I don’t believe this. I don’t know of any LA CC that has a $17K COA. More like a couple of thousand. http://www.scl.edu/assets/docs/Tuition%20and%20Fees/2014-15_tuition_revised.pdf
The OP is referring to COA at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She could not afford the 4 year school at $17,000-$18,000. Instead, she has opted for CC.
Doesn’t OP mean UL was $17k?
The OP was referring to UL COA at 17-18K, so the OP went to CC instead.