Wowza. CC fees

[Murphy101]

I get my undies in a knot when everyone here claims concurrent enrollment is free. It is NOT free, though through concurrent enrollment the tuition is waived, the dozens of other fees are NOT.

 

I have 2 boys doing concurrent enrollment next fall. They are each taking a foreign language and a computer applications course. After the tuitions has been waived, I still paid $548 and that is not including books, parking fees or student IDs.

 

I figure books and fees will be approx another $500.

 

If your keeping a tally, that's approx $1000 per semester for 2 kids without paying tuition. (that would have added approx another $800.)

 

Though it is less, I know many people still can't afford it. We had to use debt to pay for it.

 

So this is why I get cranky when I'm asking about home schooling high school and the only response is to just use the free CC. No. It is NOT a free option everyone can use.

 

I just pray the classes are decent.

 

Thank you for listening to my petty quibble.

[4wildberrys]

Wowza is right! For that cost, I could purchase curriculum for my son with all the bells and whistles of online/DVD support. You have made me happy that we have no CC within 5 hours of us:tongue_smilie:

[Jenny in Florida]

Good grief! What fees are you paying?

 

I just looked at the website of our local community college.

 

They list five categories of expenses:

 

- tuition

- books and supplies

- additional course fees

- personal expenses

- living expenses

 

There is also a one-time application fee of $35.

 

In your case, tuition has been waived. And you said you haven't bought books yet. Your sons are living at home, I assume, since this is dual enrollment? And we're not talking about cell phones and lunch money (personal stuff).

 

So, what I hear is that you have paid over $250 per student for "additional course fees?" That sounds high.

 

Our local cc says their fees top out at $100 per course. So, even if both of the courses your kids are taking came with the maximum fee, it wouldn't be over $200 for us.

 

As I understand it, around here dual enrollment also covers books, by the way. Even so, our local cc estimates books and supplies for a year of full-time enrollment (30 credits) at less than $1,200, or about $40 per credit hour.

 

So, yes, it does seem like you're paying a lot more than I would expect.

[Murphy101]

I'm taking heart that research pays off.

 

Other than a foreign language and a couple other classes, the rest I'm having them take any ither possible concurrent classes at the local state university instead because it is CHEAPER than the CC!

 

Which is a mixed emotion bag of :001_huh::)

[Melissa B]

That is unfortunate. Those fees are really high. For us, the fees are also waived. We will have to pay $15 for a student card and books ($60 for two classes this fall.) The books could be free if we were willing to register dd as a public school student working from home rather than a homeschooler - but we are not willing. :)

[redsquirrel]

whoa. That is one thousand bucks away from free.

[AK_Mom4]

Did you talk to a live person in the registrar's office about the fees? When we looked at DD18 taking a calculus class at the college last year, there were huge fees that showed up as needing to be paid for things like student health insurance. When I called the registrar's office, I found out that they can and did waive most of these for high schoolers taking classes. She would have still had a math lab fee (about $100) associated with the class. Colleges vary, but it would be worth talking to someone about it.

[curlylocks]

This is REALLY high. :001_huh:

 

My oldest DD took 2 CC classes and we paid less than $200 total...that was course fees and books.

[Miss Marple]

And the fees really increased this year. The interesting thing, too, is that summer is no longer "tuition free". The state will now only cover fall and spring semesters. With my oldest 2 boys, we used summer semesters to get some classes out of the way. But we had to pay the whole thing this summer for ds#3 (college algebra).

 

RSU seemed to have cheaper fees than TCC up until this year. But TCC has so many more course offerings...

 

We are considering that the courses they are taking would be taken anyway in college so we figure that we are just getting by a bit cheaper for those courses.

[posybuddy]

That's a lot, but I am jealous of ANY fees that get waived for dual enrollees. At our CC, public school dual enrolled students are paid for through their districts, but my homeschooler pays full price tuition, just the same as a regular college student would.

 

Thank goodness for reciprocal agreements with state universities; I am at least assured that all of his classes will transfer to the university he's chosen, so in the end it's still a good deal. Just not for my pocketbook right. now. :glare:

[raceNzanesmom]

:001_huh:

 

Our oldest took CC in hs and it was completely free. Now in CC, as a college sophomore, the fees are just tuition and books. Even his parking fee was waived last fall. He paid out of pocket for one summer class and the total was $384 tuition and a $25 (used) book.

 

ETA: I agree with the person that said talk to a live person and find out why it's so high. Our ds only needed to pay the activity fee if he planned on being part of any groups or clubs. Since we live 45 minutes from the college he knows he doesn't want to, so they droppped that fee.

Edited July 9, 2012 by raceNzanesmom

[Lori D.]

NO free dual enrollment here (though, like Posybuddy, the credit IS transferrable to any of our state's public universities).

 

Each of our 2 DSs, in his senior year, just did one class per semester (4 unit foreign language), and it was $264 for the class, plus another $180 for the textbook and code for online access for the homework. Fortunately, the book and code were good for two consecutive semesters, as DS took back to back classes with the same teacher. But still... almost $700 for 2 semesters of college Spanish...

 

 

Just wanted to add, check out http://www.ratemyprofessor.com -- it doesn't have EVERY instructor there, but you can reduce the possibility of a bum teacher (or find a GOOD one) by seeing student reviews first. Also, check with local homeschoolers who have attended the community college and get their reviews of who is good and who is not... Just a few ideas to help as much as possible make sure your money is going to be well-spent! ;)

 

 

BEST of luck in your DC's community college adventures! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited July 9, 2012 by Lori D.

[8filltheheart]

Our CC is ~$125/credit hr + fees even for dual-enrolled students. (So 1 class is at minimum $400 w/o books.) The local public university is $400/credit hr.

[ThisIsTheDay]

CC costs vary by state. The fees are v.e.r.y. minimal here if one takes dual enrollment through their public high school. However, since we homeschool, we pay full price.

 

Dd is taking two dual enrollment classes next semester, English and Chinese, for a total of 8 credits. JUST the tuition for those two classes is costing me over $1000. I haven't looked at books yet.

[Miss Marple]

the fees are just tuition and books

 

The fees here are approximately equal to the tuition. Tuition, books, and fees make up the total one pays for CC or state colleges. Thankfully, my oldest 2 got through with just paying for books. For whatever reason, the state no longer pays fees...and they have increased the fee rates.

[Murphy101]

And the fees really increased this year. The interesting thing, too, is that summer is no longer "tuition free". The state will now only cover fall and spring semesters. With my oldest 2 boys, we used summer semesters to get some classes out of the way. But we had to pay the whole thing this summer for ds#3 (college algebra).

 

RSU seemed to have cheaper fees than TCC up until this year. But TCC has so many more course offerings...

 

We are considering that the courses they are taking would be taken anyway in college so we figure that we are just getting by a bit cheaper for those courses.

 

 

Yes, but in college they can use grant money towards those classes vs out of pocket. There are no scholarships for concurrent enrollment, just the waiver, which while helpful is still a hefty out of pocket chunk. This just really solidified my need for them to CLEP/AP/Dante as much as they can towards their goals. There is flat out no way we can afford to put it all in debt.

 

Also, OSU is about $100 per kid CHEAPER. Go figure that one.:001_huh:

But it works for me bc if they stick to their current goals, OSU is where they will most likely end up anyways.

Also, their testing center is cheaper than the CC.

 

I didn't get a detailed receipt when I paid, so I am going to call tomorrow just to be sure there aren't any fees I can have refunded.

[posybuddy]

CC costs vary by state. The fees are v.e.r.y. minimal here if one takes dual enrollment through their public high school. However, since we homeschool, we pay full price.

 

Dd is taking two dual enrollment classes next semester, English and Chinese, for a total of 8 credits. JUST the tuition for those two classes is costing me over $1000. I haven't looked at books yet.

 

Yup. English and Calculus: $1000 tuition, though I do think that also includes a recording fee and a technology fee. Haven't shopped for books yet since the lists are usually posted about 4 minutes before classes start :glare:, but I'm sure they'll be several hundred bucks more. He will most likely get dropped off in the morning and take the city bus home, so that's another $50 in bus passes for the semester, but that's cheaper by far than parking on campus. And the whole package is cheaper than the local state uni, so.

 

High schoolers are expensive!

[snowbeltmom]

That's a lot, but I am jealous of ANY fees that get waived for dual enrollees. At our CC, public school dual enrolled students are paid for through their districts, but my homeschooler pays full price tuition, just the same as a regular college student would.

Same here. Once again, we are paying the same taxes but our kids are excluded from programs our tax dollars are supporting.:glare:

[Jenny in Florida]

So this is why I get cranky when I'm asking about home schooling high school and the only response is to just use the free CC.

 

I've been turning this comment over in my mind, and I'm still not sure what you mean?

 

I'm homeschooling high school. It's my second time through. Thus far, neither of my kids has done anything at the community college (although I suspect my son will eventually). It's certainly not necessary to take outside classes or do anything especially expensive just because it's "high school."

 

It's one of those things I always try to emphasize whenever the topic of how expensive it is to teach high schoolers is raised around here. I've asked questions, posted polls, started threads about how to do high school on a budget . . . It always seems to come back to, "but it's so expensive!"

 

Honestly, I'm spending less on a whole year of high school for my son than it sounds like you're spending in fees for a couple of classes!

[Murphy101]

One, I should be clear that most of my crumminess is local based. If I go any local home schooling high school info things, the topic is mostly to use expensive coops or CC. There is very little talk of actually managing on one's own.

 

Two, there is a limit to what I can do on my own. If I could teach it for free or cheaper at home - obviously I would not spend a small fortune paying someone else to do it.

 

Although I agree that no parent has to outsource anything at all, I do not agree that no parent should.

 

I have a son that wants a degree in machining technologies.

 

I have a son that wants to be a pilot.

 

It would be unfair to deny them the education that would make that possible, easier, and thousands less financially IF I can figure out a way to make it possible.

 

And as a side note, my oldest saved over $1000 from his seasonal job at a local hardware store and will be paying for his own books and more from it. So it isn't like they aren't invested in their own education. They are both chomping at the bit to find more work, but are disgruntled with our refusing to allow them to work the first semester. I want them to succeed before adding to an already heavy load.

 

Most of what I will use CC, state uni, and tech schools for are things that it is not possible for me to teach and that will be much more expensive as an adult out of high school. Foreign language, mech tech, ground school...

Edited July 10, 2012 by Martha

[BakersDozen]

That's a lot, but I am jealous of ANY fees that get waived for dual enrollees. At our CC, public school dual enrolled students are paid for through their districts, but my homeschooler pays full price tuition, just the same as a regular college student would.

To my complete shock and disappointment I found this is the case where we are, too. Given that revelation we are pursuing CLEP options over CC at this point - much cheaper!

[Mom22ns]

That's a lot, but I am jealous of ANY fees that get waived for dual enrollees. At our CC, public school dual enrolled students are paid for through their districts, but my homeschooler pays full price tuition, just the same as a regular college student would.

 

:iagree:

 

I'm not sure cc is more expensive than that here, but we pay full price for dual enrollment.

[Laura in CA]

Weird ... given our state's budget crisis ... I just paid *less* for next semester's dual enrollment (for my son at the local CC) than I did last year -- a whopping $18. Frankly, I wouldn't mind paying more than $18 for a first-rate (which it will be; we know the teacher and he's fantastic) linear algebra course, to help out the State of California, but I guess the money is already earmarked. Tuition for concurrent enrollment is waived (price has gone from $18/unit in 2009 to $46/unit this summer); all we paid for Fall 2012 are the $17 student health fee and a $1 student rep fee. The $10 student activity fee and $3 mailing fee seem to have been waived.

 

Even at full price of $46/unit, the 3.5-unit linear algebra course would be far less than a typical PA Homeschoolers AP class or a Potter's School class ...

[AngieW in Texas]

That's really expensive. All we have to pay here is books/supplies. Granted, the supplies for the Drawing I and Drawing II classes my dd took were $200 each. Nothing else was nearly that expensive.

 

Even when my oldest had to pay for 2 of her cc classes (because only the first two were tuition/fees waived), it was still only $300 (and that was for two science classes with labs) and then another $125 in used textbooks.

[creekland]

I'm reading what you wrote and wishing we had it that good. We pay in the neighborhood of $230/credit hour here (not class, but credit hour). When middle son took Microbio and Effective Speaking his junior year we paid $1500 + books. Last year his English class cost us $700. His credits won't transfer where he's going, but I'm ok with that since I'm happy with the level school he'll be attending. The courses and Letters of Recommendation helped him get in.

 

Youngest will be taking a cc Bio course offered at the high school. That one they give us a price break on, but it's still going to cost us > $200.

 

It's a long way from free. It's quite pricey. We try to pick our courses very carefully to get those we can't easily duplicate at home. (English composition isn't my forte. Microbio and Effective Speaking just wouldn't be the same at home or online.)

[Tullia]

Those fees do add up, especially when you have more than one student enrolled. As homeschoolers we were not eligible for state paid tuition for dual enrollment in NM. They'll let you out of the system fairly easily in NM, but they still have their "gotcha" when it comes to dual enrollment and lottery scholarships. :glare: