), that way you can start your developmental or remedial classes soon enough and score A on College Algebra by the time you get your Associate Degree (something no one can take away from you). Look for Accuplacer workshops, take the computer ability tests early enough as well (includes basic Outlook and Access); they're rising their level, that's why these tests are important. Also start picking your classes for following semester early enough (strategy), honors courses and other core classes fill up fast. Great for College vocational certificates that you can crank out in 1-2 years, i.e. http://www.elcentrocollege.edu/Program/IT/IDT/ If you're not self-motivated and expect to be held by the hand all the way through, don't sign up for online classes (here or anywhere.) Though sooner than later you'll have to deal with something similar in life.... Seat at the front of your class (do your work and you'll make A's) and ignore the 50% of mediocre folks who just seat back and expect to simply "pass". Good thing you can mix your classes with any other DCCCD campus.... but you'll need a % of your classes in the campus you want to graduate. Get ahead of University tours for transfer students! Contact your future professors in advance with key questions, don't just rely on RateYourProfessors.com - - take that site with a grain of salt. Ask professors about Honors options, maybe graduating with Honors is easier than you think. After you are part of Honor Roll (one semester of 3.5+ GPA), join http://ptk.org and http://eccsigmatau.org/blog/ Bring a positive attitude and take advantage of the services, like great librarians, pc labs, gym, etc. If financial aid, pick up a restaurant-style pager early enough in the day (they ring all the way up to the 2nd floor) and have your questions READY (written down).... start by doing your FAFSA online timely every year after you're done with taxes. Sign up for 2 classes and all-DART is FREE!!! (pollute less, no $ parking). Students of any age and background, credit, auditing or continuing ed: Excellence starts with a GREAT attitude! You've been told! :) Now follow me: technoir.info & sindiek8.com read more

Tuition rates = Very Affordable DART passes for students = FREE Ability for everyone to continue their education or pursue a new career = PRICELESS read more

Well. I put in a year at El Centro College and still have nothing but great things to say about my time here. The quality of professors and education were both excellent. I was so nervous about going back to school and I was proved wrong on a million levels. I completed the majority of my prerequisites at a fraction of what I would have paid elsewhere. I'm a "non-traditional" student - married, in my 30s, mom-to-be. I felt more than comfortable and fit in just fine here. I can't say that enough. For anyone considering going back to school and thinking they'll feel out of place, etc. - please know there is such a wide variety of students here. All of my professors have been incredibly approachable and kind. I've liked some more than others - but that's life. I was just as challenged here, maybe more so, than I was at my previous college years ago. I'm moving on to a different college as we're heading out of the state of Texas, but I truly truly cannot say enough wonderful things about my experience at El Centro. I will truly miss attending classes here. read more

The worse thing I could've done was come to this school. I'm out of state and they have given me nothing but terrible service. I was to the point of frustration and disgust I wanted them to drop my classes. The financial aid and admissions were all useless. Getting told different things every time I called and the other department blaming the other for mistakes instead of trying to find resolutions. They tried tacking on an extra $300 for classes after I was already in the middle of classes! How can you do that? Then later claiming it was a system error but they wanted me to pay that. So glad I just got accepted into UTA. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THIS SCHOOL! read more

This review is for the Tuesday dinner (and Thursday lunch) series that the culinary department hosts, not a review on the college itself. This dinner is seriously one of the "best kept secrets in Downtown Dallas," according to the Dallas Morning News. Basically, culinary students cook and serve you a 4-course meal for $12. So cheap! The students rotate each week being servers, cooks, busboys/girls, and dishwashers. The dining room at the college is converted into a tasteful setting (well, as tasteful as possible) with tablecloths, candles, and small flowers. The room probably seats close to 100 people. Seating for dinner starts at 5:30 pm - to avoid the line of people that get there right at 5:30 pm, I'd suggest arriving around 6 or 6:15. But there's only one "seating" for the night, so don't arrive too late. The menu is themed and changes on a weekly basis (menu here: http://www.elcentrocollege.edu/Program/Business/Food_Hospitality/weekly_menu.php). Reservations are necessary. You have to wait until Friday 9 am to make a reservation for the following week. The service is top notch. Well, it has to be, because you fill out an evaluation form afterwards. Very specific things like "how long did it take for your server to greet you, bring you water, etc." or "was your water glass ever less than 3/4 full?" Keep in mind that these are still students that are just about to begin their culinary careers. They aren't quite top chefs [yet]. Yes, the food is good, but it's not something you can compare to fine dining restaurant level with fancy sauces and ingredients. But for $12, you really can't complain. The best part of our dinner were all the breads - they usually serve three kinds. We devoured them so quickly that our waitress gave us another basket almost immediately. I keep thinking about those garlic cheddar biscuits we had that were so moist and flaky. Again, need I reiterate....a 4-course meal (soup, salad, entree, dessert) and breads for $12?!? read more

Worse school I've ever been to, the administrator, advisor, and professors are no help whatsoever. Trying to find any answers with anyone is impossible, they blame other departments for there mistakes and there is absolutely no communication. Save your money and your time. Don't give yourself a headache trying to go to this so called "college". I promise you anywhere is better then here. DONT WAIST YOUR TIME! read more

Cheap tuition means you get exactly what you pay for: decent professors and a student base that makes you question how half of them get through the day without falling down flights of stairs or setting themselves on fire on a daily basis. This of course is not a reflection on the school. The facilities are clean and El Centro does its best to recreate the collegiate experience. I say recreate because, when it comes down to it, it's community college. Remember: come here for cheap, easy credits, a special vocational license or transfer after your first year to a four-year. read more

El Centro College was a great college for me and got me many good certifications in IT. The 1 star reviews are not true always. After I graduated El Centro college I was quick to get hired because the college helped me get good certifications. I am proud everyday for the hard work I did to earn those certifications as they have helped me well in life. El Centro is such a good college. Would recommend them. read more

The culinary department is amazing at "El-Centro" I came here a couple of weeks ago to try to apply but I thought it was going to be too hard I regretted it . I came back halfway through to see their progress and tried 3 of their dishes they were like rainbows and sparks on the mouth with their pasta and the soothing and tangy flavor of lasagna or their spicy yet sweet salad so aromatic that you could taste it before you even dipped your fork into it . I loved the dishes so much I just joined because I want to learn how to cook as great as they do. read more

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This place is a JOKE. You'd like coming here if you like being jerked around, your time being wasted, and being greeted by "security" personnel whom claim to not know ANYONE in the building. They bounce you back and forth between different people, different buildings, and giving you inaccurate info about people/advisors/teachers, and then make you wait in a room that is similar to the waiting process at the RMV. Absolutely RIDICULOUS. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME HERE!!!!! read more

The application process is a joke I fell like I am at a DMV as a matter of fact I just came from the DMV and they were a lot more helpful. The staff here sucks and obviously don't want to work here. They love to play telephone telephone, pass the buck and go ask your mother. Horrible experience. read more

People view this place as the worst but in all reality I really enjoy taking classes here. After going to Richland and Eastfield, El Centro has had the best professors and the night classes are awesome. The atmosphere is great! read more

The advising center just sucks they open at 8 am and don't start working until 9 am...

I was trying to become a future student but they do not answer the phones. After waiting 30 minutes, a lady finally answered. She talked so fast as if she did not care if I was grasping any of the information. Very poor customer service! read more

I'm a student here and I like this place. The downtown bums don't bother you too much and the place is usually pretty clean.

I am currently enrolled at El Centro and let me just tell you... all of the bad reviews on here about the admissions staff is accurate. I was not surprised when I decided to look up reviews after already enrolling. Luckily, my GI bill covers my tuition. If it didn't, I would absolutely not attend this school. I am only here as a stepping stone, since I've been out of high school for almost 10 years. I don't have anyone to compare the professors to but I've never had a problem with a professor! They are always very helpful and kind! Admissions needs to get their crap together or this school isn't going to be able to afford to stay open because I totally see why people choose not to enroll here. Step up your game, el Centro. It's pathetic. A word of advice to student who decide to go here- just know exactly what you're there for and figure out how to enroll for classes and all that good stuff on your own. Admissions is extremely rude and incompetent. Larry has the worst attitude of anyone I have ever met, which is embarrassing since he's been given a leadership position. read more

This has to be one of the most unorganized community colleges around. They will pass you off to department after department, without resolving issue at hand. Everyone points fingers at each other. Often see staff out smoking on the sidewalk. The main building is in great need of renovation. Internet/ Computer system often crashes. The professors are just in it for a paycheck. The education is subpar. Do not go to this college. It carries a reputation of not being very good. So many other options in the Dallas area.*********I live in Dallas and attended El Centro in the Fall 2018, switched to UNT because I refuse to spend any money at DCCCD. I'm not sure why it places me in California. I live near the Akard train station! read more

I went to this college 2 1/2 years. Every-time I spoke to someone whether it was for getting prior classes accounted for too getting my financial aid done, it was a complete fight and I had to complain to the dean of students. I live in Austin and went online and had to email to get things done. It is a plus that DCCCD gives a full amount of financial aid, the community college in Austin does not but if I had to do it all over again I would not. The financial aid department just ignored me and even shorted me around 500.00 and would not even give me an explanation why. I wrote a rip off report about them. Do not go to this college, these people do not care about the student. Just look on statistics on what the percentage of people graduating from this college are. The graduation rate at El Centro College is only 7%......... The only reason I am giving them one star is because you have to too publish this. read more

My math teacher is awesome! I hate the parking($4/day) and waiting for the elevator. Yea, I'm not walking up 8 flights of stairs lol. I need my free Dart pass! read more

Parking is expensive ($5-$10 per day depending on which lot or garage you use.) It is right on the dart rail, but if you are in a situation where using it is more of a hassle, then you gotta pay an arm and a leg each semester to park. There are no student discounts on rates and actually, the lots farther away are cheapest. Go figure. The tuition rates are great...but alas, you get what you pay for. I enrolled in the Interior Design program...boy was this a disappointment. At the time, the website still preached about how the program was accredited and very well thought of, yada yada yada. Well, 2 days into the program after they had already gotten our money and the books were bought (which we NEVER used), they pulled all the new students into a room and told us that CIDA had revoked their accreditation as of Jan 2010. So they'd had about 9 months at that time to update the website w/ the correct info and never did it. I felt pretty gypped, but decided to go ahead and continue with the program. I took INDS 1301, INDS 1341 and DFTG 1305. The most difficult class was Basic Elements of Design b/c you build a lot of time-consuming models. Color theory is a joke...all you do is paint little color wheels. Drafting was the biggest joke. All we heard about the whole time was the teacher's political opinions...It created a very tense environment for those of us that didn't agree. If I wanted to sit there and be indoctrinated w/ someone else's BS, I could just watch the cable news networks. I don't recall enrolling in Political Science classes, but that's sure what this felt like...or rather, a beat down. The teacher made sure to insult everyone: Conservatives, wealthy people, Sarah/Bristol Palin, the energy companies, etc. He even talked crap about past clients of his, saying, "Nobody has any business being rich enough to own a 4-bedroom house." Okay, so if someone has a large family, are they all supposed to cram into a small 2/1 house? Second, don't insult the wealthy folks...POOR PEOPLE can't afford to hire designers and architects, so don't bash your bread and butter. DUH. The only book that we used was the little black Munsell book in color theory. That was actually helpful. There was one small book for Basic Elements with useful tips on model building, but again, I rarely even opened it. The other books were all written by "friends" of the teachers and we were forced to buy them and never used them. There are several irritating things about this program that could use some fixing, but the one that sticks out the most is the massive disorganization of the whole thing. There is so much misinformation floating around out there about projects, that it starts to get really frustrating. One day, you have a set of guidelines to follow, but by the next class, another "requirement" has been added or something else has changed. Min or max square footage is changed around or they'll tell you that it's okay to do "this" on your project but the next day, "that's not allowed..." You can't ever just focus on your project b/c you spend so much time rehashing the whole thing. You'll be in the middle of something and then find out that it's not right b/c the "rules" were just changed. It's terribly wasteful and annoying. Drafting Class: Aside from being a pseudo poli-sci class, it was also a big waste of time & materials (despite it's focus on going "green"). We were told at the very beginning to go buy ALL these tools and instruments that we never used and to make 12-15 copies of a title bar on 11x17" paper...so we all went to kinko's and made the copies, only to NEVER USE THEM. You will spend a LOT of time and $ at kinko's doing useless things that he SHOULD have told you all to do in the previous class. Again, the rules and requirements in this class change ALL the time. He never tells you what the end result will be, so you don't know what you are doing anything FOR. Then, at the very end, after you've gone through all the BS and wasted time, he gives you a packet and says, "copy this and make sure that it's all in your portfolio when you turn it in." Seriously? Why did we spend the semester working on our portfolio if the end result was just to copy something? Then, after that, he said that we weren't going to have a final, that we would just watch a movie. So everyone in my class brought a bunch of food and snacks and were ready to watch whatever movie he was bringing. Then he walks in, looks at us like we were crazy and says, "what's going on? I never said we were watching a movie. We're having a final." and proceeds to pass out a 10 question final of trick questions, that we all failed. Not cool. Useless. I only enrolled in the program to see if Interior Design was something I'd like to do as a career. It is, but I'll be transferring to a 4 year University pronto. El Centro's Interior Design program is a liability to the school & useless to the students unless they fix it. read more

This is the worst experience I had with any college. I went to El Centro to get into a continuing education class on the 21st. The black woman on the 2nd floor, cont. education office registered me initially, and how unprofessional she was at doing it..from not knowing anything about the class to be almost hesitant to explain how I would even connect with the class for upcoming important stuff she didn't even know that much I had to get that info from security downstairs and she couldn't even properly Register me in the system for this class; to dancing while she had my registering form in her hand. Unbelievable, I felt confused as a new person, but thought after we finished she had to have known what she was doing. Wrong! Afterwards, when she directed me to the cashiers office, I paid $208 for it and was handed a receipt, by cashiering. And then on the 23rd I called and was told that I wasn't registered...I said what!! I just paid...what was that woman doing, didn't she register me, I was so pissed because there was only 3 spots left when I did this initially. So because of her I have to make another trip, stand in a long line, downtown, to re-register for a class and to give them additional information that I would of been necessary for that woman in CE office to let me know of. Thanks! read more

Most students seem to know more than their instructors. I have witnessed some instructors just sit and let the smartest student in the class help the others in the computer classes. The counselors are not much help they are just as confused as the students. The staff acts as if you were annoying them and are rude to students. Most of the staff needs customer service skills training because they act like they are doing you a favor. One good thing is the free dart pass but you have to really hold on to your stuff because there are a lot of homeless people outside that look pretty threatening. read more