Hey, I am about to get my associates and now am at the problem of having to pay for a 4 year education and even worse, its an out of state college I am considering, online though. My main question is can I take 12 credit hours at the main campus (to be considered full time and get their merit grant) and then take 3-4 at a community college and pay for that out of pocket? The institute costs $562.26 a credit hour and the community college costs less than $75. Thanks (:
no, you can only be a matriculated degree seeking student at one college at a time. If the money is going to be an issue, you have to find a more affordable choice
Darn. I thought I had it figured out for a second. Thanks 
If you want to be able to apply the credits earned at the CC to your degree program at the other institution, you need to ask that place whether or not the credits will transfer. If they won’t, then you need to ask yourself why you want to take them.
If the credits will transfer, then it would be a bit unusual, but not unheard of, for a student to take a few credits the way you describe. You would not be able to be enrolled as a degree-seeking student at both places at the same time (unless they specifically offer a joint program), so you would need to enroll at the CC in some other student category, and you would not be eligible to receive any financial aid from the CC.
Most states limit the number of CC credits that can be applied towards a bachelor’s degree. Now that you’ve earned an Associates degree, I assume that you’re reached that limit already. So now, you’ll need to earn all of the remaining credits that will apply to a undergrad degree at a 4 year school.