(Butler, PA) Butler County Community College students are echoing the results of a survey in which more than 95 percent of respondents from the college’s Class of 2023 indicated they would recommend BC3 to others.
BC3 distributes the survey to graduates approximately nine months after commencement each May, according to Dr. Sharla Anke, BC3’s dean of institutional research and planning. Ninety-one percent of respondents from the Class of 2023 also rated their experience at the college as being good or excellent, and most indicated affordability as a reason they selected BC3, Anke said.
“I’ve talked about BC3 to all my friends,” said Isabella Brugere, of Butler. “I’ve talked about BC3 to high school students I know who are graduating next year. It’s definitely more affordable than other schools and it’s a good place to start.”
“It’s excellent,” said Grant Byers, of Butler.
“It’s a good place to figure out what you want to do,” Byers said. “Whenever I started, I really had no idea what I wanted to do. And this place definitely helped me figure that out.”
Prospective students can learn more about BC3’s associate degree and certificate programs, tuition and fees, financial aid, scholarships and support services such as free tutoring during the college’s open house from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 22 at 107 College Drive, Butler.
BC3 will waive its $25 application fee at the open house. Prospective students can RSVP at bc3.edu/open-house
“The affordability is almost unquestionable. Do the math. It’s just absolutely less expensive to start here and get to the exact same end place.”
“I’ve talked about BC3 to all my friends.”
“It’s a good place to figure out what you want to do.”
“BC3 is a fraction of the cost.”
The average student-loan debt per borrower in Pennsylvania is nearly $40,000, according to LendEDU, a website that provides comparisons for loans, credit cards and other financial products. BC3’s affordability, and financial aid and scholarships enabled 68 percent of the college’s Class of 2024 to graduate debt-free.
“The affordability,” said Dr. Josh Novak, BC3’s vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, “is almost unquestionable.
“Do the math. It’s just absolutely less expensive to start here and get to the exact same end place. You can begin at a university to pursue your bachelor’s degree, but if you spend two years here at our price point, it’s just more affordable from a purely economics and math perspective.”
Butler County residents attending BC3 this fall are paying $197 per credit in tuition and fees for an in-person course.
They would pay at least $439.75 per credit in tuition and fees for an in-person course at a regional public four-year university or $569 at a regional state-related institution’s branch campus in 2024-2025.
“BC3 is a fraction of the cost,” said Robbie Friel, of Butler. “I have friends who went to four-year institutions right out of high school. I look at the debt they are accruing. It’s problematic. I don’t think I am going to have that problem going to BC3 my first two years.”
“I have definitely paid less here,” said Brock Popovich, of Butler. “Thousands less. I can save money so that when I am older, I can buy a house and a car and I won’t have a massive amount of debt to pay off.”
Residents of counties other than Butler attending BC3 this fall are paying $300 per credit in tuition and fees for an in-person course.
Butler County residents attending BC3 can receive up to $9,994 in federal and state grants, and residents of Pennsylvania counties other than Butler, a maximum of $11,626 in 2024-2025, according to Juli Louttit, the college’s director of financial aid.
“I won’t have a massive amount of debt to pay off.”
“The professors are incredible. I love the students I have met here.”
“I have never been to a place that has such open and available people.”
“A great experience at BC3”
The BC3 Education Foundation has awarded 157 named scholarships for the 2024-2025 academic year to BC3 students from 11 western Pennsylvania counties and totaling $230,000, according to Bobbi Jo Cornetti, the foundation’s development coordinator.
BC3’s credits can be applied toward a bachelor’s degree at public, private and online four-year colleges and universities. Students in BC3’s associate degree career programs can develop the skills needed to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation.
About 48 percent of BC3 students this fall are enrolled in associate degree transfer programs, Novak said.
Among them, Brugere, an early childhood education (Pre K-4) student; Byers, general studies; Alex Davis, Lyndora, psychology; Friel, secondary education-social studies option; Popovich, business administration; and Kelsea Relihan, Butler, general studies.
All expect to graduate debt-free from BC3.
Brugere, 18, plans to become a nanny; Byers, 19, a cybersecurity analysist; Davis, 18, a research psychologist; Friel, 19, a high school teacher; Popovich, 19, an international marketer; and Relihan, 19, a public health official.
An average of 98.5 percent of respondents from BC3’s Classes of 2019 to 2022 indicated they would recommend BC3, and an average of 96.5 percent rated their experience at the college as being good or excellent, according to Anke.
“It’s been a great experience at BC3,” Relihan said. “The professors are incredible. I love the students I have met here. BC3 is an awesome stepping stone to another university. And it is awesome that I do not have to worry about student loans that can add up so quickly at other universities.”
Staff “makes BC3 very special”
Visitors to BC3’s open house can also meet faculty and staff, tour classrooms and facilities, and learn about the college’s 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio.
Davis is a BC3 student ambassador who will assist at the college’s open house, where prospective students can meet faculty and staff, tour classrooms and facilities, and learn about the college’s 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio.
“The first reason I will tell students to come to BC3 is that it is obviously cost effective,” Davis said. “And secondly, honestly, it is BC3’s staff. I have never been to a place that has such open and available people. That makes BC3 very special.”
