(Ford City, PA) Prospective students can explore BC3 @ Armstrong’s associate degree programs, and learn about the transferability of its credits and its savings compared to Pennsylvania’s public four-year and state-related institutions during a virtual visit or in-person tour as part of BC3 Bound beginning March 30.
Prospective students can schedule a virtual visit, or an in-person tour of BC3 @ Armstrong, 104 Armstrong St., Ford City, for select BC3 Bound dates and apply free by entering the code BC3Bound2021 at bc3.edu/bc3bound.
BC3 Bound at BC3 @ Armstrong will be held March 30-31, April 6-7, April 13-14, April 20-21, April 27-28 and May 4-5.
During a virtual visit or an in-person tour, prospective students can ask BC3 representatives about financial aid, BC3’s five start dates each semester, BC3’s 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio, support services and BC3 @ Armstrong’s programs of study.
BC3 has been ranked as the No. 1 community college in Pennsylvania five times since 2015, most recently for 2020 by BestColleges.com. The BC3 Education Foundation annually awards more than $200,000 in named scholarships which, with financial aid and BC3’s affordable tuition, allowed 80 percent of BC3’s Class of 2020 to graduate debt-free.
BC3 @ Armstrong offers associate degrees in three transfer programs. BC3 @ Armstrong students can apply credits earned toward a bachelor’s degree at public, private and online four- year colleges and universities.
Approximately 70 percent of BC3 students this spring are enrolled in transfer programs.
Credits transfer to four-year institutions
BC3 @ Armstrong’s selection of two-year transfer programs features business administration, general studies and psychology. Students who complete a BC3 @ Armstrong degree in business administration or in psychology can transfer all credits to a parallel program and with junior standing to any Pennsylvania public four-year institution.
Students who complete a BC3 @ Armstrong degree in business administration, general studies and psychology can transfer all credits to a parallel program to any Penn State University commonwealth campus.
Students can also take most pre-nursing courses at BC3 @ Armstrong and finish their degree in Nursing, R.N., at BC3’s main campus. They can also take courses in social work, criminology and business management.
BC3 savings range from $3K to $27K per year
Full-time BC3 students from Armstrong County can save $3,115 annually in tuition and fees compared to the average charged by Pennsylvania’s public four-year universities or $5,785 compared to the average charged by Pennsylvania’s state-related institutions’ branch campuses.
Tuition and fees average $11,215 for students pursuing 15 credits per semester for one year in 2020-2021 at a Pennsylvania public four-year university; $13,885 at a state-related institution’s branch campus; $16,926 at a state-related institution’s main campus; and $35,087 at a private institution.
Tuition and fees for BC3 students from Armstrong County pursuing 15 credits per semester for one year during the 2020-2021 academic year are $8,100.
The average student-loan debt for the Class of 2019 was $38,521 in Pennsylvania, according to an Aug. 19 report in LendEDU, a website that provides comparisons for loans, credit cards and other financial products. Only student borrowers in New Hampshire and Connecticut were reported to have higher student-loan debt.
“BC3 is the best choice I have ever made”
Zander Poole, 20, expects to graduate debt-free from BC3 @ Armstrong in May with an associate degree in psychology.
“BC3 was more affordable than the rest of the colleges,” said Poole, of Kittanning and a 2019 graduate of Grace Christian School in West Kittanning. “I didn’t want to have any debt when going to college. My brother (Yorich) always complained about having so much debt going to (a Pittsburgh area private four-year institution). I thought, ‘I don’t want that.’”
Poole, who has been recognized on BC3’s president’s list and dean’s list, plans to transfer this fall to Indiana University of Pennsylvania or to Penn State’s New Kensington campus. He hopes to one day earn a doctorate in psychology and becoming a counselor.
“The teachers and professors here for the psychology program are fantastic,” Poole said. “They work with you more than another college probably would. BC3 is the best choice I have ever made. It’s affordable. It’s closer than most colleges in a rural area, and the professors know what they are doing.”
Students who achieve president’s list honors have attained a cumulative grade-point average of 3.75 or higher during a semester in which they have earned at least 12 credits. Students who achieve dean’s list honors, a cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 to 3.74.