(New Castle, PA) BC3 @ Lawrence is “a welcoming school,” said Gina Shearer, who selected Butler County Community College’s new location in Shenango Township to begin her pursuit of a nursing career.
“Everybody is there for you and to help you,” said the first-semester health care science student and 2025 graduate of New Castle Senior High School.
The 18-year-old New Castle resident visited BC3 @ Lawrence for the first time just before it opened Aug. 25 in Shenango Commons.
“I just walked in,” she said, “and I was greeted. That was really nice. I was shown around the building and introduced to some of the faculty. I think it would be harder to have a personal talk like that at a university. They might just say, ‘Hello. Welcome’ and that would be it.
“Here they have a personal relationship with their students.”
Prospective students can meet BC3 @ Lawrence staff, tour the high-tech facility and discover how to minimize or avoid higher-education debt during an open house from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 5.
BC3 @ Lawrence will waive its $25 application fee during the open house at 2658 Ellwood Road, Suite 129, New Castle. Prospective students can RSVP at bc3.edu/open-house
BC3 @ Lawrence supersedes BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing in Union Township, which served as BC3’s additional location in Lawrence County from 2008 until June 2025.
Health care science student Gina Shearer, of New Castle, is shown in a psychology class Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, at BC3 @ Lawrence in Shenango Township. BC3 @ Lawrence will hold an open house from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 5.
‘They just say, ‘What a big difference’”
It was Sean Carroll, BC3 @ Lawrence director, who guided Shearer on that tour of a BC3 facility that features a student lounge, a technology bar, diner-style booths, ergonomic chairs and highlight walls painted in what the college calls BC3 blue and what the manufacturer says is a “deep, saturated blue … that adds a cool serenity to a well-lit space.”
“Students like the location,” Carroll said. “They like that everything inside is new. They like the color. That’s been a consistent comment, how nice it is. Especially the students who have been to both BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing and then came to BC3 @ Lawrence. They just say, ‘What a big difference.”
Open house guests can inquire about BC3 @ Lawrence’s associate degree transfer and career programs, and how BC3’s affordability, financial aid options and BC3 Education Foundation scholarships enabled 93 percent of the college’s Class of 2025 to graduate debt-free.
BC3 @ Lawrence offers transfer programs in business administration, criminology, early childhood education (Pre K-4), general studies, history, psychology and social work.
It also offers career programs in accounting, business management, health care science, heath care office management and technical trades-cosmetology management option.
Students in BC3 @ Lawrence’s career programs can develop the skills needed to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation.
Credits earned at BC3 @ Lawrence transfer to public, private and online four-year colleges and universities.
Three of BC3 @ Lawrence’s programs – accounting, business administration and business management – align with current state Department of Labor & Industry high-priority occupations.
“BC3 @ Lawrence is more affordable”
Tuition and fees for BC3 students from Lawrence and Mercer counties pursuing 15 credits each semester in the 2025-2026 academic year cost $9,300 for in-person courses. Those students can receive up to $12,289 in federal and state grants.
“BC3 @ Lawrence is more affordable than any university around here,” said Shearer, who works 15 hours a week at a restaurant.
Mitchell Covert works 40 hours a week at an automobile dealership while attending BC3 @ Lawrence.
“BC3 was more affordable to attend while I figured out what I wanted to do and then be able to transfer somewhere,” said Covert, 20, of Ellwood City.
Health care science student Mariah Minor, of New Castle, participates in an activity between classes in the lobby of BC3 @ Lawrence in Shenango Township on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. BC3 @ Lawrence will hold an open house from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 5.
“You don’t want to end up $100,000 in debt”
The 2024 Lincoln High School graduate plans to graduate debt-free from BC3 @ Lawrence in May with an associate degree in business administration, then transfer to possibly the University of Pittsburgh or Robert Morris University.
“You don’t want to end up $100,000 in debt coming out of school after four years,” Covert said. “I don’t want to be tied up with that much debt. And if you can’t find a job right away … you could get in a really bad spot.”
Covert was among students from Ellwood City, Grove City, Hermitage, Mercer, New Castle, New Wilmington, Portersville and Sharpsville to be selected by the BC3 Education Foundation to receive one of its record 164 named scholarships in 2025-2026.
He received from the foundation the $815 Ellwood City Wolves Club Scholarship in 2025-2026 and the club’s $745 financial award in 2024-2025. Recipients must be a Lawrence County resident and Lincoln High graduate.
Covert has also been a medalist three times as a BC3 golfer and this summer was named to the National Junior College Athletic Association all-academic team, a recognition for students who excel athletically and who have a grade-point average of at least 3.6.
Prospective students visiting BC3 @ Lawrence’s open house can also learn about support services such as free tutoring and student activities.
BC3 @ Lawrence’s neighbors within the Shenango Commons plaza include restaurants, indoor pickleball courts, gymnastics and fitness centers, and nearby, the 35-acre Shenango Community Park with picnic pavilions, a walking trail, and volleyball, tennis and bocce courts.