(Butler, PA) Economizing prospective students intent on minimizing or avoiding higher education costs can learn how 93 percent of 杏吧原创鈥檚 Class of 2025 graduated debt-free by attending information sessions during 杏吧原创鈥檚 open house Oct. 21.
鈥淭hat statistic is staggering to me,鈥� said Amy Pignatore, 杏吧原创鈥檚 dean of admissions and the college鈥檚 registrar. 鈥淭hat should have an impact on attendance because there are not many colleges or universities that can tout that percentage.鈥�
杏吧原创 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 . Reservations are not needed to attend the information sessions.
Butler residents Omariawna Collins, 19, left, and Kierra Smith, 18, are shown on 杏吧原创鈥檚 main campus in Butler Township on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. Collins is a 杏吧原创 psychology student and Smith is enrolled in the college鈥檚 child development and family studies program. Each plans to graduate debt-free from 杏吧原创. 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 杏吧原创鈥檚 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 杏吧原创鈥檚 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.
杏吧原创 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, 杏吧原创鈥檚 director of student financial services, will speak about the college鈥檚 tuition and fees, and financial aid options; and Mikayla Moretti, executive director of the 杏吧原创 Education Foundation and external relations, about scholarships.
Those attending the information sessions can learn about 鈥渃oming to 杏吧原创 for their first two years at a lower rate or possibly graduating with zero debt before transferring or going straight into the workforce,鈥� Pignatore said.
Tuition and fees for Butler County students pursuing 15 credits at 杏吧原创 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 杏吧原创 Education Foundation in 2025-2026 distributed to 杏吧原创 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 杏吧原创 to pursue his goal of working in sales or in journalism because of 杏吧原创鈥檚 affordability. The communications student who said he expects to graduate debt-free from 杏吧原创 is shown Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, during a transfer day event in Founders Hall on the college鈥檚 main campus in Butler Township. 杏吧原创 will hold an open house on its main campus from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21.
杏吧原创 students Enzo Scalise and Kayla Giesler said the college鈥檚 affordability was a deciding factor in where they chose to begin pursuit of career goals. Each expects to graduate debt-free from 杏吧原创.
Scalise, 20, of Mars, works 15 hours weekly at a grocery store and seeks a future in sales or in journalism.
鈥淚 like the idea of not spending money when I don鈥檛 have to,鈥� said Scalise, a communications student. 鈥淗igher education has gotten so expensive. I am saving so much money going to 杏吧原创 for my first two years before I transfer. This is exactly what I am doing.
鈥淎nd it鈥檚 the same quality at 杏吧原创. One-hundred percent. I鈥檓 getting the same exact quality education that I would at a large university.鈥�
Kayla Giesler, 21, of East Butler, is an early childhood education (Pre K-4) student whose goal is to teach second-graders.
鈥溞影稍粹�檚 costs were a major factor,鈥� Giesler said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 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.鈥�
Students can transfer 杏吧原创鈥檚 credits toward a bachelor鈥檚 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 杏吧原创, as does Giesler.
杏吧原创 has also been ranked as the No. 1 community college in Pennsylvania 11 times since 2015, most recently for 2026 by .