Three Great Community Colleges in North Carolina

North Carolina has 58 community colleges, all offering exceptional education to students who want a successful future. Among those, three really stand out to me as both a parent and future student myself.

Vance Granville Community College

VGCC was founded in 1969 and has expanded to four campus locations: Vance County (Main Campus, Henderson), Granville County (Creedmoor), Franklin County (Louisburg), and Warren County (Warrenton).

VGCC offers its estimated 5,800 annual students more than 40 degrees, diplomas, or certifications in areas such as office administration, cosmetology, medical fields, and education to name a few. Many courses are available in both day and evening hours and also through distance learning. To view their specific curriculum programs you can visit their website. They also have career and counseling services, a student health plan, athletic teams (Go Vanguards!), and active student life clubs.

Tuition at VGCC for 2010-2011 in-state students was $957 for 16 hours, $727 for 12 hours (12 hours is considered full time).

Cape Fear Community College

CFCC, founded in 1958, is the fifth largest community college in North Carolina. There are two campuses to CFCC; a main campus on the waterfront in downtown Wilmington and a north campus in Burgaw (Pender County).

Cape Fear Community College offers students over 60 programs, continuing education courses, and also free courses. A couple noteable programs from CFCC include education pre-majors, boat building, marine mechanics, dental, nursing, cosmetology, and culinary studies. All specific degree and classes can be found on their website. Also according to their website, CFCC has over 26,000 students every year, and 98% of graduates report they began work or had transferred to a four-year college.

CFCC has career, disability, veteran, and counseling services available to students. For student life opportunities the college has SGA, intramural and Sea Devil collegiate sports, clubs, and a cafeteria.

Their tuition and fees listed on their website for 2011 in-state students was $972 at 16 hours and $742.50 for a student taking 12 hours of coursework. The GED and ESL programs are free. Several continuing education courses ranged in price from $65 to over $100.

Coastal Carolina Community College

Coastal Carolina has educational opportunities leading to degrees, college transfer, professional workforce training, and continuing education courses. Coastal Carolina is located in Jacksonville, making it an especially great choice for military families.

Coastal Carolina offers degree programs, college transfer programs, distance learning, a resource and career center. Some examples of programs at Coastal Carolina include Accounting, EMS, BLET, nursing, dental, and early childhood education. For a full list of what Coastal Carolina can give you, read up on their website.

Student life at Coastal Carolina looks interesting. There is a wellness center that has group fitness schedules, a cafe, resource centers, small business center, and several student clubs.

Tuition and fees for a 2011 in-state student taking 16 hours was $919, 12 hours was $693. An EMT course is $175 and Web Design courses for $65 to cite an example of prices for continuing and professional programs.