(September 2, 2008)--In a sluggish economy, the choice is becoming simple one for some area students.
Community colleges are offering higher education for about a third of the cost from a university.
As loans and financial aid become more difficult to get, students are finding their dollars go a little further closer to home.
Bargain hunting has gone way beyond stores and shopping malls, now spilling over into education.
"I'm actually glad that I didn't go to a university because my financial aid,” Temple College Student Talahmetria Ruth said.
“I didn't get a lot of money, so I had to get a loan and a Pell Grant."
And loans and grants are harder to get these days.
"Learners can't get what they need at the four-year institutions, so they're coming to us with a lower cost solution to spend their financial aid dollars,” said Mark Smith with Temple College Education Services.
Temple College, has 5200 students enrolled this semester, the first time enrollment has topped 5,000,
Three thousand of those are taking at least some classes online.
Another draw is class sizes.
"The classes are much smaller and you get to interact more because it's more personal with the teacher," Temple College student Amanda Banks said.
Nationwide, the average annual cost of attending a community college is around $2400 dollars, compared to $6200 at an in-state public university.
"If I was going to one of the four year colleges that I could have went to I would be paying thousands of dollars instead of just a couple hundred that I pay here,” said Killeen native Bryan Rivera, who’s attending Central Texas College.
The lower price is becoming more attractive as students look to pay off their future rather than be indebted to it.
"The costs are very helpful being that I won't have to, when I’m 50, still be paying for a degree I got 30 years ago," Banks said.
Many local colleges are also paired with universities that allow students to take the majority of their classes at a community college price, but in the end students still walk away with four-year degrees at a much more manageable price.
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