By Maria Allard
C & G Staff Writer

Students right out of high school who dream of going away to college or attending a four-year university are holding off for a couple of years in an effort to save money.

They’re enrolling in core classes at Macomb Community College and Oakland Community College before transferring to universities, including Wayne State, Oakland, Michigan State and the University of Michigan.

They’re utilizing the colleges in their own backyards because the tuition rates are much lower than if they went away to school.

St. Clair Shores resident Paul Derian plans to attend MCC full-time this fall, then transfer to North Central Christian College in Minnesota.

“The price range is the cheapest in the area,” Derian, 19, said. “I’m just taking my core classes.”

Derian, whose brother attends MCC, is undecided on a major and planned on discussing his options with a counselor Aug. 12.

According to the MCC Web site, www.macomb.edu, it costs $72 a credit for an in-district student to attend the school. According to the Wayne State University statement of tuition and fee regulations effective winter 2008, it costs an undergraduate student who resides in Michigan $226.10 per credit hour.

By attending OCC at the beginning of their college years, students save a third on the tuition rate, said OCC Director of College Communications George Cartsonis. Students also save on room and board and transportation costs.

Cartsonis said a majority of the OCC students transfer to four-year schools, with the highest number — 22 percent — attending Oakland University. Wayne State University typically welcomes 14.3 percent of OCC students.

Ten percent of OCC students reportedly transfer to the University of Michigan; 9 percent eventually attend Walsh College; 6 percent transfer to Baker College; and 5 percent head to Eastern Michigan University. Five percent of OCC students transfer to Central Michigan University; 4.2 percent enroll at Madonna; 3.3 percent attend Lawrence Tech; and 2.4 percent transfer to Michigan State University.

OCC has five campuses: Royal Oak, Southfield, Farmington Hills, Waterford and Auburn Hills. The Royal Oak and Southfield campuses are jointly administered.

To give community college students a full college experience, both schools have a number of clubs and athletic teams on campus.

“It’s part of your college experience and your college education. You need to interact with other students outside the classroom,” Cartsonis said. “We have a lot of intramural and league athletics for our students. The women’s softball and basketball have done really well the last couple years in competition.”

OCC also has the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. There are four chapters on the school’s five campuses.

“It’s pretty elite. You must have a certain grade point average,” Cartsonis said. “I would estimate there are 300 active members.”

Students are encouraged to meet with academic counselors while at OCC.  

“We strongly encourage them to do that,” Cartsonis said. “A counselor is the best bet to show them what classes they need.”

Cartsonis said it’s common for students already at four-year universities to enroll in classes — including physics, trigonometry and chemistry — at OCC in the summer.

Counseling also is highly recommended at MCC. Counselors and advisors are on site to meet with students. School begins the last week of August.

“Counselors see students undecided about their program or school of transfer. Academic advisors see students decided on a program at Macomb or where to transfer,” said Michelle Ross, staff coordinator of counseling and academic advising services at MCC. “The whole month of August is our peak traffic time.”

“A lot of students utilize Macomb because of our low tuition,” counselor Rick Korkizko said.

Because of this, MCC offers transfer guides for students, so they can take classes that will automatically transfer to their four-year college of choice. Career testing is available at MCC for students undecided on majors. Counselors meet with those students after testing to guide them toward career choices.

For more information about Oakland Community College, call (248) 341-2350 or log onto www.oaklandcc.edu.

There are three MCC campuses: South Campus in Warren, Center Campus in Clinton Township and East Campus in Clinton Township. The general information number is (866) Macomb-1. Information also can be obtained at www.macomb.edu.

MCC students applying for financial aid has reportedly increased by 22 percent since last year.

You can reach Staff Writer Maria Allard at allard@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1045.