Scarlett Hazen, a 2021 graduate of Lincoln High School, said she fell in love with BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing on that first day as an apprehensive 18-year-old.
Rebecca Kostka, a 2007 graduate of Sharon High, said she valued the guidance she received at BC3 @ LindenPointe as a 32-year-old mother of three.
Hazen and Kostka graduated with honors in BC3’s Class of 2023.
“I was very nervous when I first started. It’s your first college experience,” said Hazen, of Ellwood City. “But all of the staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming. I felt really at home there.”
“When I would walk in, they knew me,” said Kostka, of Sharon. “They were always willing to help. Everyone was so wonderful. Every time I needed something, they were there.”
“It never grows old to hear students appreciate their experience here.”
“I always tell students, ‘I am going to see you often.’”
“BC3 is much more affordable”
BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing in New Castle and BC3 @ LindenPointe in Hermitage are Butler County Community College additional locations.
“Being in one building, we cross paths with students very often,” said Sean Carroll, director of BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing. “You can’t help but to build and to value those relationships. We take pride in that. It never grows old to hear students appreciate their experience here.”
BC3 @ LindenPointe, where Lauren Buchanan is director, is also located within one building.
“We register you. We advise you. We refer you to financial aid. Refer you to tutoring. And I always tell students, ‘I am going to see you often. And if I don’t see you often, I know that’s a problem,’” Buchanan said. “Being that I see them so often, I get to establish relationships. And when I don’t see them, I become concerned and know to reach out.”
Prospective students can meet BC3 staff during open houses March 25 at BC3 @ LindenPointe and April 10 at BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing.
BC3 will waive its $25 admission application fee at the open houses. Prospective students can RSVP at bc3.edu/open-house
Hazen earned an associate degree from BC3 in secondary education-social studies option and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.
Kostka earned an associate degree from BC3 in psychology and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Penn State World Campus.
Seventy-five percent of BC3’s Class of 2023 graduated debt-free.
BC3 students from Lawrence and Mercer counties this spring are paying $290 per credit in tuition and fees for an in-person course. They would pay at least $437.23 per credit in tuition and fees at a regional public four-year university or $582 at a regional state-related institution’s branch campus this spring.
“I have a lot of friends who are very much in debt right now,” Hazen said. “Even just after their first semester. When you are going to a class at BC3, it’s the same as going to a class at any university. But BC3 is much more affordable.”
