Free community college: does your state cover tuition?

Free community college programmes vary: some are statewide, some city or county-based. Eligibility may depend on age, recent graduation, residency, enrolment intensity and maintaining grades.

Last-dollar programmes cover tuition left after Pell and state grants. First-dollar programmes pay tuition regardless, leaving Pell for living costs. Some cover fees and books.

Adult-focused programmes target people returning to school or without a degree, often for high-demand fields.

Requirements may include filing the FAFSA, enrolling a set number of credits, community service or mentoring.

Understanding first-dollar and last-dollar matters for your budget. Under a last-dollar programme, your Pell Grant and state grants are applied to tuition first, and the promise programme pays only what is left - so a student with a full Pell Grant may receive little or nothing from the promise programme itself, but still owes no tuition. Under a first-dollar programme, the promise money pays tuition and your Pell Grant is freed up for books, transport, child care and rent. Ask which type yours is, because it changes how much help you have for living costs.

Tuition is rarely the whole cost of college. Fees, books, a laptop, transport, child care and the income you give up by studying instead of working often add up to more than tuition. Community colleges increasingly run basic-needs services - emergency grants, child care centres, transport passes, help applying for Medicaid and other benefits - precisely because these costs cause more students to drop out than tuition does.

When you compare colleges, look beyond whether tuition is free to whether the programme leads somewhere: completion and transfer rates, whether certificates are recognised by local employers, and whether the college offers advising, tutoring and flexible schedules. A free programme you cannot finish is less useful than a well-supported one that costs a little.

Rules differ by programme.

1. Check your state/local programmes

   Ask the college.

2. File the FAFSA

   Required.

3. Apply to the college and programme

   Deadlines.

4. Meet enrolment and grade rules

   Keep eligibility.

5. Use Pell for other costs

   If first-dollar.

Promise programme

A state or local scholarship that covers community college tuition for eligible residents, often branded with a 'promise' name.

Last-dollar aid

Aid that pays only the tuition left after Pell and other grants are applied. It guarantees no tuition bill but may add little for students who already get large grants.

First-dollar aid

Aid that pays tuition regardless of other grants, leaving Pell and other aid available for books and living costs.

Cost of attendance

The college's estimate of the full yearly cost, including tuition, fees, books, housing, food, transport and personal expenses.

Credit hour

The unit that measures coursework. Many promise programmes require you to take a minimum number each term to stay eligible.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

The grades and completion rate you must maintain to keep receiving federal aid and many promise scholarships.

• StudentAid.gov - FAFSAstudentaid.gov
• StudentAid.govstudentaid.gov