You apply to Los Angeles Pierce College through the Pierce College enrollment application on CCCApply, California’s centralized community college portal. There is no application fee, applications are accepted year-round, and the form itself takes roughly 20 minutes once you have your information ready.1Los Angeles Pierce College. Apply to LAPC Processing takes two to three business days, after which the college emails you a student ID number so you can move on to orientation and class registration. First-time students, transfer students, and returning students who have been away for more than two consecutive primary semesters all use the same form.2Los Angeles Pierce College. Returning Students
What You Need Before You Start
Have the following within reach so you can finish in one sitting:
- Your Social Security Number or ITIN. Providing it is optional, but it lets the college match your record to a FAFSA or California Dream Act application and issue a 1098-T tuition statement for federal education tax credits.3Internal Revenue Service. Education Credits – AOTC and LLC
- The name and city of the last high school you attended, plus your graduation date or GED completion date.
- The name and approximate attendance dates of any prior college. Official transcripts are not needed to apply.
- An email address you check regularly. Your welcome letter and student ID number arrive there.
- A sense of whether you can demonstrate one year of California residency. If you cannot, tuition is substantially higher.
Creating Your OpenCCC Account
CCCApply runs on OpenCCC, a single sign-on used across every California community college. From the LAPC admissions page, follow the link to the application and set up an OpenCCC account with your name, date of birth, email, and a password.1Los Angeles Pierce College. Apply to LAPC If you have applied to another California community college before, your existing credentials still work; just add Pierce as your new institution.
The portal saves your progress automatically, so you can close the browser and come back later. Mandatory fields are marked with asterisks, and the form validates entries as you go, catching problems like invalid dates before letting you advance.
Filling Out the Application
Personal Information
Enter your full legal name exactly as it appears on your government-issued ID, along with your date of birth, mailing address, phone, and email. The SSN or ITIN field is optional. Supplying it connects your record to financial aid and allows the college to generate a 1098-T so you can claim education tax credits.4Internal Revenue Service. Education Credits – Questions and Answers
Residency Status
This section sets your tuition rate, so answer carefully. California residents pay $46 per unit. Non-residents, including out-of-state and international students, pay $423 per unit, which is $377 in non-resident tuition plus the $46 enrollment fee.5Los Angeles Pierce College. Tuition and Enrollment Fees For a full-time 30-unit year, that is roughly $1,380 versus roughly $12,690.
To qualify as a California resident, you must have been physically present in the state for more than one year immediately before the start of the term, with the intent to make California your permanent home.6California Legislative Information. California Code EDC 68017 The college may later ask for supporting evidence such as a California driver’s license, voter registration card, state tax return, or lease.7California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. Residency for Tuition Purposes General Overview Answer honestly; if the registrar later finds a mismatch, you can owe back tuition at non-resident rates.
Education History
List the last high school you attended with its location and your graduation or GED date. If you have been to college before, add that institution too. This helps the registrar flag duplicate enrollments and identify articulation agreements that may let you transfer credits. Transcripts come later, during prerequisite clearance or when a counselor helps you build your education plan.
Academic Goal
Pick an educational objective from the dropdown: Associate degree, certificate, transfer to a four-year university, career advancement, or similar. The choice is required and shapes your counseling track. Students pursuing a certificate, Associate degree, or transfer are placed into the college’s matriculation process, which includes orientation, assessment, and counseling.8Los Angeles Pierce College. Student Matriculation You can change the goal later, so pick what best reflects your current intent.
If You’re Not a California Resident
Two paths can change what non-residency means for you.
The first is the AB 540 non-resident tuition exemption. If you attended a California high school for three or more years and graduated or earned a GED in California, you may qualify, even without lawful immigration status.9California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. Exemption From Nonresident Tuition The exemption drops your rate from $423 to $46 per unit. You complete a separate California Nonresident Tuition Exemption Application, which includes a declaration signed under penalty of perjury. Students without lawful immigration status also sign an affidavit stating they have filed or will file to legalize their status as soon as they are eligible.10California Student Aid Commission. California Nonresident Tuition Exemption Application Submit the exemption form to Admissions and Records; it is separate from CCCApply.
The second is the international F-1 track. International applicants face firm deadlines: July 15 for fall, January 2 for spring, and April 3 for summer. The summer and fall applications open October 1 of the prior year, and the spring application opens June 1 of the prior year.11Los Angeles Pierce College. International Student Application International students pay the same $423 per unit as other non-residents and must submit financial documentation and coordinate with the International Students Office to receive an I-20.5Los Angeles Pierce College. Tuition and Enrollment Fees Current LACCD students transferring between campuses on F-1 status should contact that office directly instead of filing a new application.
Submitting the Application and Verifying Identity
Before you submit, the application displays a review screen with everything you entered. Check your legal name, date of birth, and SSN or ITIN carefully. Typos in these fields cause financial aid matching problems that are tedious to untangle. Submission produces a confirmation number. Save it.
New applicants, and some returning students, also complete an identity authentication step. You can verify through ID.me online or schedule a brief virtual or in-person meeting with a college employee.1Los Angeles Pierce College. Apply to LAPC If CCCApply does not prompt you for ID.me during the application itself, the college sends instructions after you submit.
Allow two to three business days for processing. When your application clears, a welcome email delivers your permanent Student Identification Number along with instructions for the LACCD Student Portal.1Los Angeles Pierce College. Apply to LAPC That ID number unlocks everything that follows.
What Happens Next
Admission does not get you into classes on its own. Pierce expects new students to complete a sequence of steps, and finishing them by the posted deadline earns an earlier registration date, which matters for popular sections.12Los Angeles Pierce College. Registration Process for New Students
- Complete the online orientation. Log into the LACCD Student Portal, click Student Status, then Orientation.
- Check your English and math placement. Under California’s AB 705 law, your high school coursework, grades, and GPA are the primary placement factors rather than a standardized test. Results appear in the Student Portal under Student Status, then Placement Result. If nothing shows up, contact a counselor.13California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. Equitable Placement, Support and Completion
- Attend a new student group counseling session to build your first-semester education plan.
- Register for classes through the Student Portal on your assigned date.
LA College Promise: Free Tuition for First-Time Students
If this is your first time in college, the LA College Promise can cover up to two years of tuition at Pierce. First-year eligibility requires that you have a high school diploma or equivalent, complete the LAPC enrollment application, submit the Promise Interest Form after receiving your student ID, finish orientation, assessment, and counseling, file a FAFSA or California Dream Act application, complete a transition activity such as Summer Bridge or the PierceSuccess seminar, and enroll full-time with at least 12 units in both fall and spring.14Los Angeles Pierce College. LA College Promise Keeping the award for a second year depends on a 2.0 GPA, 24 units completed with a C or better in year one, a new financial aid application, and continued full-time enrollment. The program does not cover summer or winter sessions. For a first-time student, the Promise effectively eliminates the $46 per-unit enrollment fee for two years and is worth pursuing alongside your application.