If you’re a high school student building your college list, let me encourage you to add a Massachusetts community college to it if you haven’t already. Community colleges are two year colleges where you can earn your associate degree, and there are a couple of reasons I recommend them. The first is cost.

Students should have a college list with a range of costs, and community colleges are almost always the least expensive options, even before any financial aid is taken into account. And in Massachusetts, you can take advantage of the Mass Transfer Program, which allows you, once you’ve earned your two year degree, to transfer those credits to a four year public university in Massachusetts.

And from that point on, you can graduate in two years, keeping your costs low. You may also qualify for other benefits like a freeze on tuition, guaranteed admission, and even a tuition rebate. Another plus for community colleges? Open enrollment. That is, you can enroll as long as you’ve graduated high school or earned a GED.

Keep in mind that you may have to apply and be admitted to enroll in certain programs within a community college. Also, community colleges generally have a rolling admissions calendar, meaning that you can apply at any time throughout the year. Which is good news, particularly for students who haven’t yet decided if college is their next step after high school.

And community colleges often offer career training and apprenticeship programs, so people who went straight to the workforce from high school can still use the resources at a community college to increase their earning potential in their field.

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