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Community colleges ease economic woes COLLEGE COUNTDOWN KAREN MASON

Thursday November 20, 2008 | 06:58 AM

AS COLLEGE TUITION soars and savings plunge with the daily fluctuations of the stock market, how to pay for school becomes a major concern for all families, except the truly affluent. A problem of this magnitude does not lend itself to the easy answers we all would like, yet shaking our heads in sympathy to parents envisioning their child’s college aspirations thwarted by the economic downturn hardly suffices when there are strategies families should be vigorously pursuing.

The higher-education system in this country abounds with options. The least expensive among them is the network of community colleges, which offer low tuition, proximity to home (eliminating the expense of room and board fees) and agreements with four-year schools to ease the process of transferring credits. Unfortunately, families often view community colleges negatively and even make disparaging remarks about them. Actually these comments do not reinforce the families’ superiority but their ignorance.

Like any institution of higher education, community colleges have their share of committed teachers, state-of-the-art-facilities and support services (most far more extensive than those offered at the traditional four-year college) at a low price. Consider that a full-time student at Luzerne County Community College pays $2,940 for the year while a full-time, commuting student at one of the most expensive four-year colleges in the United States, Boston University, pays $37,060. Community colleges sound like a “best buy” to me.

State schools, such as Bloomsburg University and East Stroudsburg University, make up the next tier of colleges that are relatively inexpensive because of the subsidies they receive from the state (Bloomsburg’s tuition is $5,358 plus fees, for example). Many families have discovered this option, as evidenced by the 50 percent increase in applications SUNY Binghamton announced earlier this fall. Then, the state-related universities, which receive some assistance from the state, such as Temple, Pittsburgh and Penn State, make up the next tier, with tuition amounting to about $13,500 at Pitt and about $14,000 at Penn State University Park.

Then there are the private colleges, which range in price from the lowest in Pennsylvania for tuition alone (York College of Pennsylvania at $13,680) to the highest (Bucknell University at $39,649). When investigating private higher learning, the cost of tuition, room and board can be daunting, but most of these colleges offer significant scholarships and financial aid that bring the cost down considerably. Searching for scholarships from colleges has been a time-consuming process in the past, but a new Web site, www.meritaid.com, offers a means to enter information, push a button and receive a list of scholarship possibilities.

No one should conclude that college is unaffordable until all avenues have been explored fully. I firmly believe everyone should apply for financial aid; while not everyone will qualify, some colleges require students to file the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to be considered for scholarships, which can make an enormous difference.

Colleges, too, offer scholarships to all types of students, not just the most academically gifted. Search and you might find.