the Cost of Tuition at a Junior College

$900 was the maximum tuition amount for a full time student (up to 18 hours). It did not include books and the college does not offer room and board. It also does not include special equipment (such as for nursing programs).

A community, or junior, college offers a no frills way to get an affordable eduation. My stepdaughter wanted to enter the medical field and decided to try becoming an LPN before she committed to a 4 year BSN program. This college offered her a quality education and she is now gainfully employed at a doctor's office while taking part-time classes at a 4 year college to get her BSN.

The things you take for granted at a typical university,though, are not always in existence at a junior college. There is just one bookstore, so there's no competition (other than online resources) to encourage lower prices. Also, the computerized registeration they offer is not nearly as sophisticated as the one at the college she now attends. All in all, though, this is the way to go if you don't want to commit the time or money to a 4 year university yet.

Make sure that classes taken at a junior college will transfer correctly to 4 year colleges. Sometimes they may be categorized differently and result in your duplicating classes.