Parents laud students' decision to select BC3
More than 850 new students began fall 2019 classes this week at Butler County Community College, with many citing BC3’s affordability, accessibility and quality of education.
“You are way more successful when you can start out not having giant financial debt,” said Tracey Nevel, of Butler, whose 18-year-old daughter, Jen, will begin as a general studies major while envisioning a career in sports medicine. “This world is a lot more competitive than it used to be, so I want her to be really successful and not have the stress of having huge debt.”
The Pittsburgh Business Times in January reported that BC3’s salary-to-cost ratio — a measurement of graduates’ salaries 10 years after commencement for every dollar a student pays to attend the institution — was the highest among those 43 regional colleges and universities.
Nearly 40 percent of BC3 students received a federal Pell grant in 2018-19, according to Juli Louttit, BC3’s director of financial aid.
With financial aid, “I don’t have to pay out of pocket,” said Mekenzie Pflueger, a 2019 graduate of Slippery Rock High School, adding that the 75 percent of BC3 graduates who are debt-free “is a big deal to me. You have people who are still paying off debt for a long time.”
BC3’s tuition is among the most affordable of 43 regional colleges and universities, according to U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.
“I needed to save money when I went to BC3 because the classes were more affordable than other colleges,” said Tom Lumley, of Butler, who graduated in 2012 with a degree in engineering.
His 18-year-old daughter, Ashleigh, a 2019 Butler High School graduate, this fall will be a first-year pre-nursing student working toward her goal of becoming an anesthesiologist.
Nearly 660 of the new students attended Welcome Days this month at BC3’s additional locations in Brockway, Cranberry Township, Ford City, Hermitage and New Castle, and on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township, according to Patty Colosimo, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management secretary.
Monday marked the start of BC3’s 14-week session, and the first of three five-week online Fast Track sessions, held consecutively throughout the semester. A 10-week session begins Sept. 23 and additional Fast Track sessions start Sept. 30 and Nov. 4.
BC3’s main campus open house is Oct. 16.
William Foley is coordinator of news and media content at Butler County Community College.
