Much talk in recent years about college being free, especially community colleges. But with Pell grants and educational credits (IRS form 8863) up to $2500 per student per year, aren’t community colleges and the less-expensive public 4-year schools already almost free to the majority of students? Or is there yet another part of our tax code that I’m ignorant of?
yes.
Yes they’re almost free, or yes there is something I’m missing?
Tuition at ours for residents with required fees is close to $5000. I don’t know how much the education credits are worth for the average student. It’s not uncommon for students to go there for two years and then a SUNY which is a lot more expensive.
I’m mostly referring to somebody who qualifies for at least a few thousand dollars of Pell money, and the educational credit…which is the first $2000 of tuition/books/fees plus 25% of the second $2000 of tuition/books/fees. Just sayin’ that the system might not be as broken as it’s made out to be. Despite all the hand-wringing these days over graduates with $100+k student debt, isn’t it still possible for many students to get associate’s and even some bachelor’s degrees with surprisingly little personal money spent, using Pell money and the federal tax education credit?
Sorry, need more coffee lol…Yes, they are nearly free. Its my common argument against the “free college for everyone” mantra. If a student lives at home, community college should be well within reach (even without loans in most cases). Transferring then to a state school, working hard during the summers, and taking out the max in student loans for those two years makes it possible for most kids to go away to school, at least for the junior and senior year. Massachusetts has some great state schools but unfortunately the flagship isn’t affordable for a lot of students and might not make their list and I think that’s too bad but there are other choices. We need not discount the student’s ability to make money to put towards school starting at age 16 and working throughout college as well.
It’s free for people who qualify for the pell grant. The complaints are mostly coming from the middle class that don’t qualify for pell but don’t have enough income to pay out right.
I should have said “nearly free for the lowest income families and affordable for the rest”.
Depends on the state. All tuition listed below is for in-state local students.
State $ per credit $ per 30 credits or academic year
Arizona 65-84 2080-2520
California 46 1380
Hawaii 120 3600
Florida 100-105 3000-3135
Illinois 3146-4704
Massachusetts 4470-6482
Michigan 88-120 2640-3600
New Hampshire 200 6000
New York 3300-4700
North Carolina 76 2280
Pennsylvania 94-162.50 2820-4875
Texas 1278-4080
Virginia 142.50 4275
Of course, books costs money, but variation is probably more due to field of study and other factors not related to the state where the college is. Students living with their parents still cost money for food, utilities, and transportation, although this is typically several thousand dollars lower than the cost of students living on their own to go to college, but these costs (in either situation) can be highly variable based on individual factors.
I agree- the only issue with this would be if students are not near a community college and no easy way to get there. I I’m sure there are areas in most states pretty far from a community college.
This is alien to many students and their parents. It will “diminish the college experience”. Many students decline federal work study if offered.
I’d assume that if you’re turning down work study in favor of a “college experience” you’re automatically a pretty privileged family.
Our community college costs about full Pell with a little left over for books.
No, CC is not close to free everywhere and then you have to take into account that not everyone has one within commuting distance, books are outrageous, etc etc.
@TomSrOfBoston I was really surprised when my daughter told me she was one of only a few students she knew that was working. Even if you aren’t eligible for/offered work study, there are jobs on campus you can apply for and plenty of opportunities off campus as well (at least at D’s school there is). I think she feels a bit out of place working two jobs and taking five classes but its what she needs to do to make it work right now. According to her, there’s still plenty of time for socializing on weekends. And was still able to pull a 4.0 and make deans list.
@artie1, that scenario is the unfortunate one. I know there’s all kinds of obstacles and some just can’t be denied and for those students I am sorry.
As an aside, nearly 1/3 of the graduating seniors in Oregon this year have applied to the new “free” community college option.
This is the first year that you can send your child to CC for the first two years and the most you will pay are fees and books. If you are low income, you will receive enough to cover those too. So even I could send my two kids to CC for two years and have nearly all the cost picked up by either the state or federal government - and we are full pay at any college/university in the country. The state picks up the tuition if you don’t qualify for Pell grants.
I suspect that once all is settled in the fall, the percentage of kids that take advantage of this will be lower than 33%, but it’s good to see the initial numbers so high.
Not necessarily. Some students and parents have the attitude that they do not want to wash the dishes in the cafeteria for their rich classmates. That is what one Yale student said. Most likely they would be stacking books in the library or answering phones in the admissions office.
Hmmmm. Maybe. Especially at Yale. But I still think that the percentage of students turning down work-study jobs so as not to dilute their college experience is pretty small compared to the millions who actually take part in the program. There will always be the privileged (or spoiled) few - but as the number of college kids grows and FA shrinks, they’re the outliers.
Especially given that, if you apply early, many work-study jobs are interesting and can look good on your resume. I base this on my daughter’s experience, who had a work-study job in a science lab, and whose roommates landed interesting positions at the university health center. Work-study jobs aren’t just washing dishes in the cafeteria - or stacking books or answering phones, for that matter.
Depends. I spent the first 2.5 years of college working in the dining halls. Although I probably could have moved “up” sooner. The dining hall jobs were the least desirable work study jobs so a lot of freshmen got put there.
At my college, years ago, the only non subsidized work study available was in the dining hall. All of the office and library jobs went to kids who had subsidized work study because those departments needed the money.
I couldn’t get into the dining hall right away and being new, didn’t realize I had to just keep asking because a lot of kids would end up being unreliable and more jobs would open within a few weeks. I did end up there my sophomore year and it was actually a really key part of my college experience. I met so many more people. Obviously more students but even some pretty great adults who worked there. I think it was actually more fun and there was a greater sense of comraderie than there would have been at the “good” work study jobs.
@ucbalumnus Respectfully…I think the numbers in your chart are a bit out of date. Borough of Manhattan CC is $4800 for tuition for NYC residents and some other NY State residents. With the other required fees, the cost is about $5,150.https://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/bursar/page.jsp?pid=1001&n=Tuition%20&%20Fees%20Per%20Semester
Note that a LOT of the students go part-time, so it ends up costing more.