Riverside City College
Rolling
Acceptance rate
$12,336
Tuition/yr
20,000
Enrollment
About Riverside City College
Community college in Riverside, CA. Strong transfer and technical programs in Inland Empire.
Riverside City College (RCC) is a public two-year community college founded in 1916 and located in Riverside, California. It is part of the Riverside Community College District and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). RCC enrolls approximately 19,000 to 21,000 students each semester, making it one of the larger community colleges in the Inland Empire region.
RCC offers more than 100 associate degree and certificate programs spanning business, nursing, engineering technology, computer science, liberal arts, and the sciences. A primary strength of the college is its transfer pathway program: students regularly transfer to nearby University of California, Riverside (UCR), California State University San Bernardino, CSU Fullerton, and other four-year institutions after completing general education requirements at RCC. The college is also accredited for its business programs through ACBSP.
The campus sits at 4800 Magnolia Avenue in Riverside, a city of roughly 330,000 people in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area of Southern California. Riverside is well-connected by freeway and Metrolink commuter rail to Los Angeles and San Diego. The college operates a dedicated International Students Center that supports F-1 visa holders through the full application and enrollment process.
Campus & Location
CA
Suburban
Optional Practical Training (OPT)
All graduates qualify for 12-month OPT. STEM-designated programs (CS, Engineering, Data Science, Mathematics, Sciences) qualify for 24-month STEM OPT extension — 36 months total work authorisation.
For Nepali students
- RCC is a cost-effective entry point into the US higher education system: the official annual I-20 budget for international students is approximately $29,591 (covering tuition for 24 units, health insurance, books, and living costs), which is substantially lower than the $60,000–$80,000 annual cost of most US universities. This makes it one of the more affordable legal pathways to study in California on an F-1 visa.
- After two years at RCC, Nepali students can transfer to a University of California or California State University campus, including UC Riverside, which is literally adjacent to the college, with junior standing, bypassing the highly competitive freshman admission process at those universities.
- International students at RCC are eligible for a dedicated international student scholarship (up to $1,250), and the college's open admissions policy and low English proficiency threshold (TOEFL iBT 45) make it more accessible than four-year universities for students transitioning from Nepal's education system.
- Graduates who transfer to a four-year US university and complete a bachelor's or master's degree become eligible for F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT), including the 24-month STEM OPT extension for qualifying STEM degrees, giving Nepali students up to three years of US work authorization after graduation.
Admission requirements — Nepali equivalents
A rough translation of the published minimums for Nepali applicants:
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