Scholarship Blog navigate_next Latest Posts
navigate_beforeBACK TO TOPICS

How Community College Can Save on College Costs


You may have heard in the past that going to community college can help you save thousands of dollars on your education. However, you may not have heard exactly how this can be the case. Community college is still college, right? So, why would it be any cheaper?

Well, the answer is simple. Community colleges are often smaller and have a narrower set of course offerings. This means they can operate more affordably and are not subject to as many of the rising and inflated costs of four-year colleges. You can use community colleges to your advantage to gain access to a much more affordable education.

In this brief guide, we are going to show you exactly how you can use community colleges to your advantage and to get an education that is within your budget.

Getting a Two-Year Degree
If you know what industry or field you want to work in, then you are at an advantage. This allows you to take a real look at the degrees that community colleges offer and decide whether one of those degrees could be the right option for you. Most community colleges will offer two-year degrees, or associate's degrees.

These are generally less suitable for jobs that will require four-year degrees, but are perfectly fine for other industries. If you know what field you want to go into and a community college degree is going to provide you with the necessary education, there's no reason to not pursue a degree that will cost you far less than a four-year degree.

Taking General Education Credits
Even if you are going to be completing a bachelor's degree at a four-year university, there are still ways that you can use a community college to save you money. The main way that you are able to do this is to take your general education courses at a community college at the lowered tuition rate.

While program-specific courses are not generally offered at community colleges, or courses that would not be transferred in, anyways, community colleges typically offer many general education courses that are easy to transfer into a four-year university. You can save thousands of dollars simply by choosing to take your general education courses at a more affordable college.

Taking Courses in High School
Your final option when it comes to using a community college to save you money when it comes to higher education is to take advantage of programs that will allow you to take college courses while you are in high school. While you may not have heard of them, they are very real and provide high school students with an amazing advantage when it comes to paying for school.

There are programs out there that will allow you to take classes at the local community college while you are in high school. Typically, you will only need to pay for the books that are needed for these classes. The credit hours are almost always covered by the state. The availability of this program depends on your state, however.