The figures are staggering. The cost of attending a private college now averages $35,000 a year. A public university: $17,000 a year.* College costs are rising at more than twice the rate of inflation. No wonder parents of college-bound students and adults looking to restart their education are wondering how they can ever afford a college degree.
The one bright spot in the picture: community colleges like Lincoln Land.
If a four-year college degree is your goal, a community college is a very smart start. After two years of general study and courses in your major area of interest, you transfer to a four-year college or university. Your college degree will be from the four-year university; just the same as if you had started there. Currently, LLCC students pay an average of about $2,500 per year, savings tens of thousands of dollars to help pay for the last two years of college and beyond. Financial aid, grants and scholarships, all available at LLCC, lower the cost of the freshman and sophomore years even further for most students.
But can you get as good an education at a community college as at a four-year institution? The answer is "yes." Community college professors are committed to students and teaching, rather than research. They teach in small classes, rather than huge lecture halls. There are no teaching assistants. Community colleges like Lincoln Land offer honors programs for outstanding students, as well as tutoring and learning support for those who need it, allowing each student to receive the individualized attention they need to succeed and excel.
Also, community colleges are a great place to explore options. If you start with a major in one subject and change your mind mid-stream, it will cost you a lot less to begin a new major at a community college than at a large university, where such a change often requires extra semesters to earn a degree.
Community colleges, through "articulation agreements," ensure that their core courses transfer to four-year institutions and graduates enter universities with junior status.
So before taking out a second mortgage to pay for college for your child or yourself, consider a smart start at Lincoln Land Community College.
*Source: U.S. News and World Report, Nov. 5, 2007