Santa Monica College (SMC) Acceptance Rate, GPA, and Admission Requirements

Sacramento City College has open admissions: a high school diploma, GED, or being 18+ and able to benefit from college instruction is all you need. Apply through CCCApply.org with no application fee and no GPA minimum. But students who arrive at SCC without a declared transfer goal frequently take courses that don't articulate cleanly to their intended four-year institution, wasting semesters and financial aid eligibility. In your first week at SCC, identify your transfer destination, meet with a counselor to determine your program requirements, and use ASSIST.org to map which SCC courses fulfill those requirements. Cal-GETC is the new unified GE pathway as of Fall 2025 - completing it satisfies lower-division GE requirements at both UC and CSU campuses in a single track. If you started at a California community college before Fall 2025 with continuous enrollment, you may have preserved rights to the older IGETC pattern - confirm with your counselor which framework applies to you.

SCC is one of four Los Rios Community College District colleges eligible for the Los Rios Promise Program, which covers tuition fees for first-time, full-time students (12+ units) for up to two consecutive award years. To qualify, you must be a California resident, submit a FAFSA or California Dream Act Application (CADAA) by the deadline, enroll in at least 12 units by the enrollment date, and maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA with a 66.67% course completion rate each semester. The Los Rios Promise awards are funded on a first-come, first-served basis - submitting your FAFSA or CADAA early (ideally the day it opens each October) is the single most important action for ensuring you receive the benefit. Students who enroll in fewer than 12 units, fail to file the aid application by the deadline, or miss the enrollment date requirement lose eligibility for that term. You can also potentially qualify for the California College Promise Grant (formerly BOG Fee Waiver) even if you don't qualify for the Los Rios Promise, so file the financial aid application regardless.

SCC awards Associate Degrees for Transfer (AA-T and AS-T degrees) in a wide range of majors that guarantee you admission with junior standing at a California State University campus, with priority consideration at a local CSU campus offering a similar major. If you complete an ADT in a major deemed similar to a CSU program, you can finish your bachelor's in 60 additional units at the CSU - meaning the ADT plus two years of upper-division study equals a four-year degree. ADTs also guarantee admission at some HBCUs and participating private colleges. The catch: the specific ADT you choose must match the major pathway you intend to pursue at the CSU, or the guaranteed priority admission doesn't apply. Some high-unit majors (biology, engineering, music) require significantly more than the standard 60-unit ADT and need careful planning. Make your ADT selection in your first counseling appointment and build your schedule backward from it rather than collecting general courses and deciding later.

Sacramento City College is located in California's state capital, three miles south of the State Capitol building. This geographic position creates direct access to state government internship and career opportunities - at state agencies, legislative offices, advocacy organizations, nonprofits, and public policy institutions - that are structurally unavailable at community colleges in non-capital cities. SCC also operates a Davis Center (1720 Jade Street, Davis, CA 95616) for students near UC Davis, and a West Sacramento Center (1115 West Capitol Avenue, West Sacramento, CA 95691) immediately adjacent to the Capitol complex. Political science, public administration, social work, healthcare, and communications students in particular should research Sacramento-based experiential learning early. SCC's specialized programs - including the FAA Aircraft Dispatcher certificate, Railroad Operations degree, Dental Hygiene, Occupational Therapy Assisting, Physical Therapist Assisting, and Deaf Culture and ASL Studies - reflect a program breadth well beyond the typical California community college, giving students in healthcare and applied trades pathways that are hard to replicate at neighboring institutions.