The best community colleges provide an effective springboard into higher education, offering students high-quality two-year degree programs in a wide range of disciplines. The top-rated community colleges in Pennsylvania offer a broad selection of associate’s degrees, affordable tuition rates, and strong partnerships with public four-year schools so that students can easily transfer their credits into accredited bachelor’s degree programs.
Prospective students hoping to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree have over 100 higher learning institutions to choose from. The largest public university is Pennsylvania State University, or Penn State, with a tuition of $18,000, and a student population of over 95,000 across its campuses. As a private institution, the University of Pennsylvania, or simply Penn, is known for its medical, nursing, social work, and business fields. Tuition is $56,000, and the school boasts a 95% graduation rate.
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Students can also attend one of the more than 60 religiously affiliated schools, such as Villanova University or Lafayette College, each with a tuition of about $53,000. Some of the most affordable colleges in the state include the Curtis Institute of Music and the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, with tuitions set at $3,000 and $9,000, respectively. Though the average tuition for college in Pennsylvania comes in above the national average, those who practice medicine in underserved areas may qualify for up to $100,000 in loan forgiveness through the Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program.
As the nation’s second state, Pennsylvania’s history runs deep. It’s here where Betsy Ross made the first American flag and where the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Keystone State is also home to some culinary delights, including whoopie pies, soft pretzels, and the famous Philly cheesesteak. Students looking to earn their degree in Pennsylvania will undoubtedly enjoy what the state has to offer.
Check out the state’s top programs and learn more about earning your degree in Pennsylvania.
We’ve identified 20 community colleges in Pennsylvania. The following list shows the best community colleges and primarily associate degree granting colleges in Pennsylvania.
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
38%
Student body
<1K
Manor College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Graduation
17%
Student body
9K
Community College of Allegheny County’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Graduation
26%
Student body
5K
Bucks County Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
47%
Graduation
23%
Student body
<1K
University of Pittsburgh at Titusville’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Graduation
18%
Student body
11K
Community College of Philadelphia’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Graduation
21%
Student body
6K
Montgomery County Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Graduation
21%
Student body
6K
Northampton Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$27K
Graduation
39%
Student body
<1K
Harcum College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Graduation
22%
Student body
3K
Westmoreland County Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$13K
Graduation
26%
Student body
1K
Community College of Beaver County’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Graduation
20%
Student body
3K
Luzerne County Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Graduation
23%
Student body
6K
Delaware County Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Graduation
25%
Student body
4K
Lehigh Carbon Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Graduation
38%
Student body
1K
Pennsylvania Highlands Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
89%
Graduation
60%
Student body
1K
Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Graduation
25%
Student body
2K
Butler County Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$18K
Graduation
62%
Student body
<1K
Tuition + fees
$20K
Acceptance
97%
Graduation
68%
Student body
<1K
Johnson College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$21K
Acceptance
100%
Graduation
78%
Student body
<1K
Tuition + fees
$10K
Graduation
24%
Student body
2K
Reading Area Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.