Monday, May 14, 2012

Is Running Start right?


On the EvCC website there is a page titled “Welcome to the Running Start Information and Resources.” The information on that page is factual but abrupt.

It is good information but, if I were still a sophomore in high school trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life (or at least the next few years), it would scare me away.

I, on the other hand, am not scary. I am a student in my sixth and final quarter at EvCC and a high school senior.

In a few short months I will receive my high school diploma and an associates degree before I head off for what I consider my real first stint in college at a university.

I offer up my advice, as a person who sat and considered what to do with my education two years ago and who has now been through five and a half quarters of community college as a high school student, and the opinions of other students on the ups and downs of Running Start.

A major perk of Running start is that if you plan it out correctly you can essentially jump two years ahead in your education.

This is great financially. Under the current program students are not responsible to pay tuition for up to 15 basic credits, which is considered a full course load.

Students are still responsible for books and regular campus fees.

The regular tuition cost for 15 credits this year at EvCC is $1,171.90.

The College Board reported that the average college budget at a public university for the 2011-2012 school year is $21,447.  

Although Running Start doesn’t make college entirely free it can feel like it is. Brenna Tait, a Running Start student at EvCC in her junior year of high school said “I mean, free college … you can’t do better than that.”

Story by Karoline Schaufler

0 comments:

Post a Comment