(Butler, PA) Economizing prospective students intent on minimizing or avoiding higher education costs can learn how 93 percent of Butler County Community College’s Class of 2025 graduated debt-free by attending information sessions during BC3’s open house Oct. 21.
“That statistic is staggering to me,” said Amy Pignatore, BC3’s dean of admissions and the college’s registrar. “That should have an impact on attendance because there are not many colleges or universities that can tout that percentage.”
BC3 will also waive its $25 application fee during the open house, scheduled for 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 107 College Drive, Butler. Prospective students can RSVP for the event at bc3.edu/open-house. Reservations are not needed to attend the information sessions.
Butler residents Omariawna Collins, 19, left, and Kierra Smith, 18, are shown on Butler County Community College’s main campus in Butler Township on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. Collins is a BC3 psychology student and Smith is enrolled in the college’s child development and family studies program. Each plans to graduate debt-free from BC3. The college will hold an open house on its main campus from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21.
Visitors can explore BC3’s associate degree and certificate programs, meet with faculty and tour facilities such as the 1,735-square-foot Dr. Robert L. Paserba Teaching and Learning Lab that opened in March and the 25,000-square-foot Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building that opened in August 2023.
Guests can also learn about BC3’s student clubs, organizations and activities; support services such as free tutoring; and athletics programs that have won 88 conference or regional titles and produced 40 All-American awards.
BC3 will hold 30-minute information sessions about ways to pay for college at 5:10 p.m., 6 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. in Room 232 of the Heaton Family Learning Commons. Juli Louttit, BC3’s director of student financial services, will speak about the college’s tuition and fees, and financial aid options; and Mikayla Moretti, executive director of the BC3 Education Foundation and external relations, about scholarships.
Those attending the information sessions can learn about “coming to BC3 for their first two years at a lower rate or possibly graduating with zero debt before transferring or going straight into the workforce,” Pignatore said.
Tuition and fees for Butler County students pursuing 15 credits at BC3 each semester in the 2025-2026 academic year cost $6,210 for in-person courses. Thirty credits would range from $10,906 at regional public four-year institutions to $22,772 at area state-related universities in the 2025-2026 academic year.
Butler County students pursuing 15 credits each semester in the 2025-2026 academic year can receive up to $10,453 in federal and state grants, according to Louttit.
The BC3 Education Foundation in 2025-2026 distributed to BC3 students a record 164 named scholarships, according to Bobbi Jo Cornetti, scholarship and development coordinator with the foundation. Financial awards ranged from $300 to $5,000 and averaged $500, Cornetti said.
Enzo Scalise, 20, of Mars, said he chose Butler County Community College to pursue his goal of working in sales or in journalism because of BC3’s affordability. The communications student who said he expects to graduate debt-free from BC3 is shown Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, during a transfer day event in Founders Hall on the college’s main campus in Butler Township. BC3 will hold an open house on its main campus from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21.
BC3 students Enzo Scalise and Kayla Giesler said the college’s affordability was a deciding factor in where they chose to begin pursuit of career goals. Each expects to graduate debt-free from BC3.
Scalise, 20, of Mars, works 15 hours weekly at a grocery store and seeks a future in sales or in journalism.
“I like the idea of not spending money when I don’t have to,” said Scalise, a communications student. “Higher education has gotten so expensive. I am saving so much money going to BC3 for my first two years before I transfer. This is exactly what I am doing.
“And it’s the same quality at BC3. One-hundred percent. I’m getting the same exact quality education that I would at a large university.”
Kayla Giesler, 21, of East Butler, is an early childhood education (Pre K-4) student whose goal is to teach second-graders.
“BC3’s costs were a major factor,” Giesler said. “That’s actually why I came here, because of the affordability. That was a big thing for me. And the education here is worth a lot more than you are paying for it.”
Students can transfer BC3’s credits toward a bachelor’s degree at public, private and online four-year colleges and universities.
Scalise expects to transfer to Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania or to La Roche University after graduating from BC3, as does Giesler.
BC3 has also been ranked as the No. 1 community college in Pennsylvania 11 times since 2015, most recently for 2026 by Niche.com.