Is Community College a Good Idea to Save Money?

Escaping home and attending college in another state may be the dream of many teens, but a growing number of people are starting to turn their attentions to community colleges which is a good idea to save money over the cost of state universities. There is also an increase in the number of adults with well rooted lives in their communities who want to further their education and find that community colleges offer the best opportunity for their budget and time schedule.

There are endless reasons why someone might consider attending a community college, but for most people it all comes down to a way to save money. You really can save a ton of money going to a community college near your home, especially once you factor in all of the expenses of college beyond basic tuition.

Obtaining a college education is a long term commitment which requires adjustments in your overall lifestyle, and all of these adjustments can add to the cost of your educational adventure. For someone who doesn’t have money saved up for their education and who doesn’t want to get in over their head in loans, working to pay for their tuition may be their only hope of graduating. It is much easier to pay around $800 (sometimes even less) to a community college than to come up with over $5,000 (sometimes much more) for a larger university each term.

Besides the fact that a community college will be thousands of dollars less than a state university, you also have to consider many other factors including living and transportation expenses, as well as books and other required classroom supplies. These are all areas where attending a community college could save you money.

Living and Transportation Expenses

If you live close to a large university you could still live at home to save on living expenses, but going away for college will require a lot of thought into how much you can afford to pay for housing, utilities, food, and all of the other expenses of daily life. These things don’t go away while we are in college, and in some parts of the country they can even be more expensive than we are used to paying regularly.

The best opportunity for someone worried about paying tuition is to live at home with parents or in whatever your current living arrangement is, so that you are already paying the bills and know what you can afford. For most people, this will mean going to a community college at least for now. The option to transfer to a university a couple years down the road is always open, and in fact most community colleges work closely with state universities to transfer students over smoothly.

You should discuss with an adviser while schedule coursework to make sure whatever you take at the community college will transfer into your degree program at the university when you are ready to transfer. In the meantime, you can save a lot of money on living expenses and tuition by staying at a community college and saving up money.

Driving to and from classes needs to be taken into consideration as well. Most people live reasonably near a community college, while most are rather far away from a large university. Going to the college with the least driving distance will mean less money spent on gas and vehicle maintenance, as well a greater chance that you can work your classes into your work schedule.

Every person’s situation is different, but in most cases it will be much cheaper to live wherever you currently are and go to a community college than to travel to a large university. Even if a larger college is nearby, the savings in tuition will almost always leave community college the better option as far as money goes.

If you will have to move no matter where you go, try to find roommates and rent an apartment as close to the college campus as possible. If you can find an inexpensive room to rent in someone else’s home, it could drastically reduce your living expenses. Many families near colleges regularly rent rooms in their homes and offer safe, inexpensive environments for struggling students.

Books and Supplies

College course books are likely to be about the same price no matter what type of college you attend, but some community college professors do try to use fewer books to keep the cost down. This is especially true for courses which are typically attended by adults trying to further their careers.

If you have not looked through a college bookstore yet, get ready to be amazed at the price of a single book. Textbooks are very expensive, especially for more advanced coursework where the knowledge is more in depth and specialized. Luckily, most will sell used books for a lower price.

Since students get some money back by reselling used books no matter what condition they are in, you will have plenty books to choose from for most courses. Take the time to look through each used book and you will often be able to find one that is in practically brand new condition. When the course is over you can resell it as well, though you will get only a small fraction of what you originally paid for it back. Every little bit helps when it comes to the huge investment of a college education. You may also able to find used textbooks at used bookstores off campus or online at auction sites like EBay. Just be careful that it is the same book by the same authors and that you have the correct edition, since college books are updated regularly.

Besides these two major areas of expense, there are other possible money matters that some people will need to deal with when going to college. Some of these are more often a problem for adults trying to further their education, but they can be issues even for someone who just graduated high school.

• Extra childcare while you are in classes.
• Computer or other equipment that you will need to complete homework assignments, research, or sometimes to communicate with your teachers.
• There may be non-residence tuition fees if you do go to college away from home.

A college education is a long term commitment both in time consumption and financial matters. When money is an issue community college is a good ideas to save money, even if it is just for a couple of years while you work to put back money or secure grants and scholarships to go to a four year college.

There is also the option of taking coursework from home on the internet; and many community colleges now have this option for a wide selection of their courses. This can save a substantial amount of money on gas driving to and from a campus that isn’t that close by, and it can also fit into a tight working schedule when you can’t get off work at times your classes would be held.

Getting a college education may take a lot more money and effort to successfully complete than other things in life, but it is well worth the sacrifice in the end as it increases your job potential, level of pay, and enhances every aspect of your future life.

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