Ravi Vora

Tired of spending thousands of dollars on ever increasing tuition (when you don’t have to)? I’m with you. The answer is simple:

Take classes at a local community college. This is the easiest way to save tons of money on college. Most big universities have a community college just down the road that can be less than a quarter of the price. For example, a Michigan State University credit hour for Fall 2007 is $280 (Source: MSU Controller’s Office). Less than 10 minutes away (if you drive slowly), a Lansing Community College credit hour is $73 (Source: LCC Tuition and Fees) and almost 100% of the credits are transferable. When you’re taking 120 credits over your college career and only 60% of the classes have to be taken from the college you’re graduating from, you could be saving almost $10,000. Now just imagine how much more you would save if you go to a more expensive university. Yeah, that’s a lot.

Now, that’s not to say you shouldn’t be taking classes at the prestigious college you’re attending, but the basic classes are almost word for word the same no matter where you go. Why not get them out of the way as inexpensively as possible? Plus, they are probably a LOT easier and take up less of your time so you can focus on more difficult subjects (Like drinking? No. Well, maybe.) In your undergrad, most accredited universities supply very similar classes. Anything starting with Intro to or Overview of is just a meat and potatoes class you can take anywhere that houses your major. It’s the upper-level classes that you’ll want to make sure you’re getting the best education for. So figure out what you need and save a load of money on the classes you have to trudge through.

Don’t be afraid of the community college, it’s only there to help. Go try a few classes and see how much you save in time and money. You’ll thank yourself during and after college.