Save Big on College: College for Half-Price

How would you like to save a boatload of money on college? Well, this article from Bankrate tell you how to save half on college costs. Their main point is that you should save by getting as many credits as possible at a low-cost college or a community college before transferring to a more prestigious school. Here are the main details:

The average cost for a full year of tuition and fees at a community college is just $2,076, compared to $5,100 at a public, four-year university and $20,081 at a private, four-year university, according to the College Board.

Attending a community college for two years and transferring to a four-year college or university could save you a bundle in tuition costs.

Students at four-year schools can also nudge down education costs by heading home and taking summer classes at a local community college. Every credit earned at a low-cost community college can save you hundreds of dollars in tuition. And by bunking at your parent's house, you could knock down your room-and-board charges to zero.

And you don't have to be a college student to cash in on community-college classes. Many community colleges offer courses to high school juniors and seniors. With dual-enrollment classes, teens earn high school and college credits at the same time.

The key -- make sure the credits earned will transfer. Look for an articulation agreement between the two schools -- the community college and the college the student will eventually graduate from. Here's what Money Central says on this topic:

An articulation agreement specifies which community-college course credits will be accepted toward a bachelor's degree at the four-year college or university. It also outlines scholarship requirements and specifies what kind of grades a student must achieve to transfer to the four-year school as a junior.

Articulation agreements between two-year and four-year colleges are quite common. "We can really guarantee that you'll enter as a junior and your credits will transfer," says Kimberly Iapalucci, director of public relations at the Community College of Philadelphia. "We call it a seamless transition."

Of course there's no point in "saving" money on courses that won't transfer, this defeats the purpose of the effort, so ensuring the transfer of credits is vital. As long as that can happen, you can literally save thousands of dollars on college costs -- cutting the final bill to half of what it could have been.

For more tips on saving on/for college, see these links:

• Make the Most of a College Education -- It's Well Worth the Investment

• Why Education is So Important to Your Financial Future -- And How You Can Pay for College

• 4 Ways to Save Big on College Costs

• A Great College Money Saving Tip

In addition, here's a related post I like titled Free Money Finance Guide to College Success.

Comments

[Kelly]

Taking classes during the summer at a community college or a local state college(if you attend an out of state or pirvate college) will not only save money but enable you to graduate early.

[jhawsey]

A couple of other items. My wife finished a year of college during high school by taking classes in our high school that gave college tuition. They were FREE. That way she knocked out a lot of the general course work early and was able to get her Bachelors when she was 20. Another item is that kids don't have to go away for college if a good state school is nearby. Both my wife and I were fortunate enough to have a good state school within driving distance of us and both of us gradutated without any student loans or assistance from our parents. We both paid cash for our education out of our pockets.