Public
Accredited · Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
Taft, California
Taft College — Admission Snapshot 2026
A complete at-a-glance picture of every metric that matters for your 2026 application
$13,012Annual Cost
$38,861Grad Salary
17.9%Pell Grant
Selectivity
Open Enrollment
Institution Type
Public
Campus
Main Campus
Accredited By
Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
Avg Net Price
$2,699
Need-Based Aid
17.9% receive Pell
Taft College is a public community college located in California that offers a variety of academic and professional programs with a focus on student achievement and regional workforce needs. The college is known for its supportive, small-campus atmosphere, where students receive personalized attention from faculty and staff. It provides robust transfer pathways and practical training in high-demand fields like energy technology and dental hygiene. By maintaining an emphasis on affordability and accessibility, Taft College remains a key institution for students who are looking for a focused, high-quality learning environment to start their academic or career paths.
Taft College Acceptance Rate
Admission at Taft College is inclusive by design. 100% of applicants who meet basic eligibility are accepted.
What to Expect
- Eligibility First: A high school diploma or GED typically clears the main bar.
- Plan Ahead for Placement: Placement tests can shape which courses you start in. They are worth preparing for.
Selectivity at a Glance
Open Enrollment
Selectivity scale: Open Enrollment — rate not reported
Most Selective (0%)Open Enrollment (100%)
A GPA a bit under the average isn't disqualifying at this tier. A solid test score or clear leadership record can offset it.
Source: IPEDS & College Scorecard (Nov 2025).
Taft College Application Deadlines & Admission Dates 2026
Taft College follows a Rolling Admissions policy, meaning applications are reviewed as they arrive and there is no single fixed deadline.
Key Admission Dates
Rolling Admissions — Apply Anytime
Taft College reviews applications continuously throughout the year. Seats and scholarships are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so applying early gives you a significant advantage for both admission and financial aid.
Deadlines are verified from official institutional sources but may change each cycle. Always confirm final dates on the official website.
Check Your Admission Chances at Taft College
Admission Chance Predictor
Built from Taft College's own verified admissions data — adjust the sliders below
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Calculating Profile...
Adjust the sliders to see how every decimal point affects your outcome.
Your SAT Score 1200
Your Unweighted GPA 3.00
⚠️ Note: Predicting based on regional averages as this institution does not publicly report full score datasets.
Calculated via College Portal's Human-Intelligence (HI) Methodology & Editorial Standards. Verified by Sohaib Ahmad Khan.
Taft College Test Requirements
Scores aren't just a formality at Taft College. Landing within or above the 2026 admitted class's middle 50% keeps you fully competitive, even where submission is optional.
Can I Get Into Taft College Without SAT or ACT?
Taft College's test-score policy isn't published. As a default, submit your score only if it's at or above the state/national average — a below-average score can work against you.
Your 2026 Admissions Roadmap for Taft College
Inclusive Strategy: Success & Transfer
Taft College provides an open gateway to higher education. Success here is about using available resources well and planning your longer-term academic or career path.
Ignore any acceptance-rate figure claiming Taft College is highly selective - it is a fully open-admission institution, and some third-party sites report fabricated statistics
At least one aggregator site currently circulates a fabricated "10.02% acceptance rate" and "80,808 applications" for Taft College - figures that don't match Taft's actual open-admission policy (confirmed directly on Taft's own site and IPEDS data) and appear to conflate Taft College with an unrelated, differently named institution or simply reflect an AI-generated error. Verify any competitiveness claims about Taft College directly against taftcollege.edu or IPEDS rather than trusting aggregator "chances" calculators, since acting on a fabricated acceptance rate could cause a qualified student to avoid applying to a genuinely open-access school.
If you're targeting Dental Hygiene, complete your 10-hour job shadow by the December cutoff - this is a hard prerequisite, not a soft recommendation
Taft's Dental Hygiene program requires a minimum of 10 hours of observation/job-shadowing with a practicing dental hygienist, documented on a specific form completed by the hygienist you observed, and this must be finished by December of the year before your intended fall start - well before the January-February application window even opens. Schedule your shadowing placement at least several months in advance (dental offices often need lead time to host a shadow), since missing this December cutoff means waiting a full additional year to reapply.
Complete every dental hygiene science prerequisite within the 7-year recency window - an old A&P or Chemistry grade doesn't count no matter how strong it was
Taft requires Anatomy, Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Microbiology, and Physiology to be completed within the past seven years (2018 or later, for a Fall 2025 application) to meet the program's recency standard, with zero exceptions for in-progress coursework at the time of application. If any of your science prerequisites are approaching or past this 7-year mark, retake the course well before your application cycle rather than assuming an old strong grade will be grandfathered in.
Consider the new Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene Administration if you're already a licensed hygienist looking to move into management or education - this is a genuinely rare bachelor's offering at a community college
Taft launched its BS in Dental Hygiene Administration in 2024 specifically for practicing, licensed dental hygienists who want to move into teaching, management, business, or public health roles - a four-year degree offering that's unusual for a California community college to house directly. If you're a working hygienist rather than an incoming student, this program (with its first graduating class in Spring 2026) is a distinct pathway worth investigating separately from the standard AS Dental Hygiene track.
Expert Insight:
Because Taft College is a small, genuinely open-admission California community college, some online sources circulate wildly inaccurate selectivity data (see the fabricated acceptance-rate figure above) that could mislead a student into either overestimating the difficulty of general admission or underestimating the real competitiveness of specific capped programs like Dental Hygiene (20 seats/year with hard prerequisite deadlines). Always separate "getting into Taft College" (open, essentially guaranteed) from "getting into a specific capped program at Taft College" (competitive, deadline-driven, and prerequisite-heavy) when researching this school.
Taft College Profile
Full Name
Taft College
City
Taft
State
California
ZIP Code
93268
Type
Public
Campus
Main Campus
Official Website
Accredited By
Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (WASCJC)
Is a Taft College Degree Worth It?
At $13,012/year against a $38,861 median graduate salary, Taft College is worth weighing against your specific program and financial situation. The numbers below give you a real basis for that decision.
Admitted students' families report a median household income around $48,500, and graduates see a 6.11% unemployment rate.
How much does a degree from Taft College Cost?
Listed tuition runs $13,012/year at Taft College. Factor in Pell and federal grant aid, and most students land closer to $2,699.
At Taft College, 17.9% receive a Pell Grant and 0.5% carry federal loans. Filing FAFSA early and naming Taft College on it improves your shot at both.
How much does a Taft College Graduate earn?
Ten years out from enrollment, Taft College graduates report a median income of $38,861, somewhat below the U.S. median graduate income of $40,595.
Degree Programs at Taft College
Associate Degree Programs
UG Certificate or Diploma Programs
Frequently Asked Questions About Taft College Admissions
Taft College graduates earn a lower median salary of $38,861/year, especially outside technical fields.
Tuition at Taft College is relatively affordable, around $13,012/year.
17.9% receive a Pell Grant here, below the ~35% national average. Taft College skews toward higher-income students, though merit aid may still be worth checking.
Taft College follows Rolling Admissions. Applications are reviewed year-round, so applying early is your best strategy.
Transferring in is a well-trodden path here. Line up your transcripts, recommendations, and a strong personal statement before applying.
The biggest levers are academic performance, a clear extracurricular focus, and essays that stand out, plus a solid test score where the school considers one.
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