When you live in San Jose and decide to go to community college, you are left with two choices, to attend Evergreen Valley College or San Jose City College. While the schools are technically “sister schools,” they are way different from each other. As someone who has been going to community college for five years to both EVC and SJCC, I could tell the difference right off the back. Which leaves the question, which school is really better?

Let me start with EVC. Anyone who lives in the San Jose area knows EVC is a real popular choice for community colleges. They are an established college with great professors.  The campus is evolving and adding new buildings by the year.

The only downside to EVC is the small campus. It also is lacking school spirit. With only soccer teams to root for, there is zero sports recognition on campus. Last, EVC is like a true transfer school. You make no friends and stay to yourself like an introvert.

While I do love EVC, it does have it blemishes. Sadly, the transfer rate for EVC is horrible. According to collegetuitioncompare.com: EVC has a graduation rate of 24%. Of that only 7% transfer to four year universities. Those are horrible numbers for a school trying to show itself as a transfer school.

SJCC is way different. The campus is much larger and with the addition of the new sports complex, it’s only getting bigger. With sports teams ranging from football to basketball, there is always a team to cheer for. It seems that SJCC also offers more classes in certain majors rather than EVC. The only downside with SJCC is that it feels like a high school 2.0 with people hanging out in groups and cliques. While this may feel comfortable for some, I am not a fan.

The main problem for SJCC is … THE LOCATION IS HORRIBLE. Who thought it was a good idea to put a college campus right next to the freeway? Good luck trying to leave campus around 4 p.m. – 7 p.m., prime traffic time. You’ll need at least an hour or two to get home.

The transfer numbers for SJCC are a little bit better than EVC. According to www.collegetuitioncompare.com, SJCC has a graduation rate of 26%. Of that 11% transfer to four year universities. It’s a bit better than EVC, however, nothing to brag about either.

Daniel Gonzalez, a second year student at SJCC, has attended both campuses.

“While I have spent more time at SJCC rather than EVC, SJCC feels more like a four year college,” Gonzalez said. “I like the feel of a big campus, unlike a small campus like EVC.”

Tina Nguyen, a first year student felt differently.

“I’m always in a hurry. I like how EVC is in a convenient location.” Nguyen said. “EVC is starting to look good as a campus. We are knocking old buildings down to build bigger and better classrooms. I also really love the new MS-3 building.”

While I have attended both campuses, there can be no clear winner. Everyone will give a different answer on which school is better. It all depends on your major and the way you want to live your first two years of college. Do you want to go to a school that focuses on transfers, or a school that focuses on more than transferring?