Laurel Ridge Community College

Awful with transfer students, had someone walk me through transferring my credits step by step and they had me set it up with no advisor, have been told something different by every employee until the dean finally had to reach out. Be careful if you plan on transferring!!!!

Getting my UGCS and the staff has been useless, signing me up for wrong classes, turning in my class registration forms late so I didn’t get into classes, and so much more. Even some of the teachers just outright don’t know what they are doing. Go to NOVA or anywhere else

I survived!! But just barely, and to be quite honest, it felt like much of the faculty was doing everything they could to make graduating impossible. From switching my advisor midway through a degree, to advisors giving false information about necessary classes, extremely limited class options, with driving to other campuses being necessary, absolutely nothing was streamlined, and everybody in the system seemed to be working against each other, making a rather unpleasant experience for the student. The faculty ranged from spectacular to dismal, which I suppose is to be expected of any college anymore... Dr. Rogers' physics class was amazing, fun, interactive, and there were so many ways to get help when you need it. Curtis Morgan's history class was basically a soapbox for the extremely woke professor to spout his political standpoint from. The campus is quite lovely, it really is a shame the place is falling apart at the seams...

After going here for a year and half I can say if I had to do it all over again I would have gone to nova instead of here. Advisor was beyond useless and because of their inability to tell me accurate information I am stuck here for another semester that I will have to pay out of pocket. My program that I am enrolled in was closed and I was not told until winter break and given few options. Laurel Ridge is much more interested in taking your money and turning a profit then caring for the education of their students.

Oh boy where do I even start. This is my first semester at Laurel Ridge. I have had the worst start here possible. My professors this year are horrible. They lack empathy for people who are struggling. They do not care about you in the slightest bit. With the hand I have been dealt this semester I have considered dropping out multiple times. Do better.

I was happy to save some money on my first two years of college, but to be honest I hated almost every second here. The actual employees of this school are so unorganized. my major was changed twice without my permission and multiple classes and professors would just change a couple days before the class would start without a notification. I did not care for many of the professors and really, if you check Rate My Professor you can see why... The advisors have absolutely no idea what they are doing. I refuse to go and talk to them after I asked for a class recommendation, I wanted to know a good math class that would transfer and she placed me in one of the only math classes that doesn't transfer, thank god the professor told the class this fact the first day so I could transfer into a different math. I know many people that get trapped here after being signed up for classes that don't apply to their major or don't transfer so they have to wait around another year. Also if you are going I highly recommend not taking any NOVA classes, they are more trouble than they are worth believe me. They also like to boast about the large amount of classes offered here but they rarely have most of those classes actually available. In my last semester I only needed 3 more classes and they only had one that I actually wanted unfortunately it was online and I really just wanted all my classes in a traditional classroom. Sadly only one of my classes is in an actual room. Overall I was constantly having to fix problems caused by the staff themselves and found that more stressful than the classes themselves. Even as I type I have emailed an employee twice in two weeks for the same issue and still not received a response. I just had to drive there on a workday and spend 4 hours talking to staff to try and solve a problem caused by NOVA and refused to assist me over the phone... If you can find a better place to save money your first two years go there instead. I guess you could say you get what you pay for.

I will soon be finishing my associates degree from this Virginia Community College. I must say that overall my experience has been rather delightful. Every time I have encountered some sort of problem or minor set back there has always been some kind and friendly staff to assist me to some resolution to the circumstance. This has included anything from the struggles of surviving while awaiting the arrival of student loan refunds or deciding which classes will best suit my future needs. I would highly recommend this community college to anyone wanting to get back into their academic pursuits after having graduated high school. They have fantastic resident professors and all of the adjunct professors I have encountered have been wonderful and creative individuals as well. Administration and Professors both attribute to a generally great experience here. Beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains on the horizon only increase the inspirational atmosphere exponentially.