(Butler, PA) Prospective students can learn about Butler County Community College’s career and transfer programs and about BC3’s affordability compared to Pennsylvania’s public four-year and state-related institutions during open houses Oct. 25 on BC3’s main campus and Nov. 3 at BC3 @ Cranberry.
The open house on BC3’s main campus, 107 College Drive, Butler Township, is scheduled for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 25. A nursing information session will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The open house at BC3 @ Cranberry, 250 Executive Drive, Cranberry Township, is scheduled for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 3.
BC3 will waive its $25 application fee for prospective students who apply for admission at an open house. Prospective students can RSVP at apply.BC3.edu/open-house.
Guests attending BC3 open houses can learn about instructional formats, support services and student activities; tour classrooms and facilities, and review financial aid opportunities and tuition.
Prospective students can also learn about associate degrees in two-year career programs and in two-year transfer programs, and about certificates in programs that take one year or less to complete.
BC3 offers 35 career programs in which students can develop the skills needed to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation. The college also offers 21 transfer programs and 25 certificate or workplace certificate programs.
BC3 @ Cranberry offers five career and six transfer programs.
“Save as much money as we can” on higher education
Students who attend a community college for their first two years can save an estimated $20,000 on the cost of higher education, according to the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges.
Tuition and fees for Butler County residents attending BC3 this fall cost $177 per credit for an in-person class.
The most recent tuition and fees published by regional public four-year universities cost between $437.23 and $532.81 per credit for Pennsylvania residents for an in-person class. Tuition and fees for Pennsylvania residents attending regional state-related institutions’ branch campuses this fall cost between $582 and $734 per credit for an in-person class.
The average student-loan debt for Pennsylvania’s Class of 2019 was $38,521, according to a January report in LendEDU, a website that provides comparisons for loans, credit cards and other financial products.
Nearly 60 percent of BC3’s Class of 2022 graduated debt-free.
“I’ve always been interested in how to save money,” said Justin Bajema, 19, of Butler.
The BC3 presidential scholar enrolled in the college’s transfer program in business administration plans to graduate debt-free in May.
“My dad has been a big help,” Bajema said of his father, Jacob. “He loves to research colleges. He’s been a big part of sitting down with me and we have been discovering every avenue that we can to save as much money as we can.”
BC3’s affordability “awesome”
Chase Leisie, 20, of Cranberry Township, returned to Butler County after working for a general contractor in Tampa, Fla., for eight months, and enrolled in BC3 @ Cranberry’s transfer program in general studies.
“I thought, ‘Oh, this is awesome,’” Leisie said. “I didn’t even realize how affordable it was going to be. I knew it was going to be more affordable than going somewhere outside of Butler County. BC3 @ Cranberry was the most affordable option. If I wanted to attend college to explore ideas, I thought it was best to choose an option that was most cost-effective.”
Approximately 60 percent of BC3 students this fall are enrolled in transfer programs, according to Sharla Anke, BC3’s assistant dean of institutional research and planning.
General studies and business administration are among the top four transfer programs of new BC3 students in the fall 2022 semester, Anke said.
BC3 students can apply credits earned toward a bachelor’s degree at public, private and online four-year colleges and universities.
Bajema is a 2021 graduate of Butler Senior High School who earned transferrable college credits through BC3’s College Within the High School program. He is a member of Rho Phi, BC3’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, an international academic honor society; and of Delta Kappa, BC3’s chapter of Kappa Beta Delta, an honor society for business students. He plans to transfer to a four-year institution and hopes to become a financial adviser.
"I didn’t even realize how affordable it was going to be. I knew it was going to be more affordable than going somewhere outside of Butler County. BC3 @ Cranberry was the most affordable option."
Chase Leisie, BC3 @ Cranberry student
Leisie is a 2021 graduate of Seneca Valley High who plans to transfer to a four-year institution and whose goal is to become a high school biology teacher.
“I want to stay at BC3 @ Cranberry as long as possible,” Leisie said, “until I have to attend a university to study to become a teacher.”
Students who complete an associate degree at BC3 in one of 12 select programs can transfer all credits to a parallel program and with junior standing at any Pennsylvania public four-year institution.
Students who complete an associate degree at BC3 in one of eight select programs can transfer all credits to a parallel program to at Penn State University commonwealth campus.
BC3 @ Cranberry’s selection of career programs includes business management, digital audio and video production, graphic design, health care science and photography.
BC3 @ Cranberry’s transfer programs feature business administration, criminology, early childhood education (Pre K-4), general studies, psychology and social work.
BC3 scholarships reach $280K
The BC3 Education Foundation in 2022-2023 has awarded to BC3 students a record $280,000 in scholarships and will fund the tuition for 25 presidential scholars, said Lynn Ismail, the foundation’s assistant director and its financial manager.
The presidential scholars program is in its eighth year at BC3. The full-tuition waiver funds up to 18 credits for students in the Top 10 percent of their graduating class and who have achieved at least a 3.5 grade-point average at any of Butler County’s public high schools.
A cyber school student counted in those public schools’ graduating classes is also eligible. Students must also enroll at BC3 in the first semester following their high school graduation to be eligible for the program, and are required to take scholars-only courses and maintain at least a 3.5 GPA at BC3.
BC3 has been ranked as the No. 1 community college in Pennsylvania eight times since 2015, most recently for 2023 by Niche.com.
Sources in Niche’s August report included the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System; the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Post-Secondary Education and College Scorecard data; the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit public policy and research organization; and its college student survey.
Students who take health care science courses at BC3 @ Cranberry can finish career programs on BC3’s main campus in medical assistant; Nursing, R.N.; physical therapist assistant; or in technical trades-massage therapy management option. They can also finish certificates in massage therapy, medical assistant or in practical nursing on BC3’s main campus.