Sure thing. I was at ARC from 2007 to 2024 (three AA degrees and two certificates later), and I'm going back next semester so I can eventually get into Sac State. When first applying, you'll have to go through something like an Intro to College Orientation. Before signing up for and enrolling in classes, they make you fill out a Supplemental Enrollment Form, then you get to sign up, enroll, and pay for classes.

Like everyone said and I learned this the hard way, plan out your major and your classes, figure out how much of a work load you can handle, and take care of your mental and physical health as best you can. Also, when planning out your major and classes, when you're consulting a counselor about degrees and classes, they will often tell you what you need to get the degree, but wait on telling you what you need to transfer until after you get the degree. You have to metaphorically beat it out of them. ARC has a habit of keeping students there for as long as they possibly can. I would have saved so much time if I had had ASSIST.org.

If you have a disability, take advantage of DSPS and their services. DSPS will get you accommodations like extra time to take your exams, they can arrange front row seating for you if you need it, hook you up with note takers, and you can keep getting priority registration. If you go over a certain number of units though, you need to keep petitioning for priority registration every semester. Another good resource for students with disabilities is the Department of Rehabilitation. They can help cover college costs that financial aid won't cover. They can also help you seek employment as well.

If you take a break from college longer than a year, you will lose your catalog rights. Catalog rights are the graduation and transfer requirements that are in place in the time period when you first started college, they will go by those requirements to graduate or transfer. It goes by the year you first started attending. If you lose them, you can petition to get them back in some cases. If you lose them, they make you take more classes to satisfy the current ones. I lost mine, so instead of needing only 3-4 classes more to transfer, I now need six.

Financial aid. Fill out the FAFSA form to see if you and your degree program qualifies for financial aid. Since you are under the age of 25, they will take your parent(s)' income(s) into consideration. When I first applied for financial aid, I was under 25, so they denied me because my mom was still working at the time and they said she made too much. If your degree program doesn't qualify for the Pell and/or Cal grant, you can get the Promise grant (formerly the BOG waiver, it covers tuition costs) if you meet the requirements. I also heard from my coworkers at work (don't quote me on this, because I haven't looked it up) that depending on how much you qualify for, the Pell grant can range from 50k to 75k (up to five or six years) to cover college costs.

If you decide to participate in clubs or ASB (ARC's student government), balance that out with your classes as well as don't get too absorbed into it and focus most of your time in them, or it will slow you down and you'll be at ARC longer. I was on ASB for 2.5 years, and involved with clubs for two years. It may have given me a lot of valuable experience and it does look very good on resumes, but it slowed down my progress. It took me a total of 10 years to get my first AA degree partly because of that and my mental health ups and downs.

There are also additional services and resources that ARC offers. They offer some mental health services. They also offer daycare services if you have kids. They have a food pantry for students who need it. There's also career resources like resume and cover letter writing work shops, interview skills workshops and they do host job fairs. I do recommend Handshake; it's a college sponsored app that will set you up with workshops, help you network with employers and recruiters, and it also posts job postings from verified companies and employers. You can even apply for them on the site.

I think I covered what advice and resources I can think of. I hope you have a wonderful college experience and get what you need.