I drove around this campus the day before I had to take a test to get a lay of the land. In looking around for the building that had the number 6 on it (since they are all numbered), I was able to look around the campus. It was very nice and manicured. It's a nice sized campus for a community college as well. Lot's of parking if you get there before 8:30am. If you are there for more than 2 hours, don't park in the visitor spots that say 2 hours. People apparently are abusing those spaces. You can get a visitors pass from someone in many of their offices for the day so use a regular space in that case. I've heard they had 3 vehicle break-ins in less than 2 months of my posting this review and was informed the best monitored lot is 'G'. So, that is where I parked and it turns out to be closest to the building I needed anyway. Lucky me. I read that if people choose to go to shool here that it's hard to get classes. The key is to do everything on-line as soon as they allow. If you snooze you lose and that goes for 4 year institutions as well. So if you don't know..that's the norm. Don't even wait an hour after the lines open for registration. There will always be those who will be willing to be there before you and then remember to prioritize the classes you take the the absolute hardest ones to obtain first. You will know what I mean when you get started with trying to register each quarter. You'll figure it out. I'm not a student anymore, but I'm speaking from remembering my experience. Good luck! read more

See all

I would give no stars if I could! I will just say that when I attended over 10 years ago this school was pretty decent. Returning after becoming disabled is a whole different experience! The advisors, teachers, staff, and especially the financial aid office are so morally bankrupt, incompetent, lazy, rude, corrupt, and honestly just plain pathetic! Returning here for these last couple months has been an absolute nightmare and waste of time! I honestly plan on reporting the school to multiple agencies for discriminatory behavior among other issues! If I were you, I would choose a different school and save yourself the migraines and heartache! read more

I agree with many of the reviews shared here, my experience hasn't been positive. The leadership seems driven more by self-interest than genuine care of students and faculty, and that mindset needs to change. read more

This has been a not so great college experience and after my second semester I'm looking at transferring. The teachers and students are great but advising is HORRIBLE. The front desk women are rude with very little customer service skills, advisors are incompetent and will try to sabotage your educational plan if they don't like you, and there isn't a cafeteria or a place to get food. I also noticed a lot of staff are rude and nasty over the phone. I've had issues calling and being hung up on or the front desk women getting smart for no reason to the point an advisor got on the phone and apologized for the reckless and unprofessional conduct these women were engaging in. When I first started, I created an educational plan with the director. In this plan we went over my interest and what degree would make the most sense. We both decided A.A DTA. I left feeling confident. Later on in the semester, I needed to have a meeting with my assigned Advisor, Dawn for an assignment. It seems she was given a "story" about me already because she began to have a panic attack as soon as the meeting started (breathing heavy, avoiding eye contact, fidgety). I immediately felt uncomfortable and like I did something wrong. She came up with her own educational plan for me, completely different from what I discussed with the director. She changed my degree from A.A DTA to AAS Nursing. When I spoke to the director, he told me I would be taking unnecessary classes going this route. When I told her that she insisted the AAS Nursing would be best and I'd be taking unnecessary classes going for AA. As I'm now confused, she pulled up the "new" educational plan which was filled with classes I didn't need. I counted the classes and I'd have to take 23 classes instead of 18 going this route instead. Not only this but my educational plan had classes that were only 2-3 credits. Im only interested in taking courses that are 5 credits each. She would've known this had she asked what my interests are and what I see for myself or even what I'd want. When I asked about taking 4 classes for a semester she was extremely discouraging and seemed to talk down on my abilities as a student. Yes, for background I'm a non trad student, 28 yrs old but I was Top 4% back in my home state , last math in 11th grade Advanced trig. I'm not unintelligent, just uneducated. My delay in school isn't anything but bad timing in life. She never inquired about MY wants or MY background. When I questioned why would this be easier she ignored my question and said "we can just do it the way you want" and I asked "I'm just asking how would this way be easier because it doesn't seem that way to me." Ultimately, she ended the advising session and told me I could just talk to the director. This interaction as well as many others have made me lose confidence in the advising office and because of this I will be leaving after the winter semester. Check your classes and educational plans!!!!! I've also had a classmate follow her advisor blindly and they put her in a cmst 240 class when she never did 101 or any introductory course, making her feel unprepared and lost in the class. I would not recommend this school to anyone. read more

When I showed up to take my GED test I was 3 minutes early and was already marked as a no show. then I was met with attitude for no reason I don't suggest trying to take any types of tests here the lady signs you in to test for GED is very inconsiderate and isn't very good at her job at all id honestly suggest going anywhere but here they have so many different things going wrong with their parking lots that if you never been there before expect to drive around the whole campus to find what you need read more

I can't just degrade TCC for parking. All schools usually have parking issues but I will cut down one star just because it takes me thirty minutes of driving around in circles to find a parking space. I feel so angry when I think about my gas slowly decreasing... waiting to find a spot and tracking down students who come towards the parking lot. And there are those who just sit idle in their car with the engine on... torturing those who need a spot to get to class. This is my first quarter here and I got to say, my classes are great. I thought I would be dreading school and the homework load but it honestly is doing be a huge favor. I am taking Math, Biology, and English. I have most difficulty learning math and I have to say I ... am favorable to being taught with the My Math Lab site, in-class lessons, and actually working on my homework. As for Biology, I have never gotten too friendly with science but my teacher uses great resources (I most favor the power-point lecture/notes method). English is sort of interesting. I am taking the Food-themed English course and as for me (maybe) wanting to go into the career path of Nutrition, it really keeps me focused! It's not boring... literature books about dead old people. read more

Tcc used to be friendly school environment and helpful but now its services is going down crazily. First problem is academic advisors. I dont say everyone is bad but one bad advisor is really enough to change student view. They made wrong academic plan for my friend. Now she wasted 2 quarters for nothing. Why cant advisor do their job probably? Second problem is financial aid department. They are slow, arrogant and impolite. I feel good to leave this school last quarter. read more

Cafeteria only has frozen foods, horrible financial aid department, rude teachers and the classes are too far apart. I went to this school for roughly 2 years and not once did financial aid ever answer the phone during hours of operation. They treat school as a business rather than try to help students move forward in a career. Attending this school has been a massive burden when there are much better options to choose from nearby. read more

i went here and look AT me now! respobsible for a lot of important stuff @ my job! hardly need 2 steal any ofice suplies bc I AM ROILING IN IT (the $$) Best thing about this place as I remember, were the many blind spots in the security camera system. Now you may hear a lot about how the people in the administrative end are all petty jackals who are just interested in feathering the nests of their tiny pointless empires, and about how high-quality educators get sidelined and discouraged. Today, I'm not here to talk about how true it is that the administration desperately needs its deadwood cleared out. I'm not here to name specific individuals who are a chronic detriment to the organization. Because that would be pointless! Americans no longer possess the necessary revolutionary spirit. The only outcome would be to highlight the infections under which TCC would continue to suffer. And because the executives already know who their smelliest turds are. read more

So far, really not impressed at all. Called there today to ask questions who ever answered the phone sounded annoyed and like they couldn't be bothered. Asked if they required vaccines this fall since SPSCC just said they would require all students and employees to be vaccinated. She said she didn't know. Then I found out they aren't even offering in person classes this fall, which in my opinion is ridiculous. Not attending in 2021! read more

Here's what TCC does right: great support for students who need resources beyond strictly education, there are food resources, resources for homeless students, immigrant students, and they seem to do these well. Counseling appointments are easy to get and counselors seem to genuinely care (there are exceptions to everything, of course). The administration takes a supportive, student-first approach to the majority of policies and official positions on issues that affect students. Administrative needs (like parking permits) are easy to get taken care of and the information is clear and accurate. Programs are thorough and highly valued by the community. What TCC fails miserably at: their financial aid department. There is little, if any, communication from the department. The information available on the TCC main site is outdated and often unreliable. Information on the portal is buried and difficult to find and not updated until the last minute. The information on the CTClink is lagging and sometimes not thorough - the fact that you have to comb through three separate sources to piece together any information at all is ridiculous. They've been extremely rude on multiple occasions over multiple quarters. They don't seem well-trained on using their supposedly updated system and they also seem woefully understaffed on top of that. They also don't seem to fully comprehend that students will be forced to drop out of if their information isn't handled on time and correctly. There are no apologies made for mistakes, there are often no solutions other than "Too bad, we'll get to it when we feel like it." There is no sense of urgency or importance in handling financial aid for students. No other college I have ever attended has handled this task so poorly. This department makes attendance here astronomically more stressful than it should ever have to be. There has been a major error, incorrect information and/or major delay every single quarter I have attended. Emails go unanswered 90% of the time, even if they are received and the issue is addressed (often weeks later, even when it's TCC's mistake - which is often). Just a few examples: 1. They claimed to not have entry counseling or an MPN completed even though I already had loans disbursed the PREVIOUS QUARTER and emailed proof at that time in addition to the confirmation that comes from the federal website that processes both. 2. They erroneously processed my financial aid without full loan amounts listed (even though I was qualified for the full amount). 3. They didn't process summer quarter aid on time and didn't tell us until the last minute. They delivered the news with an "oh well" attitude rather than apologetic or reassuring one. 4. They told me I would not be eligible for financial aid at all for my first quarter, it turns out I was, I just didn't meet the deadline in time to have my tuition deferred (which is what I thought based on the information on the portal). The correct information should have been communicated when I directly asked this question. 5. I was instructed to fill out forms ASAP and directed to the portal to find the forms. The portal stated the forms wouldn't be available for days (they were available even later than the promised time). 6. There is NO notification system when you have something added to your "to do" list. Every other college I've attended that uses CTClink, uses their notification feature. I also experienced issues with the credit evaluation department. They claimed to have never received my transcripts from multiple colleges. My old transcripts were under my maiden name and both my married and maiden names are listed at the college and on the transcripts. There should be a better tracking system to ensure timely evaluation and proactive communication with students. I will say, though, that this department handled the issue extremely well. After I brought up my concerns, they addressed it quickly and thoroughly and were apologetic about the mix-up. The early learning center, while initially responsive, has now been unresponsive. It is now just weeks before class starts and they still haven't communicated either way about my child having a spot for fall (I put in my waiting list application in January). I was forced to rearrange my entire class schedule because I couldn't afford to take the chance. It would be great to see more spots funded and available considering just how many students at TCC have children who need care, but also a LOT better communication that doesn't leave notifications until the last minute. Students should know by class registration time whether or not their child can be confirmed or denied for the ELC. There doesn't seem to be enough support for non-traditional students, which make up a significant portion of the TCC student body. I don't know if it's funding issues, a problem in focus, or if they are unaware of the problem, but they need to take this into consideration. read more

TCC is a remarkable school with so much to offer students of all levels. It places so much importance on the benefits of its students that the support system is one of the greatest in the state...let alone the nation. If you are deciding on enrolling into TCC, please do not hesitate. Programs are easily laid out. Advisers as well as the other great faculty are there to help you and support you during the process. Programs such as TRIO/Casa/Meca are offered to students for additional support as well. Yes parking can be a pain in the butt at times but the campus is centrally located, and has easy access to public transportation. And if you're a student, the gym is free :) -TCC Class of 2011 read more

Tacoma Community College Review: I began this semester and ended in a month. I had to withdraw from my Computer CU-105 class because the Professor (Cerny) REFUSSED to help me when my computer had to be reset to factory settings. I had to sign in to my laptop with a different email address. After the reset Microsoft Word tabs were moved or gone!!! I informed the professor about this problem the moment it happened. I kept her informed but she became rude and even more reluctant to help me. I felt like a burden to her. The a burden to the tutors! On Simnet assignments which are most of them. They are graded automatically by a computer system. If you click even one place that it does not want it will count you wrong for the question. So for Simnet assignments i need help with grading. I have to access say the layout tab tools with the magnifying glass. I just got that wrong! I did not click layout then the next button it wanted me to click to access the same tool. I emailed to professor help with grading the midterm (last word assignment) she refused and referred me to tutoring!!! I was outraged! I emailed my counselor and the dean Mary Oberhofer about her not helping me. Then Oberhofer wanted to have a zoom meeting with me. When i asked why and how is it beneficial there was no response. All I got was well the time is reserved if you change your mind?!?! Unless she was going to grade it i did not see the point. It felt like an attack from Cerny and Oberhofer. They wanted to ambush me with bs and try to turn it around on me. I will not give them the satisfaction! I paid 2,400.00 to be treated horrible and the professor gets away with not helping the student??? This college is all kids of wrong. BEWARE!!!! GO anywhere else. Save your money and go somewhere that will help you if you need it. Its like going to a college to not get a degree. HOw can you with no support or help from The dean and the professor (CERNY)??? DO NOT GO HERE!!! read more

I have been taking classes for the last 2 years to complete my prereqs for the nursing program. I still have 2 left to take, and the ONLY reason I am not immediately withdrawing is because the classes I need to complete my prereqs are already full at Highline College. I have NOTHING good to say about TCC, and here's why: 1. My "advisor" is awful. Most of the time my emails go ignored or forgotten. When, as a student, I need guidance and counsel on which classes to take next, what teachers are going to help me meet my goals, and making sure I complete the classes I need for my degree, time is of the essence and my advisor seemed to have NO care or regard for my schedule. My advisor is a nursing program advisor, but even having that as her main focus, she seems to really have no clue about what needs to be advised on. Next. 2. This school is known for their nursing program (though I don't know why anymore) but they do not offer an acceptable number of prereq classes to ensure their students can complete the needed classes. A&P 1 and 2 are required, yet last FALL (busiest quarter) they only offered ONE evening A&P 1 class! As an adult who works full time, it would have been nice to have options when taking this class. There were none. The following quarter, again, one class option for A&P 2. 3. Along those same lines, the way they do their registrations seems flawed to me. They offer priority registration based on credits taken at the college. So for someone who is going back to school, having already completed several courses prior, I was unable to get into certain classes that I needed to complete my prereqs. Instead of basing registration on how many classes you have left to complete, if you haven't done all your coursework at their college, you get pushed down the list and have the likelihood of not getting into the classes you need to move forward. 4. The teachers are awful. Honestly, there isn't really a word suited enough to truly encompass how impactful I want you to hear this. THEY. ARE. AWFUL. The courses are crammed with too much material, so not one topic is covered thoroughly, yet you're expected to know the material enough to test on it and get overall passing grades of a B, or better. This college hires subpar instructors who do not KNOW or TEACH the material. In my time here, I will say the teachers are wonderful people... who have NO PLACE standing at the front of a classroom. RATE MY PROFESSOR WILL BE A LIFELINE. 5. See above... I had to take the same instructor for A&P 1 and 2, because she was the ONLY teacher for the evening classes. Within the first couple weeks of A&P 2, I felt compelled to contact the Science Chair to express my concern for her lack of teaching ability. That's how bad it was. However, the response I received from the Chair was so infuriating to me, I ultimately withdrew from the class and hoped for a different teacher the next time I could take the course. The Chair's response to my concern was basically that the course and syllabus had been approved by the department and that it is a hard course. That they EXPECT students to have to RETAKE COURSES to fully learn the material. Do you understand how IMMORAL it is for an institution to PAD THEIR BOTTOM LINE with students paying to retake courses?! She also offered that the teacher was open to hearing how to better instruct her course. So, not only am I paying to take this class, but now I'm expected to pay for this class, teach my teacher how to teach me, while also teaching myself the material because my teacher doesn't know how. Yes, please take my money... 6. I was at a point where I was going to give TCC these last 2 classes to change my mind about applying for the nursing program here. However, after this last point, I will never give another penny to this institution ever again. Amidst the George Floyd murder and protests, the TCC president "Dr. H" sent out an email about the situation. He himself being a black man, he expressed his sadness, anger, and concern about the state our country is in. Within his email, however, he inappropriately used his position of power as the college president, to push FEAR and HATE of police officers. In a few short sentences, he implied every single man and woman, black and white, straight and gay, who puts on a badge is the same as Chauvin. He claims to want to fight again prejudice and create a safe place for everyone, but his "all inclusiveness" is NOT for anyone who supports law enforcement. And as someone who has BOTH POC and LE within my family, I cannot with good conscious continue to attend a college where the PRESIDENT is so anti-police that he uses his position to influence THOUSANDS of students and staff to hate cops. Period. Do yourself a favor, never step foot on this campus. - PIERCE COLLEGE - HIGHLINE COLLEGE - CLOVER PARK TECH - GREEN RIVER ... I could go on, but you HAVE OPTIONS. Take them. read more

This post might be edited; I may try to elaborate as I progress through school. (engineering major) To future students: -I highly suggest you learn how to navigate TCC's website before you start classes. Spend at least a few hours on the website! details below -Evening classes typically are about 2 hours long, while morning classes are usually 1 hour long. -Some classes may require you to self-study some topics. Be sure to keep your class calendar handy! (often supplied by the syllabus or Canvas) -General helpful links for any student, at any school, studying math/chemistry located on the bottom. Perks and quirks of this school, elongated: Teachers are thorough with explaining upcoming events by use of their syllabus. Be sure to view your syllabus regularly while attending TCC. I've seen some other reviews state that professors do not make assignment dates evident, and I assume this is because they forgot the syllabus exists. There was one special case where the professor was not very helpful in my education. Trigonometry was a tricky subject to learn, and the professor did not help the matters. Oftentimes, I outsourced through Khan Academy or Matlab for a proper lecture Rating: 4.5 / 5 There are many services supplied to the students! The MARC (math advising resource center) and the Reading and Writing center both assist in math, while the Writing center also works on other various topics (physics, chemistry, etc). Most of the time, the help supplied from these tutoring centers is great overall. Rating: 4 / 5 The website layout is absolutely horrific for first-timers. There are a ton of loop-holes to jump through to properly navigate through the website to sign up for classes. As a continuing student, the website home page has changed. Once you suffer the trials and tribulations a few times (or, run through the website), the website isn't too terrible, though the website still will feel like a labyrinth. Rating: 2 / 5 Most professors either use Canvas, though some professors opt for cost-free alternatives to offer students files for their course. While the professors are trying to help students save some money, this action does require more hurdles to jump over to become successful in school. Helpful Links to to further your understanding: https://www.mathworks.com/products/matlab.html - math/engineering https://www.khanacademy.org/ - Math/science help https://www.youtube.com/user/tdewitt451 - Chemistry help read more

Advisors need to do a better job helping students. My husband signed up for a class and financial aid as per the recommendation of his advisor. Not until halfway through the class was he told he was on academic probation from when he went there a decade previously. It was too late to contest it for that quarter so all the work he had done was for nothing. Why wasn't he told this when he sat down with his advisor? Contested it for the next quarter and it went through. Talked to an advisor and resubmitted the necessary paperwork for his financial aid. Now, halfway through the class he's being told it did not go through. TWICE now he's gotten halfway through this class juggling a full time job and being a dad. The last class he needs for his degree. read more

If you're looking for a school to go to, DO NOT ATTEND THIS ONE. STAY AWAY AND SAVE YOURSELF!!! I transferred from EWU & have had nothing but problems since the very beginning. There is absolutely zero communication between the faculty and student telling you things you need to do. They told me to send in the wrong transcript so I sat there for MONTHS waiting for my credits to transfer. They did not process my tuition payment which resulted in me schedule being dropped and being forced to take a quarter off of school! They did not transfer all of my credits in from my previous classes & delayed my registration process which resulted in the class filling up so I couldn't take it. They failed to inform me I needed to sign a paper in order for my financial aid to move in the system and it did not let me register for the classes I needed. I should be graduating next spring but they have pushed me out 3 more years.... 3 YEARS PEOPLE!!!!! They do not communicate, they do not do anything quickly & they don't care!!! I had to make a scene for anything to get done that should have already been taken care of. Not to mention, nobody EVER answers the phone if you call & they don't reply to emails. It is literally impossible to get ahold of anyone and get any help. I'm beyond frustrated with this school & they made coming home the worst decision I ever made. Would not recommend this school to ANYBODY. read more

This is by far the worst school the worst program I've ever attended! The teachers were liars, the syllabus was always inaccurate, the teachers didn't answer questions, they voided tests people failed rather than teach the material. The head instructor actually told my class drinking alcohol was an acceptable way to deal with the stress of the job! They falsified their numbers in terms of graduation rates, they never came to the field sites for more than 70% of the students, students pay huge lab fees and the teachers are too lazy to actually set up the equipment or let us use it, the teachers canceled our last practical practice today so they could go drinking with the class, and that's not even the start of it...in general it was a terrible horrible waste of money and a shitty program! read more

I have been attending TCC for two years, and have had multiple difficulties with the school. The staff are often rude, and they do not communicate well with students. In the past have paid for various fees, just to have them tell me I need to pay again because they couldn't find it in their records. read more

I've taken tests at many test centers, and most of the time, test centers consist of one or two computers, but this facility is very nice! :) Also it beats having to drive to Bellevue or Seattle if you live in the Thurston/Pierce county area. read more

The school is decent, and I don't have many complaints. However, the bathrooms are disgusting and unmaintained

I hate that the classes that say they are not hybrid online are still a hybrid online class. They have there classes set up so half of the class work is online. It sucks!!!! read more

I am giving this a one star review, because of the availability of classes. I CAN NEVER get the classes I need. This is an ongoing problem for a lot of my other friends that go there. Currently I have not been able to get into MICRO economics, OR any accounting classes OR MATH classes. They are FULL FROM THE MINUTE REGISTRATION OPENS UP. AT THIS POINT I WILL NEVER GET MY BUSINESS DEGREE. Tacoma Community College admits MORE STUDENTS, then they have for even parking so what do you expect. ON top of that some students have access to registration One week before I, and other students do and I have been going there for three quarters. This summer marks my fourth quarter, and I have ZERO business classes. This college is ONLY interested in getting as much money as they can. SAVE YOUR PRECIOUS TIME AND PRECIOUS DOLLARS AND GO ELSE WHERE! Advisors obviously suck, since no one I know can get classes that they MUST HAVE in order to GRADUATE. read more

I only went to TCC for a class not offered at Pierce. I needed CS 142 for a university pre req. I LOVED this class and the teacher (Shymal Chandra) was amazing! I learned a lot and had a great time. I had to pay out of pocket for the class because my Financial Aid was through Pierce. They have a lot more parking lots than at Pierce and going in later in the afternoon I personally never had an issue with parking. Since I was a new student technically my registration datre and tiome was super late. I knew the class would fill up. So I called the registration department and had to get an access code from the head of the department just to g et on a waiting list. I then showed up to the class for the first week of classes and was able to offically get into the class. When you need a class sometimes you have to jump through extra hoops to do it. read more

TCC has no cafeteria and no plans on resuming serving food. They sell crackers and microwave meals. This is so lame !!!! How can you call yourself a "college" and not have a functioning cafeteria? Go somewhere else until TCC decides to become a real college. read more

This college is the worst college I have ever been to. I have also taken classes at Green River CC, South Seattle CC, and am currently enrolled at WSU. The financial aid office is slow and confused most of the time. And will regularly give you the wrong information. The counseling center has no vested interest in giving you the proper information either and even when you follow the path they lay out for you 100%, chances are they will have missed something. And in my case when that thing costs you $700 of your own money and puts graduation at risk they will in fact blame you for not catching their mistakes. And if you ever need to call somebody don't expect anybody but the operator to answer and transfer you to an office where you are forced to leave a message so they can call you back. NOBODY EVER ANSWERS THE PHONES! Classes you need fill up, online classes are scarce, none of my professors have cared too much about their students one way or the other. Parking is awful. I graduated in spring of this year and just received an email saying I dropped out and now owe my financial aid. I called them to discuss this matter, no answer of course so I manged to find an email to a financial aid staff member, we shall see how this problem gets solved. Problems is exactly what TCC has to offer and they offer them in spades. read more

I have good grades and I do well, but the school likes to take your money and weed people out seems like there is to many prerequisites for classes. I've transferred from other colleges in different states I feel it's stupid to have "-" and "+" for grades I hadn't seen that crap since high school but it never affected how GPA was calculated. I've talked to a lot of student's and feel it's stupid that a lot of people have to retake a class because they got a B-. It's the school taking our money. I also feel that a lot of instructors or(maybe its the school) make the classes very hard/ cram so much into a quarter with little guidance/preparation as what is needed to master the tests. HINT: if the class average on a test is a 55-69% you are doing something wrong. Instructors are suppose to set you up for success not failure. AND what is with assignments due the week before the quarter starts? perhaps they need to switch to a semester time frame so courses are not rushed. read more

Second year student here, close to graduating with an associates in Networking and Convergence Technology. TCC is a great school with some obvious flaws. Pros: Let's start out with the good. The quality of education is the foundation on how any school should be judged. To which I would say TCC is a great place of learning and study. Their professors are locally employed, highly knowledgeable, and helpful. The classes are set up with work and home life in mind allowing for flexible scheduling and course loads. All this is enhanced by the fact cost of attendance is cheap. The staff are hardworking and dedicated to making this a nice place to be. This is a school with good education, at an affordable cost, and focus on giving back to the community. Cons: There are several flaws I can think of. The campus is not in an ideal location, does not have a good layout, and does not look aesthetically pleasing. Apart from a few set pieces the buildings vary between very new and old, same with the roads. It feels thrown together and stuck near large busy roads. Next, and this one is important, they lost some of my paperwork pushing back my application for financial aid, losing me thousands of dollars. They assured me this is a rare occurrence and help me set up a payment plan, but that still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The TCC sports teams and clubs are also nothing noteworthy. Student parking can be a pain during the crowded winter months. Neutral: I am conflicted on the fast moving low-credit quarterly system they have. It can be annoying and lead to less education as some classes fly by so fast you hardly have time to study and understand the subject before moving on to another. The shortest time I passed a class was in 7 weeks. Though this is not a bad thing for those simply chasing a piece of paper, as it is a great way to rack up credits and certifications. Overall I would give it a 3.5/5 rating, though because Google doesn't allow that I will give it a 3 star, because it was a cheap cost for great education even if it lacks in all other regards. The school really is a stepping stone to greater things, whether that be an entry wage job or transferable to a university. I would recommenced it, especially if you are planning on university, as it can save you time and money. read more

Be prepared to check Rate my Professors before picking classes if you're the type of student who will complain about the professors. All of my professors were really cool because that website or my advisors helped me pick! I have always had problems with money at the college. One time they gave me $20 and asked for it back. Another time was that they gave me tuition fee back and then asked me to return it. Yeah, there were complications because of the new system but that should have been tested in a quarter where there were less students attending school, like summer quarter. This community college is quite an expensive one too. Most of the text books are TCC exclusives. I have also heard from some staff that at among all the schools they have worked at, Tacoma Community College is the most expensive. Not many online classes are offered and the class times may be spread apart. This upcoming winter quarter, there aren't many choices. This school may leave you disappointed a lot. read more

My experience at TCC has been very frustrating. I have attended TCC at two different times and both times has encountered multiple frustrations. Advising for a business degree was very poor. Almost at the graduation have I found out from adviser that I needed a class, but it was only offered once per two years and this was a year it was not offered! If it wasn't for student network and lots of foot work, I would have been hanging. They would not refund fee for class that I did not needed and had only 2 sessions. Second time attended RN program and encountered the same disorganization. When almost ready to graduate, received notice that they cannot find my LPN transcripts! One quarter official class schedule posting changed 3 times without notifying students after I already made child care arrangements etc. Received 3 day notice that class start time "this week will be at 8, not 9 am, and additional class time is added on the day before scheduled class time, and another class moved to day before it is on the scheduled " after having child care and job arrangements in place as well. Each clinical teacher makes his/or her own rules deviating from the main syllabus asking to do ridiculous, useless, busy work. Always had problems with new edition of books being introduced. Simulation lab is a joke as well. No one gives you a scenario till you are in the room. Forced to take same class with different name in 6th quarter that we had in 4th quarter. Who has time and money repeating classes and doing more busy work while trying to complete preceptorship at the same time?! Precepted in the site that was not even in my choices, and unable to access electronic chart at the site because at that time they did not have a log in for students available yet-missed out on a lots of experience that way. Campus consists of multiple buildings that are spread out.Constant run around the campus is frustrating too. Parking is far the biggest issue. If you are not there at 8 am, you will be hunting for some spot out in the boundaries of raw land in mud. TCC is far from being "remarkable school" as I see in other reviews. They are the only community college in the location, so there is not many choices. Glad to be done and gone. read more

TCC is a good school. I get the classes I want and the programs are easy to understand. My main dissatisfaction is the with Early Learning Center. The caterpillar room (infant) room is great. I didn't feel bad about leaving my baby there. Then she was moved to the Busy Bee room (1 year olds) and my impression changed. I'm a pretty lenient parent. I understand kids will be kids. This isn't my first kid! There is a class "bully." I've witnessed him attack other children for no reason. My daughter has been attacked several times. Sometimes during my down time, I'll go in the observation room, and a specific teacher isn't watching them. I was told that I can't bring my daughter in between 12 and 2 because it wakes up other kids during nap time. I pay for my daughter to be there at that time. So I'm assuming I can't go to my 12:30 class anymore. Funny how I was never told this 15 months ago. During my daughters conference, I was told she has communication problems because she doesn't fight over toys. The director of the ELC is very nice, the rest of the staff gets too comfortable and says what they want. But education wise, this is a good school. read more

This used to be a decent school to go to. Recently the school seems to care less about the students. My wife enrolled there for an associates in nursing to go onto a Med degree and has had nothing but issues especially in the financial aid department. They process late, seem to be always under staffed and rude. For example, today she went to check on the status of her financial aid (They never ever award on time, last quarter they awarded 2 month, thats right, 2 months late). Today there were three people at the counter and they were more interested in talking about their personal life than helping my wife. When the finally acknowledged that she was there the lady told her, rudely, that there was only one person doing the financial aid and that she had no further information for her and basically brushed her off. My wife is a mother, going to school full time and the last thing she expected is the extra stress from something as simple as this. The school seems very irresponsible with the students best interests, money, and the teachers are really not that apt to teach. I personally went to South Puget Sound starting my second degree and have had no issues what-so-ever of any nature with them so I would suggest, if you don't mind the commute, to go there instead. It would be immensely less stressful during your studies at school. read more