Community College or Branch School ~~> Then transfer to Pitt Main

Colleges & Universities University of Pittsburgh
1

Which options would be the cheapest and most effective way to transfer to Pitt Main?

  • 2 Year at CCAC then transfer to Pitt

- 2 Year at Branch school then transfer to Pitt

My pros and cons for both:

  • CC to Pitt
    Guaranteed admission to Pitt through the CCAC/CBA program (I’m going for a Business major)
    Beautiful buildings
    Can work inside Pittsburgh
    Closer commute

Like many CC, there’s no dorms so I have to rent or share an apartment (which can be expensive)

Won't get the university experience

-Branch to Pitt
Can be away from family (this could be both a pro and con)
University experience
Scholarship opportunities available
Easy curriculum?
Dorms
More social opportunities compared to CC

Longer commute to Pittsburgh
Don’t know about if the transfer process is going to be smooth
Guaranteed admissions to Pitt Main

Unawareness of the city itself

These are some factors I considered but my overall decision will be based off the amount I will have to pay at the very end of the day. The reason I fell into this dilemma because I had a unique situation and it can be a factor to how much I will be paying. To clarify, I am an out of state student technically, but I can apply for in-state because of my dad living there. With community college, I will have to pay for the first year as an out-of-stater but the second year I will pay for in-state because that’s when I can apply for residency. For a branch school though, I have contacted Pitt Main and they said I can gain in-state residency instantly after some paperworks so I will only assume that this will work for branch schools as well (I am planning to confirm that). So if I got granted in-state for a branch school, it MAY be cheaper than CC but I’m not sure and it depends on which branch school I attend (I’m leaning towards Bradford b/c it’s academically the best.) Also since CCAC has an integration agreement, I will be guaranteed admittance to Pitt but I don’t know if it’s the same for the branches. What should I do?

2

Hey @linhtlynx‌ I’m doing the CCAC to Pitt route now and CCAC will be having dorms in a semester or so actually. You should call admission and ask them about it and that will be a cheaper route

3

@SteelWill oh really? I hadn’t heard that! Well that’s extremely exciting news and I will definitely dig deeper into that. I wasn’t really too worried because I was planning to rent a studio for a cheap amount but jumping from one state to another especially with me being from the Midwest, it might be difficult to jump into the adult life in a bigger city. Thank you for your input and your information is so appreciated.

If you don’t mind by me asking, how is that experience like for you at CCAC? Are the teachers just at good at a university? Do you think you’re giving up the “college experience” when going to a CC or is it better than you would have imagined? Any insight will be awesome!

4

Just an FYI, I wouldn’t necessarily consider Bradford to be the best of the regional campuses. They each have their individual strengths. The Princeton Review has Pitt Bradford’s academic rating a tick higher than Johnstown and Greensburg, but for instance, looking at average scores of students, Greensburg and Johnstown are actual higher than Bradford.

5

Greensburg would be closer to Pittsburgh, correct? Maybe more internship opportunities? I would visit if you can and check out the business dept. and costs involved with either option.

CC sounds like a good choice, how much is OOS tuition? Also if the dorm is an option how much does that add? If you need an apartment does a parent have to cosign lease, how much is rent, utilities, food, security deposit?
Also apt would be requiring rent year-round, you were planning on living in the summers with Dad or grandma, right?

How much is net cost with scholarship at IS rates at Pitt Bradford or Greensburg?
Also if you need a part-time job, would an on-campus job be more convenient?

Lots to consider, but it’s only for 2 years, right?

6

Thanks @mommdc with your input. I’ve crunched the numbers to to what I would be paying and I think the community college is the overall better choice. Their transferring method is much smoother and I get to be near the Main campus which is nice. Overall tuition would be half the amount of that at the branches even with the 1 year being out of state. As much as I want to be a panther, it’s more cost efficient to wait 2 years. Thank you once again!

7

It looks like the pitt branch has a cost of about $23,000 for IS tuition and r&b, minus the top $5,000 scholarship would be $18,000. CCAC is $9,000 for OOS tuition, then add housing and food. So at least $15,000.
Do you have any idea what your EFC would be with mom’s income? If you get full Pell and take freshman student loan that would cover about $11,000. What about the rest? Will your dad pay for housing or cosign a lease for you?

Most importantly how are you going to pay for the two years at Pitt main? Maximum loan then is $7,500 a year.
Tuition for CBA is $19,000 now and may be over $20,000 in two years. Plus housing costs.

8

@Mommdc I’ve calculated for my estimated two years total
CCAC for the two years would come out at roughly $18,000 and I can apply for the Honors Program Scholarship which can equal to a full ride and my chances are really good with my stats and involvement
I actually don’t know my EFC because I’m still only a junior in high school and won’t find out until next year

For my dad co-signing, he might be willing but I do plan to room with someone and co-lease with them and live off campus throughout my college experience in Pittsburgh (plus livability costs there is really good considering its size).

I plan on applying for numerous scholarships that are available for me (if I get the fully paid tuition from CCAC, it’s going to be a huge help) and I plan to work a part-time job at my parent’s nail salon and I will be making $100-$300 a day. If I took the lowest amount ($100) and working 6 days, I can roughly make $31,200 a year which isn’t too shabby for a college student. I plan to put 50% of my money away into my college tuition and only use the rest for things that are absolutely mandatory before I spend on luxury items. If I do go with the route of putting half my money away, I will have $15,600 paid each year towards college. Pitt’s tuition for CBA is 18,000 like you said. 18,000-15,600=2,400. I can take out a loan for $2,400 but I would really like to avoid that unless it’s absolutely mandatory. Most likely with the $2,400, my parents can help pay.

This is a rough estimate overall and this is assuming I’m only making $100 a day; that can fluctuate of course. I have some breathing room and some months I can put maybe even 60% of my savings away.

For 2 yrs at CCAC, it’s about $18,000 (minus living expenses)
For 2 yrs at Pitt, it’s would cost be $40,000 (minus living expenses as well)
Total would be $58,000
Living expenses would run me another 8,700 each year (off-campus) = $34,800 for 4 years

Total = $92,800 for all 4 years
Income (using $100 working 6 days out of the week again) = $124,800
50% of income straight into tuition = $62,400 ($58,000 estimated tuition cost)
50% left over = $62,400
$62,400 - $34,800 (living cost) = $27,600 (goes towards anything else I need such as furniture, tickets, traveling home, etc)

With these calculations, I can well afford my Associate’s and Bachelor’s without going into financial debt. This is assuming I don’t get financial aid, merits, grants, scholarships, or any government or extra funding. If I do (in which I hope I get a generous amount), it can hopefully open more money room and less burden on my part.

Does this seem like an accurate calculation for my 4 years? If I resist buying more than I need and put my money away during the time I am in college, I can avoid taking very little loans or any at all. Housing and tuition will probably go up by the rate it is, but that’s why I left extra money left over for some breathing room. My goal as a high school senior is to receive $15,000-$20,000 worth of scholarships and grants/aid to help pay community college off FULLY. Then I would like to apply for another $15,000 for those years at Pitt.
I am willing to work extra hard to receive as much aid as I can. With my mom’s income right now ($35,000), household of 3 with me being the first to attend college, hopefully financial aid and scholarships can help pay for half my tuition. I can cover the rest with my parent’s help.

Does this seem like a plausible plan or am I over-calculating my chances?

9

Is this scholarship (full tuition) from CCAC? Is it competitive? What are the requirements? Is it for OOS students?
You can certainly apply there and see if you get the scholarship.

But when you apply to colleges next year, make sure you have some financial safety options where you know you will be accepted and can afford (with Pell, state grant, etc).

You can’t look just at tuition costs. If you get the full tuition scholarship from CCAC then yes, you might have enough to pay for rent and food. But some landlords might not lease to an 18 year old. That’s why you might need your dad to cosign. You need to find out about this and the cost of rent and often you have to pay a hefty security deposit, who will pay that? Are utilities included?

Pitt main is almost $20,000 for tuition and then you need money for rent and food.

Also does your mom have the nail salon or your dad? When will you work there 6 days a week, in the summers?

In theory it might work out if all works out as planned, but life doesn’t always work that way.

You need to run some net price calculators on the schools’ websites with your income and mom’s and assets (if you save your income for future college costs) to see what the numbers might be.

Also where are you going to apply for the $15,000 scholarship for attending Pitt?

10

https://www.ccac.edu/Honors_Program_Scholarship.aspx

Is this the scholarship? Sounds like they will reimburse you for honors courses successfully completed and only at the in-county rate. Reimbursement happens in Jan/Feb following fall semester do that means you can’t count on this to start school. You would have to pay about $5,000 tuition and fees for fall semester (for 15 credits) and also have money for your rent and food. Then if you took all honors courses and passed them successfully they might reimburse you $1,500 for in-county tuition.

11

@mommdc CCAC does provide an Honors Scholarship and they do list it as “competitive.” How competitive? I’m not really sure. Regardless, I’m going to work hard to get it. The requirements is to be in the Honors Program and show leadership skills, maintain a B or higher in each class, and participate in the Honors Program’s activities.

Oh thank you, I’m definitely applying for pell and state grants as well because there’s no guarantee of this scholarship. Do you know if state grants will apply for students going out of state?

Yes I understand the apartment rental issue but that’s for me to figure out when the time comes. My dad can co-sign, I did include utilities, groceries, gas (I’m most likely just riding my bike), etc to the bill. I’ve checked out apartments in the area and found a couple cheap ones. If it comes down to it, I can room with another college student and contribute to the rent and pay for my own food and transportation. I am saving money up now so I can pay for that in the future while I’m still in high school.

Sorry, I should have clarified. It’s my step-mom’s and dad’s nail salon, not my real mom’s. Yes I will work there 6 days a week when I don’t have classes. The hours are very lenient and I’m aiming to make $600 a week while I am in school. The pay’s good for how much I will be working because any salon can charge up to $100 per session. Ours isn’t that fancy, but per customer, it’s about $20-$35 within a 30 minute session. For the summer, I plan to take on two jobs just to get an extra paycheck.

I plan to apply for my $15,000 through the local community (which will take a lot of research), state scholarships in PA (initially a lot of my scholarships for CCAC may come from Kansas), and I might try for national scholarships. It’s not impossible, I’ve heard numerous stories of people who got $20,000-$30,000 from scholarships alone! I’m being optimistic and if I don’t reach my goal, then it just means I will have to work even harder at my job which is fine :slight_smile:

Yes, I understand this is all just number and there will be stuff that get in my way but I stick to my initial plan, the outcome will be very much worth it. I just have to learn to be flexible but it’s real life - I can’t rely on my parents forever but I just wanted to plan early so I know where I stand. Your input has helped me considered numerous factors I haven’t thought of before, so thank you.

12

Oh I see, it’s at the bottom of the link I posted. Key word here is returning honors students, so again this won’t apply to your first year there.

Does your dad live in Pittsburgh then and the nail salon will be close to where you will live? I doubt your dad will want to help you pay rent if you could live with him, you said he has 3 kids?
I don’t know how you will work 6 days a week with taking fulltime courseload in CC, especially since the honors program will also be time intensive, and what about internships?

I don’t know anything about Kansas state grant, but I assume they offer them to students who stay in the state to study. As for PA grant, the application gets sent in with the FAFSA and if your mom is not PA resident and you are not, not sure if you can qualify.

I’m also wondering if you will qualify for any aid if you really make $30,000 a year. I guess you wouldn’t need it then.

The only scholarship I know of for transfer students is Jack Kent Cooke.

The local ones you can sign up from the community are usually for students graduating from high school that year and starting college that fall. You probably won’t be able to get them later after 2 yr of CC.

13

http://www.jkcf.org/scholarship-programs/undergraduate-transfer/
link to the scholarship. It has a need component also.

The problem is none of this is guaranteed. The loan limit first year is $5,500.
It might be enough for one semester at CCAC if you lived with your dad and commuted.
And worked weekends and summers at the nail salon.

14

What are your stats by the way if you don’t mind me asking? Definitely research schools in Kansas also that might give you alot of merit as a backup plan.

I admire your determination and I know you will work hard to reach your goal.

15

@‌mommdc Sorry I hadn’t seen your first post about the scholarship. Yes, that’s the exact scholarship. They would be giving it to me when I basically almost graduate and refund all my costs to me then.
Yes my dad lives in Pittsburgh with two other kids (my step-siblings). I can live with him or my grandma but the problem with that is I don’t know if my step-mom is okay with it. With my grandma, I could live with her but I would prefer to live on my own to get a sense of independency and her house isn’t the most student-friendly. I can work 6 days a week because I can crush all my courses in the morning and work at night or vice versa. I understand the intensity of honors work I will be faced, but this may be the only way to pay off my debt while in college. Since the hours are so flexible, I can show up anytime and lend a hand. Sometimes it would be 1 or 2 hours before we get a customer, so I can do homework in the mean time. It sounds like a lot, but it’s really not. I can even stick to working 5 days and have time to have fun as well.

During my junior year and senior year at Pitt, maybe then I can relax and enjoy those two years and work less. Either way, I won’t really know until the time comes but if I put money away during the first 2 years at community college, I won’t be like those kids who are realizing they would be $80,000 by the time of their graduation.

My stats currently (which will probably change by senior year)
3.905 GPA UW
~4.35 W (this is only an estimate because we don’t find out until senior year)
28 ACT + Writing (I plan to retake and aiming for a 30 or above)
8% of my class
I also do National Honor Society, StuCo, Varsity Tennis, & have leadership roles in all of my clubs, + I write for my school’s newspaper and report for our radio.

Yes, I do plan on apply for 2-3 in-state schools and if I get a good scholarship from each, my college will be or close to being free.
But I strive for something bigger and better than the schools here offer. The opportunity and job market for my intended degree/job outlook is limited and doesn’t pay well here and that’s why I’m focused on going out of state and Pittsburgh is where I can make my dreams happen at a reasonable cost to me.

Thank you, that really means a lot, you have no idea! Not very many students venture out of Kansas, so it’s hard finding people who understand the situation, but everything from this thread I will consider.

16

Well, I just wanted to help you make an informed decision. Dreams are fine, but they have to be tempered with reality and affordability.

I was asking about your stats to see if you had a chance for a full tuition scholarship from Pitt. But you need like a 33 ACT, A average and high class rank. And even then it’s not guaranteed. You could definitely apply though and see if you get something next year. I would work hard this summer and save money and prep for ACT and see what score you can get in fall of senior year.

Even if you don’t think the Kansas schools offer what you are looking for, check into their programs and if you need to and get an affordable offer maybe you can get your undergrad degree there and maybe do grad school later.

You never know until the time comes. Sometimes we need to take opportunities that present themselves and change plans.

Also if it comes down to it, it’s nice that dad and grandma live in Pittsburgh so you could save a lot on housing costs if necessary.

17

@mommdc I understand it’s very competitive for the top scholarships and even merit. Thanks for the advice, I’ll have to talk to my counselor and further see what I can do. Right now, I’ll focus on just improving my ACTs and maintain my grades. We’ll see what happens when the time comes. I’m very fortunate I have family there and I have a lot of options.

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@linhtlynx Sorry for the extremely late response, i havent been on in a while but i just got accepted into Pitt. My experience at CCAC was definitely great and would recommend to anyone who asks. If you need a recomendation on who to speak to i would ask for the advisor named Mr. Breitbarth as he was a world of help for me. My situation was a little different as I have been out of school for a few years before i decided to start college (about 4 years - non traditional student) so i wasnt really worried about the ‘college’ experience but my cousin (just out of high school) really like his time there and he’s transferring to Pitt with me in the Fall. I hope this helps and any other info needed just ask!

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There aren’t many students from Kansas at Pitt main (like 22 total students from Kansas at main last year, and that includes those at the graduate/professional level which could be a sizable chunk). Since you seem set on the CCAC route, I would still throw in an application to Pitt as a Kansas resident and see what you get because being from an under-represented geographical area certainly isn’t going to hurt your chances. You never know what you might end up with.