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derpbeluga t1_ivkmz4z wrote

Look into going to CCRI for the first two years, and then transferring over to URI. You can get a Pell grant depending on your income/assets. If there is no/low income and no/low assets the max Pell grant is $6,895 for this year. I think that will cover your total cost of attending CCRI.

Then for year 3 and 4 you'll get this Pell grant again, and there might be other grants and scholarships. There are also programs like Work Study.

Talk to the financial aid office and admissions counselors at both CCRI and URI. They can help you. Both are public, not-for-profit institutions.

Also think about what degree you will get. A modest loan might be no problem with a nursing or computer science degree for example, while it will be more problematic to pay back if you choose a less well-paying career path.

Edit: It looks like there is a program where you do year 1 and 2 at CCRI, then transfer to URI and based on your GPA get up to 30% off the URI tuition. (https://web.uri.edu/transfer/joint-admissionccri/)

The current in-state tuition is $15,880 per year, so that could be $11,116. Then you could get the $6,895 Pell grant, so your net tuition is $4,221 per year for the last two years, and free for the first two years.

TLDR: Talk to both CCRI and URI, look into the transfer program, work with the FA office, get a Summer job, and you might be able to pull it off debt free.

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complicatedorc t1_ivmr981 wrote

This is what I did and it has worked really well. I completed my associates at ccri and transferred over to URI. I agree with derpbeluga, I strongly recommend talking to a URI advisor to plan out what courses to take while you're at CCRI. Maybe I had bad luck with CCRI guidance, but their recommendations were pretty inconsistant with URIs course recommendations. Still worth talking to both, free information is useful, but don't skip talking to URI. Wasting classes can cost an extra semester of time and money if you don't optimize by taking courses that not only transfer, but fulfill URIs Gen Ed requirements for your program.

I still recommend taking courses you like...just don't pay for classes that end up not going towards your degree at all if you don't want to pay.

Edit: also my math classes at CCRI were WAY easier to learn in. Classrooms are smaller (like high school). Get some harder classes out of the way there. I took up to Calc 2 at CCRI and I'm pleased with the results.

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rhodysailor t1_ivltgfd wrote

I second this. I wish I did this when I went to college.

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owsleythehunter t1_ivmg8vz wrote

Yep. This the way to go. I’m a product of a similar path, but RIC, not URI. Walked away with minimal debt (~$4k) and it was totally worth it.

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R3A1xGhosT t1_ivmt42n wrote

I remember i did the 1+2 at ccri and started in 2018. thought I had the discount for URI once I graduated from cc in 2020, come to find out my CCRI advisor lied to me and never checked me off for the program even though we had 2 meetings about it….. so that’s was fun lol

Hopefully OP can get the 1+2 offer and save big on it

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Allopathological t1_ivmmomj wrote

I’m pretty sure URI grants you the degree as well so nobody would know you went to CCRI

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complicatedorc t1_ivmq6tj wrote

You can actually end up with two degrees, one from each, (associates and bachelor's) this way for essentially the same price. It's what I did a way and it's worked out really well.

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Lucky7Ac t1_ivmt1tz wrote

Yea if you use the JAA program you get an associates in general studies from CCRI and a bachelor's of your major from the college you transfer too.

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