With such a down economy many people are taking a second look at the prospects of obtaining a college degree. A college degree is seen as a gateway to a new career, or as a way to maximize a person’s earning potential. As a college instructor I am often asked for advice about how to choose a field of study, but more recently the conversation has changed to questions of the cost of attending college. I am asked by these new students, not what degree to seek, but rather, what is the best bang for my buck? Price is more important than it used to be, but as always, it is important to shop around, especially with the vast offerings in this and many other regions. I also remind my students that spending the first two years of college at a community college is much cheaper, and they will eventually graduate with the same degree as their classmate, but at a much lower cost.
In North Carolina there are many options available for a college student. The local community college for example, Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, N.C., has an annual enrollment of over 70,000 students, and an extremely popular and competitive nursing degree program. The school has six campuses throughout the Charlotte metropolitan area and has a diverse listing of degrees in many technical fields. At this local college, the typical in-state tuition for a full time, off campus student taking 12 credit hours per semester would total $994.50 including all associated fees. The local state collage also offers a very well respected nursing degree program.
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is, as its web site reports, “North Carolina’s urban research university. Located in the state’s largest metropolitan area, UNC Charlotte is among the fastest growing universities in the UNC System.” This state school is nestled away in the northern part of the city, well enough away from the hustle and bustle of the banking behemoths and the traffic of the center city area. It has an annual enrollment of over 25,000 students per year, and each full time student at UNC-C spends $2,720.00 per semester.
There are also several private colleges in the area that offer great nursing programs. One for example, Queens University of Charlotte, has an annual enrollment of about 2,600 and offers both the Associate’s and Bachelor’s degree in nursing. Yearly tuition at this college costs $25,356.00, or about $12,678.00 per semester for a full time student.