Many people use these two terms interchangeably and honestly, it doesn't matter that much but for people that think one is better than another: that is not necessarily true. A college is usually referred to a school that offers undergraduate studies only while university offers undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate degrees. Universities often have multiple smaller colleges. For example UCLA has College of Letters and Science, College of Engineering, Anderson Business School,...etc. Even so, some colleges offer graduate programs as well so sometimes it is just the tradition. Colleges and universities are just titles and don't reflect the education quality. Think of Stanford University and Harvard College.
These are two-year colleges that offer associate's degrees. They tend to receive a lot of social stigma due to their admission policies with virtually 100% acceptance rate. I facepalm every time people make derogatory comments toward community colleges. Yes, it is true that a lot of students there can be demotivated and unfocused, but the quality of teaching is definitely not mediocre. If you truly take advantage of the opportunities there, you will be able to transfer to a "big" school. Again, it's what you do that matters, not where you go!
What a lot of people don't realize is that Californian community colleges have partnerships with the UC/CSU schools and other big private schools:
The most significant advantage community colleges have to offer is the low cost of attendance. This is especially crucial if your family's financial situation cannot afford 4 years of education at bigger schools. It's just mindboggling to me how a bachelor's degree can cost up to $250,000 without financial aid at a private school. Crazy world out there, am I right?
Example of local community colleges: Mt. SAC, Rio Hondo College, Citrus College. Our school has really good connections with Mt. SAC so just watch out for their on-campus registrations.
As the name implied, these universities are publicly funded but they are not tuition free. The two main systems are the UC and CSU. Though in-state students usually pay half of what out-of-state students do, the tuitions are still around $30,000/year and $7000/year for UC and CSU schools, respectively. UCs tend to be more research-based and prepare their students to go to graduate schools, while CSU schools tend to prepare students with career-specific courses. The most concerned problem with state schools is the overpopulation. Students without AP/IB credits will statistically have a hard time graduating within 4 years.
Examples: UC San Diego, Cal State University Fullerton,...etc
Usually smaller in size and privately funded, hence a lot of private schools charge students very high tuition to pay off expenses. They tend to give out very generous scholarships but only a limited amount. The educational quality is just as good as public schools if not better, with the examples of Stanford, the Ivy League,...etc
Some people told me they didn't apply to liberarl arts colleges because they are conservative politically. While the name may be misleading, liberal arts colleges are not related to Liberalism. Liberal arts college put an emphasis on undergraduate teachings and aim to expose their students to multiple disciplines ranging from science to humanities courses. A lot of liberal arts colleges do not seem to get recognized as much. In reality, some liberal arts colleges, like the Claremont McKenna colleges-Ivy League of the West, offer very high-quality programs.
Also known as trade schools, providing technical education for students for very specific technical jobs such as automotive mechanic, electrician, plumber,...etc