Saddleback College
Rolling
Acceptance rate
$12,288
Tuition/yr
15,000
Enrollment
About Saddleback College
Community college in Mission Viejo, CA (Orange County). Strong transfer and technical programs.
Saddleback College is a public two-year community college established in 1968 in Mission Viejo, California, operated by the South Orange County Community College District. It is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), a body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. With around 20,700 enrolled students, it is one of the larger community colleges in Southern California.
The college offers associate degrees and certificates across 108 fields of study. Popular programs include Liberal Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Nursing Science, Computer Science, and Engineering. International students commonly choose Business, Accounting, Computer Science, and Health Care pathways. Each year, more than 3,500 students transfer from Saddleback to four-year universities, with strong pipelines to UC Irvine, UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Berkeley, and UC Santa Barbara.
The campus sits in Mission Viejo in Orange County, roughly 60 miles south of Los Angeles. The area is suburban and considered one of the safer communities in California. Students have access to a range of student services including a Transfer Center, ESL programs, and an International Student Office.
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
- Saddleback College offers one of the most affordable entry points to a U.S. university education: international tuition is approximately $512 per unit (~$12,288 per year for full-time enrollment in 2026-2027), which is substantially lower than four-year university tuition in the United States.
- Nepali students can use Saddleback as a cost-effective two-year pathway to transfer into competitive UC campuses such as UC Irvine or UCLA, which is particularly valuable given that direct admission to top UC schools from Nepal is highly competitive.
- Saddleback no longer requires English proficiency test scores for admission; students without sufficient scores are admitted to the Intensive ESL program, reducing a common barrier for Nepali applicants.
- F-1 students are eligible for on-campus employment while studying, and completing a degree at a U.S. institution opens eligibility for Optional Practical Training (OPT), up to 3 years for STEM graduates, providing post-study work rights in the United States.
Admission requirements — Nepali equivalents
A rough translation of the published minimums for Nepali applicants:
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