Mt San Jacinto College Menifee Valley Campus

This review is for the counseling office: I’m changing my initial review. Initially I was super excited and happy I had a proper education plan set for me. Went home that night and came up with other questions I needed answered. Made an appointment the very next day and was able to get in that same day with the same counselor. I talked to her and everything was cool had a paper turned into enrollment services to show that I was college proficient to get a sooner reg date. A few days later I get a another education plan sent from enrollment services pretty much showing me i’m only a few classes away from getting an AS to transfer degree in crim j (which mind is what I’m majoring in) which would guarantee me a spot into a CS. I was a slightly disappointed that the counselor hadn’t mentioned this path to me. If it wasn’t for me submitting certain paper work into enrollment I would’ve never known about this. So today I schedule an appointment first thing in the morning to see a counselor that is available to find out what campus this Ed plan would limit me to and a few other questions. She totally was beating around the bush and trying to waste away my 30 min appointment by answering questions to what I already had and was totally frazzled because she can sense the look on annoyance on my face. I mean I know they have new counsellors their and I understand, but I want to be sure I don’t get screwed over on my last semester because they told me I don’t need a certain class when in fact I do. So I made a fourth appointment with a more experienced counsellor which I can’t get until next week and hopefully the last. I just want answers so I can have enough time to think things over and figure out which route I will go.

I really truly hate this college.
In all fairness though some of the teachers I had were pretty fantastic and extremely approachable and were great to work with; however the counseling department, which I feel is probably one of the most important department in a JC was a complete and utter flop.
The counselors were useless and their secretaries beyond rude.
When I was there I had too many problems with counseling to even consider finishing all my classes there.
First off as a new student I was forced into a group meeting where the counselors inform you «essential» information, like how to get into your registration date, which they did not go over. The registration date being essential on how to get classes. No one informs you about priority registration dates and how to get them, which is deal for getting all the classes you need, when you’re in a school that is so horribly impacted.
The next problem with the group meeting is you only get so much time with the counselor to carve out a path., because they need to cater to everyone in the group, that’s about 30.
Ideally, you try to make a another meeting date but the secretaries were beyond rude and went on about how I was not «enough» of student and could not schedule appointments yet, which is always nice when you want to make sure the classes your taking are the ones you need, in addition to getting information about other programs on campus.
When I was finally «enough» of a student getting a date to meet with them that may possibly fit in a busy schedule was almost impossible. One time after I had a meeting planned for a month, the department cancelled on me, without even informing me with a call, which I think any person would find to be extremely unprofessional, especially considering I am bringing money to this school in the hopes they aide me to get out of there.
While in the meeting with the counselors, all they continuously did was plant doubt in any goal I decided I wanted to try and accomplish there. My counselor could never remember my name, which would be forgivable, if it weren’t for the fact it’s right there on their paper, not to mention even when you I went to the other campus, hoping the other counselors would hae been better to have a meeting with they turned out to be as equally bad.
I’d say go here if you have the time to pick up extra classes and it’s close to home, but if you want to get out of the System and get guided, go to Palomar. There’s no competition. The school’s older and has it’s system established in a much better way. Plus it’s a little easier to get classes there than this poor excuse for a college.

I have nothing negative to say about this school. I started here the fall after I graduated and it was difficult to get a full course load without going to school 3+ days a week, but I lived close so that’s perfectly fine. I had a couple of professors that I didn’t like, 2 of them I was able to drop their classes, other 1 I had to tough it out, but that was fine. I wanted to get in and out of community college and onto a public 4 year university and I was able to do so in 2 years. Yes I took summer school and took over 18 units one semester, but if you’re motivated, you can find the classes you need. PLEASE see the advisors. They want to help you. I will say I didn’t like how hard it was to get in and see them, but sometimes you gotta suck it up and go with it. Campus was alright, a lot of out of date buildings, a couple of them dirty, but it’s a bit older. Library and technology building are awesome though.

I have had some sort of discomfort and/​or issue every semester on this campus. From unfriendly staff, teachers who don’t even know their own curriculum, minimal class options, counsellors who just pull up a website instead of actually guiding you to get the hell out of this plague of a campus. I feel as if I don’t learn much…
It might as well be the dmv. The staff make you feel like it pretty much is anyways.
Anyways, what happened to the racist business teacher? I’ve had a few of those… They don’t seem to get rid of the prejudice employees :)

A few years ago I went to try and come to this college, the front person in admin was rude, negative and looked unhappy to be there telling me I couldn’t register (in a careless way). I called again twice a couple days ago and the person who answered the phone sounded flat as well as the counselor on the phone. Please hire people who have good customer service, not some rude a** people who are never helpful!

Small college but you can get the same education here as well as a bigger college. I have been taking classes here for a year and so far I got Good grades!

Admin personnel that «help» students with enrollment are rude and needs customer service training. I called them at 11:15 am on a friday and all I got was answering machine although the message says they are open till noon. Even in person a guy snaps at me and have really bad attitude. Finance department people are really helpful though that’s why I gave then a star.

I can’t say enough nice things about Mr. J. Midgett. He is without a doubt the absolutely best counselor at this college. He always goes the extra mile to solve any and every issue I have ever had. He is a huge asset to MSJC.

The school is ok. Just make sure to check with your counselor on occasion to make sure your on the right path to transfer to where you want to go. They have 2 paths… UC path and Cal State path. Both are a little bit different. Make sure to take the correct classes or else the credits aren’t transferable.
Classes seem to be impacted, so make sure to sign up early enough to get a seat. If not, good luck crashing.

I would give this school a zero if I could! Terrible workers here, no one wants to help you with anything they pretty much shrug it off like it’s not their issue! They only allow same day appointments now for counseling, which is ridiculous! I am a working student it is almost impossible for me to get a counseling appointment now! They say to call so I do multiple times no one answers the phone! So I go to the campus to schedule an appointment and well they have one but you have to come back in 3 hours. I don’t have that kind of time to waste! For all the money people pay to get an education and we can’t even get in to see a freaking counselor! This is beyond stupid! And you can never get the classes you need! I’ve been going here 7 years and am almost now about to get my associates, but I can’t meet with a damn counselor about transferring! Avoid this school at all costs if you are able to do so!

I’ve had bad experiences with other colleges before and it took me a few years to be ready to go back to college after rethinking my line of work. I decided on this specific campus because it’s so close to my ailing my father, so I can be close by if he needs me.
Everything went well, at first. The people are friendly and helpful and I was super excited to start classes. I bombed the assessment test for math because I haven’t had a math class in over 8 years, but I was able to enroll for other classes. The problem started with summer classes. I enrolled for the summer session, but the only available classes I could find were for math so I couldn’t take them as I had to redo the assessment. No big deal, I’ll take fall classes, right?
Wrong.
Apparently if you’re enrolled in a semester or session but fail to register for a class, you are penalized and are one of the very very last people to register for classes the following semester, even after the new students. So here I am on my registration day for the fall semester unable to take a single class because literally everything is filled. I’ve checked all the entry level classes and the only thing I can find available is a French class and a Psychology class, both held at the same time. None of the classes I actually need are available. I won’t be able to enroll as a full time student now, so my grant money is significantly less, money I need to survive while going to college. And if I don’t enroll in something, I’m slapped with the exact same penalty next semester.
This is apparently the only campus anyone wants to go to, despite there being at least two other campuses I know of. I’m stuck going to this one campus now, it’s the only one I’m capable of getting to without going out of range of my dad, who has PTSD and a heart condition. And yet I apparently can’t get into any of the classes because of that penalty.
Best part is? You’re told to wait to meet with a counselor until AFTER you’ve registered for your first semester of classes, so there is literally no one that can or will help me.

This is a great school. Before enrolling in classes check out the teachers on
… Everyone is very friendly and helpful here!

Nice people, sure, but nothing gets done. I came for the multimedia program and am not learning from their classes in the least yet they want me to speak on their behalf. They need to actually teach inside the program’s classrooms and not think you already know everything.

I love the teachers I have met in this place. Professor Richard Kandus, Billingsley, etc are real gems to this institution. Financial aid staff is so friendly! The staff in the Nursing Department are so nice!!! I have ONE complaint. When my friend came to this place to fill out some paperwork, there was a woman who handled his paperwork. My friend is an illegal immigrant BUT that does not mean they deserve disrespect. The woman doing his paperwork disrespected him in front of his family and in front of other students. Despite political affiliations, this woman should have remained respectful, friendly, and classy. Instead, it was TRASHY.

I went to Palomar 2 years after high school. I really loved it, but it was just too far from where I lived to drive there nearly everyday. (I live nearby MSJC Menifee Valley Campus) Now I have been going to MSJC for almost a year and I have accomplished nearly nothing thanks to the lack of classes and overflow of students. I was able to compare the difference between the two schools, and I definitely like Palomar better. Buuuttt, here are the pros and cons to MSJC Menifee Valley.
PROS:
–I really appreciate how nice many of the financial aid ladies are, as well as some of the other staff members.
–The campus itself is not that big, and all the classrooms are easy to find.
–The campus is nice, clean and newly renovated.
–I’ve had very caring and nice teachers.
–The library is awesome!
–One of the librarians always go above and beyond to help! She has short hair and she sits at the curriculm desk. (The other librarian with long gray hair unfortunately I can NOT say the same about.)
CONS:
–IMPACTED IMPACTED IMPACTED! There are too many students here and this school caters to the wrong ones.
–Campus police here are assholes. as most low-​budget-​wannabe-​real-​cops are. (not my experience at Palomar though)
–Cashier office lady is a complete ass.
–There are sooo many «priveleged» students here that get extremely early registration dates, that leaves the rest of the students with shitty classes/​teachers.
–The counselling office never returns calls, and I’m pretty sure they dont give a damn about you graduating. They told me I can only take a Bio100 class and they dont even offer it there! Some of my credits werent transferrable and they didnt even let me know, I had to find out myself the hard way. and when I did try getting it straightened out they never returned my call and I had to wait 2 weeks to get a counselling appointment to pretty much just ask what classes werent transferable so I could take them this semester… but by the time I talked to them the semester had already started and I couldnt get the class.
–The teachers I have had are great, but the school staff is lacking passion, in my opinion, they just do the bare minimum of their jobs.
–I am understanding and grateful for programs that pay for college if you cant; however, I dont understand why these students get such priveleged registration dates as well. I am working fulltime to pay for college, and a straight A student aspiring to go to USC, yet I get last pick of classes becuase I work to pay for my education as many others do… I dont believe thats fair (neither do many other MSJC students), If your getting a college education free why do have superiority to other students that can afford it? I dont know if it happens at other schools or if there are just more EOPS students here, but either way its very discouraging.

Good luck trying to get a class there!

I absolutely loved my experience at MSJC!!! If it wasn’t for MSJC, I wouldn’t be at UCR now. The staff is really helpful and the professors are awesome (Check
, prior to enrolling into a class. Yes, some are bad, but most professors are great). I recommend to get involved and attend the many helpful workshops they offer. Visit the counselors every other semester to ensure you are on the right path as well as doing research on your own to know what you need to transfer and what’s right for you.
My experience went pretty smooth; was able to register for classes except my FIRST year, but it was fine after that. It did take me 3 years to transfer to UCR, but we can blame the delay on my first year. In every college it will be difficult to obtain classes thanks to budget cuts. It is the same everywhere. If you want a good registration date, be a full time student, don’t take useless classes, and avoid failing classes. I was never in DSPS, which by the way get priority registration, but I was always able to get my classes.
The campus has really improved and recently opened a new building for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Overall the campus is growing and is beginning to look more like a college campus. Parking is never an issue here if you don’t mind a little walking.

This campus is really nice compared to the others (especially Hemet, considering it’s older).
The science department has excellent lab equipment and everything is much newer and more up to date. The SJ campus is stuck with the older equipment, but they make do.
The campus is clean and has plenty of places to sit down and eat lunch or just wait for your next class.
The library is huge! I love it! The bottom floor is where the LRC is. The upstairs takes you into the library. It is organized really well. The computers are in the center, resource desk to the left, checkout and copy room to the right. There are also long tables and outlets for your own computer usage!
The conference room is also nice for group study time!
The staff is friendly and helpful! No cranky librarians here! Thank goodness.

I’ve never attended a class at a community college. I used to think that people who went there weren’t intelligent or mature enough to handle the rigors of a 4-​year university. Thankfully, with age came wisdom, and I no longer hold those immature views.
I already «own» a degree, but I am a lover of learning. So why not take advantage of the ridiculous per-​credit prices offered at California community colleges?
I’m currently taking 2 business courses this semester with the hopes of earning a degree in either Accounting or Business Admin/​Mgmt. Once I earn a degree I’ll have to re-​assess my life and decide whether or not an MBA is feasible.
The campus is a mix of old and new. There are still portables sprinkled here and there but there are also newer and more tech-​advanced buildings too.
The Temecula campus needs some work though, at this point its completely a «no frills» environment. Not very conducive to learning. Some new clocks and working thermostats would be excellent!
So what inspired me to go to a community college? Would you believe a tv show? I’m serious. And so far, I’m enjoying my experience. I’m glad I was influenced into this decision. I’ve already made some friends who I think will be of the lifelong variety.
Community…

This is a pretty dope community college. It seems the people who diss MSJC were people who attended a long time ago (before the building spree), or transplants from San Diego with a superiority complex.
Used to be quite generic in appearance, but in recent years MSJC has been on a massive building spree on their Menifee campus and some big — and very cool-​looking — modern buildings have gone up. Just wish they had better athletic facilities and sports courses, like they got at the San Jacinto campus.