According to the 2010 Census reported on the city’s website, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is a city of 305,704 people. An estimated 76,000 of those residents are students at one of Pittsburgh’s 34 colleges. Sorting through these colleges may seem a daunting task, so it’s best to begin by deciding what type of college will be the best fit for your needs: community, public, or private. To highlight the different features of each kind of college, we’ll look at one Pittsburgh college from each category.
The Community College of Allegheny County, or CCAC, reports an annual enrollment of 33,000 students who take classes for credit, with an average of 20 students in each class. As a community college, CCAC accepts almost every applicant and offers associate’s degrees to students who complete two years of classes. Another popular application of community college credits is transferring them to a four-year college, saving the student money in paying less tuition for the two years spent in community college. CCAC charges $95.50 per credit or a flat rate of $1,432.50 for 12-18 credits. CollegeBoard reports CCAC’s total tuition and fees at $2,824 for Pennsylvania residents and $7,710 for students from out-of-state.
Learn more from CCAC At A Glance 2011-2012.
Possibly the city’s largest public college, the Pittsburgh campus of the University of Pittsburgh, or Pitt, enrolled over 17,000 undergraduate students for its fall 2011 term. Public or state-associated colleges receive funding from their state and are therefore usually less expensive than private colleges (especially for residents of Pennsylvania), but they are more selective in accepting students than community colleges. Both public and private colleges offer bachelor’s degrees with four year’s worth of credits, and Pitt also offers graduate options for those who want their master’s or doctoral certification. The tuition for undergraduate students varies by what degree program interests you; they range from $14,838 for the School of Dental Medicine to $19,226 for Nursing and Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, per year for in-state residents. Out-of-state residents pay more: between $24,562 and $31,368 per year. If you want to live on-campus, room and board will run you an additional $9,430, according to CollegeBoard. They also report Pitt’s student-to-faculty ratio as 14:1, meaning classes will usually still be small despite a large student body.
Learn more with Pitt’s 2012 Fact Book.
One of the most renowned private colleges in Pittsburgh is Carnegie Mellon University, or CMU; the university is affiliated with 18 Nobel Laureates, 94 Emmy Award recipients, and six Academy Award winners. As a private college, CMU is the most selective of the three college types, accepting only 33% of applicants according to CollegeBoard. CMU’s website reports an undergraduate enrollment of 6,000 students and a student-faculty ratio of 10:1. Private colleges are typically the most expensive kind of college, and CMU is no exception: entering freshmen in fall 2011 were charged $57,520 in tuition and fees per year, and if you receive permission to live off-campus, you still pay $49,090 per year. But tuition is the same whether you live in Pennsylvania or in another state, because private colleges don’t receive state funding. The high cost earns students more prestige and arguably a better education: the university reports that 96% of their faculty have a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in their field.
Learn more from CMU’s Fast Facts page.