Ohlone College

Terrible parking on weekdays. No free parking on weekends even when all lots are empty. They prey upon unsuspecting folks by not putting up any signs informing of paid parking on weekends. Got ticketed in a completely empty lot on a sunday! Nice job campus police, you earned your keep.

Great graduation ceremony last night. Tons of Fremont Police Officers around. I guess due to the large turn out.
Great food reception as well. Job well done to my graduate and to all the staff and profs. there. Thanks

Top notch ASL program. Teachers are supportive, patient, and very involved to help students succeed. Really interested in having more ASL/​Deaf Studies class options because some classes are not offered every semester, many classes are not offered at night, and none of the AA or certificate program classes are offered over the summer.
Beautiful view. Love the new, close parking structure. Construction progress has been slow, but steady.

I honestly didn’t want to review my college because I don’t think I could put everything that I have to say into 1 review. Ohlone college has 2 campuses one in Fremont and 10 – 15 minutes away is the Newark campus. I currently only take classes at the Newark campus because Ohlone has always had construction and is a nightmare to walk around. I always felt like I was taking a hike to go to class at the Fremont campus and the instructors had all been there so long they could care less about helping the students and updating their teaching methods a little. Aside from the struggles with walking around campus (which if you are in a wheelchair or injured I don’t know how easily you could get around with the construction in the dead center of the Fremont campus in spring of 2016.
The Newark campus is a new campus with a large parking lot and solar panels everywhere. This campus takes pride in having so much technology around. The only thing I wish it had was a campus bookstore and that the cafeteria would be open for longer hours on Fridays. I feel like this campus has more potential because it is on a large piece of land and has more room to expand on the existing area and to the left. Behind the field parking lot is a train which runs through Fremont as well, I believe it is just a cargo train though not Bart or ace.
If I had to chose I would prefer to go to the Newark campus over the Fremont campus for both easy parking, less walking and how easy it is to get around Newark.

This campus is fairly old… Lots of constructions and updates going on right now. It’s not bad at all. New parking structure (access to lower campus and hymen building park on floor 1 and 2 and access to upper campus –basically all the main buildings – park floors 3,4,5). This campus seriously love stairs… Stairs to go up to the main buildings… stairs to get from parking lot to campus. It’s everywhere… Overall, good exercise.
Teaching staff is excellent. Very willing to help but some major courses like biology is highly impacted at ohlone. Was able to get into micro with a late add but not anatomy/​physio.
Office staff, particularly the counseling window staff needs an attitude adjustment. It’s not my fault that you have to work the week of a holiday and email counseling was unable. And sorry to interrupt you while you look through that Barbie catalog… And why do you have to talk on such a mean tone and loud voice. I don’t want everyone to know my business. Lady, ever heard of privacy??? Can’t believe I had to pay for parking for this crap.

My first interaction with the admissions and counseling office was pretty good. Helpful staff. I had a problem registering for a call. The counseling office helped resolve it immediately.
The only problem was that the building had no air conditioning. With the temperature in the late 80s, it was extremely uncomfortable. After waiting in the hall for 30 mins and a 10 min talk to the counselor, I came out feeling sick. I am now recuperating with the AC on blast!

Our school had the privilege to have a field trip to Ohlone College to watch the «Brave Irene» play today. The actors were great and we all thoroughly enjoyed the performance!

Salut! Comment ça va? Ça va bien ici à Ohlone. Thanks to Ohlone College, I am learning some French in preparation for our upcoming trip to France! I was looking at other language schools, but they were all very expensive. I hoped that Ohlone would offer French in the evening, and voila, here I am learning survival French just in time for our trip.
This is not my first class at Ohlone. I have taken classes here before in order to add to my professional development units at work. In my line of work, the more semester units you have past your BA, the higher you go up the salary scale. One of the classes I took here was an online Women’s Literature course with A. Kuhn and it was a wonderful class. Though it was online, the message boards made it possible to interact with other students and discuss the text. Prof. Kuhn was great about giving feedback and was kind enough to write a letter of recommendation for me when I was applying for a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. I’m sure her letter was instrumental in my success in securing the grant!
My French 101A class is also wonderful. Our class is small and the professor teaches the entire time in French. The class meets twice a week for about 5 hours, so I am learning a lot. We also have a textbook online that has a lot of audio and written exercises to help us practice. I work full time, so I am very busy these days because of the class, but the sacrifice is worth it!
My class is in the portables due to construction on campus, but there is a café a few doors down where you can grab some food and coffee, and study a bit before class starts. Free wi-​fi is also available. And if you’re lucky enough to have a class that starts around sunset like I do, the view of the Bay Area from campus is spectacular!
There is no free parking on campus. You can buy a daily permit for $ 2 each or save some money by buying a semester permit for $ 35. The student parking lot is below the college, so yes, you will have to climb up the hill if you have classes way up there. Hey, we all need exercise!
Applying to the college was easy. I filled out an online application in early December, enrolled in a class, paid my fees, purchased my textbook online and next thing I knew, it was January and spring semester has started. The fees here per unit are way less than the fees I’ve paid at UC Extension and Stanford Continuing Studies. Community Colleges are definitely an affordable option, so take advantage of them!

Ohlone is basically High School continuation without the high school spirit. Just come here to study. Classes are pretty standard. Just go to class, do the homework, take the exams, get As, rinse, repeat. You’ll find yourself at a UC in two years if your grades are good enough.

I made an appointment with a counselor to talk about what options and courses are available. I have never been to college and graduated about 4 years ago from high school and went to a trade school. I wanted to just take some classes to be productive and prepare for my future. Parking here is awful the signs are tiny so I didn’t see any visitor parking everywhere u had to pay the actual buildings are a hike away, the campus is just ugly and confusing, the counselor was extremely unwelcoming and was obviously new every question I had was not answered and directed to a different part of the school he literally helped me with nothing he was very awkward and didn’t offer me any help with one thing and at the end of the appointment he told me I should look at other schools? Shouldn’t he be promoting the school and helping me out ?!? I definitely will never go near this place again

I am more in favor of the other campus in Newark and left a review for that campus. This campus has its charm, that’s for sure. My distaste for this particular campus stems from the very poor counseling services that I have received.
When you are a new student, you are required to go through an orientation. That’s fine and dandy and pretty much customary anyway. However, the man who administered our orientation back in 2013 left a very poor impression of the school. He would make it seem like some of the classes were just too difficult and that we would likely fail or drop out. He had a very negative «can’t do» attitude that literally made me look around the room thinking, «Who is this guy?!» I soon was assigned to him for counseling services and wanted to try and give him a second chance.
I didn’t need to.
He was lazy in the sense that almost all of my questions were shrugged off his shoulders. He did not give me any points of contact for my degree path, didn’t help me evaluate my pre-​existing credits from another college, and would turn to his computer to «look things up» when it wasn’t necessary. I was frustrated and frankly– I wanted to cry. I remember walking out of there feeling like I had made a mistake registering for courses at this school.
I ignored my intuition and proceeded anyway (go figure I didn’t fail any of the classes that he evidently did). I ended up having to literally track down multiple counselors before my questions were answered. I guess that’s just the way it is sometimes. It took a lot of work to have previous credits transferred over to my Ohlone education path. Just be prepared. You’ll have to do much of the groundwork on your own.
Trang B, the veterans representative, is INCREDIBLE. She knows her job and executes it well! She helped me get all of my military benefits transferred over and get everything organized. She truly is a very hard working member of the Ohlone team and a great veterans rep as well. If you’re a vet, you’ll be pleased with the ease of getting your G.I. Bill set up with the school.
I like this campus a lot! The views are beautiful and I love that there are literally hiking trails all over the place. It is a workout getting up that hill! I love the walk to class. The trees keep the path shaded and it’s usually pretty quiet. It’s definitely a major perk to this campus. Of course this school is a little older and many classrooms are dull and depressing. Bring your own party to the room. :)
The professors have been very great here as well. It’s been a positive experience overall. Though I’ll be transferring shorty, I’m glad I stuck with it and knocked out all of my foundation classes. I’m excited for the future and I can’t express enough to everybody getting their first few years of college in just how great it feels when you cross the finish line. Stay focused and never give up! Help one another and be a friend to even people you don’t know. Everybody is fighting some sort of battle, so try and be mindful of that and be friendly. It doesn’t take much.
Good luck and enjoy!

Ohlone College strives to create an atmosphere conducive to success not only for students, but for its employees and the entire community as well! Additionally, they have one of the most extensive technology class offerings among bay area community colleges — which is key in the silicon valley.

Its a good college and they should have a buffet. It takes very long but it gets tough with classes and transportation.

I am very concerned about Ohlone College. Lately there have been quite a few changes with lots of construction underway, however at what price? Hundreds of families were displaced when the child care center was taken offline, who knows if that will ever come back? There is also this mad desire to acquire more money by selling off some of the land that borders Mission. However the school is receiving large grants to perform all of this construction which seems to be focused on improving buildings for the administrators. Like I said at what price to the community? So far I am getting the strong impression that Ohlone college is way more focused on keeping the administration fat and happy than it is focused on the students or the rest of the community it is supposed to serve.

Ohlone might as well be high school 2.0. This school is field with kids that went to school with each other so there are a lot of clicks and people gossiping. Other than that most students here are just not social, they just want to get in and out.

Horrible school. Not vey welcoming to newcomers!
Extremely rude. I would not waste a penny on this school. I gave it one star because it doesn’t have an option for zero and that is what it deserves.

Oh Ohlone. Your stairs kill me but keep my legs in shape. I’ve had several good teachers at this college (and several bad ones). However, I really don’t understand why the art classes are located all the way on the top story of the top building. Why make us lug all of our art supplies that far? I remember how much of a pain it was to carry my messenger bag and my 18×24 bag (that contained both my 18×24 sketchbook and masonite board) all the way to the very top. I remember being out of breath, disheveled, and cranky because of this. I also don’t understand why they closed Parking Lots B, C, M, N, O, and P for construction. Couldn’t they have done that over the summer? Finding parking is already so difficult for most people.
There’s also a little-​known, inconspicuous, and oddly-​numbered Building 27 located at the VERY top of the campus (okay well technically the art building wasn’t the very top if you count this). You know the lake where all the ducks are? Walk left until you find stairs and then climb those stairs. That building deals with academic affairs. The view from the very top is nice. I think I can even see Dumbarton Bridge from there.
I’ve found myself frequenting Mission Burger because of this place. The cafeteria is also pretty good. I recommend their quesadillas, lemon pepper wings, curly fries, and chicken strips. They also sell Dirty’s Chips, gummy worms, and Hi-​Chews which are my FAVORITE. For some reason the juice is more expensive than the soda. Shouldn’t they be encouraging students to be healthier?
As stated in previous reviews, the lady behind the desk on the 3^rd floor of Building 7 (the counseling department) is eternally crabby. Don’t take it personally. Also don’t rely on the counselors too much. (scheduling counseling appointments is a huge pain and their online scheduling system DOES NOT WORK AT ALL.) They’re fallible like anyone else and can make mistakes. I recommend contacting the admissions office (of the schools you want to transfer to) directly and asking about their requirements or looking up the requirements yourself. Sometimes certain counselors may tell you take a class you don’t need or gloss over important tidbits of information. They’re not experts on everything and you should only schedule an appointment with them if you need to create your Student Education Plan or TAG Agreement (or anything else that you can’t do on your own). Also, major-​specific requirements for transferring can change annually, so be sure to triple-​check the requirements for each school you plan on applying to. Take ASSIST with a grain of salt. Some agreements are either outdated or haven’t been made yet. Looking at the university website itself is the best route to go.
In terms of the atmosphere: Library is old. Most of the buildings are old. Clubs aren’t really advertised that much. Finding a club to join can be especially difficult if you’re a full-​time student due to conflicting schedules and all. Books are expensive. There are TONS of sparrow nests along the windows of all of the buildings, as well as bird poop that never gets cleaned. The elevators are very old and small. Occasionally the door may only close mid-​way. Hymen Hall is the newest building and the nicest. I’ve worked at the top story of the ELC before. The people there are great! If you need any help with your English classes, that’s the place to go. The bottom story is the computer lab.

Ohlone is a good school to complete your general education at. It is my second semester at this school and what you see is pretty much what you get. Most teachers are pretty friendly and glad to help you when in need, the rest of the faculty staff is a joke! Admissions is closed half of the time and just send you to counciling so that they do not have to deal with you themselves. admissions, counciling, financial aid all closes for a couple of hours during the day. Perhaps it is due to budget cuts but it is very inconvenient driving from one campus to the next to find out, you have an hour to kill because they do not have shift they simply all go to lunch. I hope ohlone can manage this better.
on a positive note the view is breath taking !
Updated review!
After being at this school for two years i finally received priority registration! I quickly signed up for my summer and fall classes just to find out that four days later i would be dropped from all my registered classes! I was outraged when i found out my place had been given to the next person on the wait list. Lucky i was able to find a couple of classes that i still needed which i ended up signing for. I also signed up for a payment plan to pay for my classes and once again i was dropped because i hadn’t paid within 5 days. Whats the point of the payment plan! Now i am all out of luck because summer and fall classes are full. whats the point of having priority registration if they are simply going to drop you. I have been to another cc and ohlone by far is one that wants your money immediately!

Agree with people who say that the administration office is horrible.
I’m planning to enroll classes for next semester. So Today I dropped by to see counselor but the person behind the desk (administration office) gave me an attitude about getting a Student ID number online. I will appreciate if the lady help me and answer my questions nicely. Maybe she had a bad day?
I checked out the old campus today. I have to say that the campus has a nice view. In my opinion the cafeteria is small and doesn’t sell that much stuff but they have plenty tables and have a nice outdoor seating for cafeteria. I got to spend sometime there to read book.
Parking: No Free parking here! not even visitor but the parking is cheap.
If you don’t have a permit for the semester, you can get $ 2 daily permit.

Worse college EVER! The campus have nice views but the parking sucks!
the security has nothing to do but give people tickets.
I got a semester parking permit but I only can park in certain area which i have to walk 8 minutes to the top floor. I dont mind walking since the view is pretty. BUT! i do mind when I am in a hurry!
Compare with mission college, mission college has student welcome center, which they hire part-​time students to help new students who has no clue about how to register the class, direction of the campus, and etc. Mission also has Mercy parking week for the first 2 weeks of semester and 40 mins guess parking. However, if you want to visit Ohlone, you have to pay even if you go there for 2 minutes. opps, did I mention? that 2 minutes maybe you will have a $ 40 ticket by those security who has nothing to do all day. There’s no welcome center as well to help you to get used to the school as well too.
Also, you will get bunch of ID and passwords, such as web advisor Id & password, Student ID, Blackboard ID, and Library printing ID & password. It’s very confusing. On top of it, one of my classmate and I took a photo shot of our ID card but they never send us our ID card. I am not sure if they are lack of money or what (since that area is kinda rich) but their management skills are LOUSY and MESSY!
OHOH!!! last but not least, their payment time. When I was in SJSU, we paid after the school starts. in Mission college, we pay the first 3 weeks after we register for the class (otherwise they kick you out) But Ohlone is AWESOME!
you know what? you have to pay for your class before the first FIVE day you register! otherwise they kick you out!!! WTH!!! !^#@%@#$%!@%%
Their parking rules and payment rules are not as clear as most of schools and no body even warn you. Which is very easy to make stupid careless mistake if you dont pay attention to those rules. if they have welcome center like mission college had, then less ppl will make stupid mistakes.
I am not sure about the quality of education overall, but i do sure that they are CHEAP, messy, lack of humanity, and troublesome.
I really wish there’s a hero some day shows up to manage this beautiful campus. Make it more like a college for HUMANS!!!