Pittsburgh a good fit for a 19 year old college student like me? (Butler: rentals, credit)

[WRC5]

I am currently attending a community college near Des Moines, Iowa. I have lived in a small town my entire life and have wanted to move to a bigger city for a while now. The smart thing I do understand is to stay in-state and finish my education, but that is 3-4 years out if I were to take that route, and a lot can happen in that 3-4 years which could hinder my chances at getting away.

I want that urban feel where there's always something going on. I'm a huge sports fan, so having 2+ major sports team is a must. I am a college student and certainly do not come from a family with a lot of money. I want to move somewhere, go to a community college for one more year and get my Associates degree, and than move on to a 4-year school and get a bachelors.

I will be 21 by next November and i plan on moving next summer/fall, so a good nightlife is important.

The COL does definitely matter, i'm getting no family help so all the expenses are on me. I do like the four seasons, although the cold can get to be a bit much at times where i'm from (Northern Iowa, close to Minnesota border). In a big city I think it'd be a lot easier to handle than the places i've lived though.

So any input would help. Most important factors would be good colleges, cost of living, sports teams, etc.

My one worry is the community college I saw in Pittsburgh was kind of expensive for a JUCO for out of state students. Don't want to get into too much debt just from a community college.

[Moby Hick]

Don't pay out of state tuition for a community college, even to get out of Iowa. To get residency for in-state tuition for your Bachelors, you need to be here 12 months without going to school, so it wouldn't even help for that.

[WRC5]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

Don't pay out of state tuition for a community college, even to get out of Iowa. To get residency for in-state tuition for your Bachelors, you need to be here 12 months without going to school, so it wouldn't even help for that.

In Pittsburgh, I already have an idea of where i'd go to get my bachelors and that's Duquesne. it's expensive'ish, but it's a very good school and i'd likely be admitted after talking to them on the phone.

Even OST for community colleges generally aren't that expensive though. That's what i'm saying. Oddly enough the one in Pittsburgh that I searched kind of was. Most that i've looked for in other cities are reasonable. By the time I move there I'll only need to take about 9-10 credits per semester I believe...

If I went to PIT though, I wouldn't likely be looking for IST. Pretty sure Duqusne being a private has a set tuition no matter if its in-state or out of state...

[concept_fusion]

If you can only afford community college, what about University of Idaho? Super cheap tuition for in state students. And it'll get you out of Iowa, too.

[WRC5]

Originally Posted by concept_fusion

If you can only afford community college, what about University of Idaho? Super cheap tuition for in state students. And it'll get you out of Iowa, too.

It's not about only affording community college (although any schooling like most I'm going to be taking out loans to do so, not like my family is paying my way through), I just want to finish my 2-year degree since i'll only be 20 or so credits short of doing so.

Idaho keeps me in the same situation i'm currently in, I want to move to a bigger city.

[grep]

Pittsburgh is an excellent city for being able to live in vibrant, urban neighborhoods on a budget. If you're thinking about Pitt, Duquesne, Carlow, or CMU, then Oakland is probably right up your alley. It's kind of the "student ghetto" neighborhood: kind of rowdy, kind of rundown, but if you're willing to find some roommates on Craigslist, you can get a very cheap rental (<$400/month plus utilites if you look hard enough). Most of the rentals are houses that are pretty worn around the edges, but you won't need a car, and there's an incredible amount always going on in Oaklands with the universites, museums, bars, shops, etc. Everything you need is in the neighborhood, and frequent bus service will connect you with other areas. I lived there for several years when I was around your age and I loved it.

CCAC is in the northside. If you're thinking about going there, you could still live in Oakland, but you'd need to ride two buses to get there (if you have a bike, it's an easy ride). It might be easier to live somewhere in the Northside. North Shore, Allegheny West, and Mexican War Streets are all a little more expensive by Pittsburgh standards but have plenty to do. Manchester and Deutschtown are a little rougher around the edges but are very livable, and all of these neighborhoods except the North Shore are full of beautiful architecture. As a whole, the Northside will have fewer college age folks, but a decent number of 20-somethings.

Where exactly are you thinking about going to school?

[guy2073]

There are more community colleges in this area, there is beaver county community college Community College of Beaver County

And there is
https://wccc.edu/pages/future-students

Cost of living Would be cheeper and you will still be close to pgh. If you live here why would you pay out of state tuition?

[WRC5]

Originally Posted by grep

Pittsburgh is an excellent city for being able to live in vibrant, urban neighborhoods on a budget. If you're thinking about Pitt, Duquesne, Carlow, or CMU, then Oakland is probably right up your alley. It's kind of the "student ghetto" neighborhood: kind of rowdy, kind of rundown, but if you're willing to find some roommates on Craigslist, you can get a very cheap rental (<$400/month plus utilites if you look hard enough). Most of the rentals are houses that are pretty worn around the edges, but you won't need a car, and there's an incredible amount always going on in Oaklands with the universites, museums, bars, shops, etc. Everything you need is in the neighborhood, and frequent bus service will connect you with other areas. I lived there for several years when I was around your age and I loved it.

CCAC is in the northside. If you're thinking about going there, you could still live in Oakland, but you'd need to ride two buses to get there (if you have a bike, it's an easy ride). It might be easier to live somewhere in the Northside. North Shore, Allegheny West, and Mexican War Streets are all a little more expensive by Pittsburgh standards but have plenty to do. Manchester and Deutschtown are a little rougher around the edges but are very livable, and all of these neighborhoods except the North Shore are full of beautiful architecture. As a whole, the Northside will have fewer college age folks, but a decent number of 20-somethings.

Where exactly are you thinking about going to school?

I will admit, I am not the best student. I'm a guy that hovers right around a 3.0 GPA. But I talked to one of the advisors from Duquesne and they said if you have a 2.5 GPA you're generally good to go, and I'll definitely be above that. It's around 18K in total cost according to their cost calculator (that figured in their housing, not sure if I'd live on campus or not, although tbh it wouldn't be bad to do so for one year to meet people easier maybe?). I don't think i'd be able to gain in-state residency in Pennsylvania, I think some states are very hard to gain in-state residency in and Penn. is one of them. TBH, I could finish up my AA, work for a year, and go back and than that'd be 2 years in Penn., while also not going to school for one year, so I would think i'd gain residency, but I don't know if taking a year off would be good or not.

For community college, it's really all about the cheapest place out there. I don't think where you get your Associates really matters tbh, but preferably a decent place.

$400 or less a month would be awesome. My rent currently is $400 and i'm doing perfectly fine. Would probably look to work 15-20 hours part time (not sure how old you need to be a bartender in PIT, but that's something i'd love to do. Easier way to meet people and something I think i'd enjoy).

[WRC5]

Originally Posted by guy2073

There are more community colleges in this area, there is beaver county community college Community College of Beaver County

And there is
https://wccc.edu/pages/future-students

Cost of living Would be cheeper and you will still be close to pgh. If you live here why would you pay out of state tuition?

Just because you move to a state doesn't mean you get in-state tuition. You have to gain residency after living in a state for a year, and generally there's other things you have to do such as transfer important documents, show that you plan to live in that state past school, etc.

I'd certainly want to stay in PIT and Penn. as a whole long term or wherever I move to most likely, but I doubt they just take your word for it, haha.

[liz-momof2]

There is also Butler County Community College (BC3.) I currently attend Community College of Beaver County and have been very happy with the majority of my classes. I am transferring in the fall to Carlow University for their Early Childhood (Pk-4) program for teacher certification. However, I am a non-traditional student as I am in my early 30s, married with kids, so different scenario = different choices.

I would definitely see about the direct transfer/articulation agreements with 4 year schools. Most of the community colleges in the area have agreements with several of the 4 year schools where the 4 year school will admit you as a junior when you graduate from the community college. I have found that transferring to a program that does not have an articulation agreement can be hit or miss about what your status will be/how long it will take you to finish your bachelor's degree.

As far as the out of state/in state tuition goes, when looking at Duquesne University, I don't see anything specific about out of state tuition versus in state tuition and I think they may not charge more for out of state students. With that knowledge, I would probably finish at whatever community college you are at now and then transfer to Duquesne. I would expect that not all of your classes would transfer but most of them should transfer and you can always take the ones that didn't transfer at a local community college at a cheaper rate.

I know next to nothing about living/residential in that area, as we live north of the city in Beaver County. Good luck!