Author: sjspwellesley

When people think about the cost of college, they usually think about tuition. For many MassBay students, tuition is only part of the cost.

The bigger challenges, that make learning hard, often include transportation to and from campus, heat, health care, access to food, a safe place to live, and textbooks.  Books often cost $100-$300 per book each semester.

Students often tell us, “I had to choose between buying groceries and buying textbooks.” When students do not have their textbooks books at the start of the semester, they fall behind very quickly. MassBay experience shows that students who do not get their books within the first few weeks of class are much more likely to drop out…

Many of us picture college in a familiar way. We think of dorm rooms, meal plans, walking to class, and maybe a part-time job for extra money. For those who went to college this way, the basics were covered, and that made learning easier. For most students at MassBay Community College, college looks very different.

These students balance more than schoolwork. Many are working full or part-time jobs. Some are raising children or caring for parents. Many are doing all of this at once. They travel to campus with full lives behind them and show up ready to learn…