Difference Between Full-Time and Part-Time Students

Taking courses on a part-time basis is a tremendously popular choice among community college students, but is it the right option for you? Learn more about how this particular course of study varies from full-time courses and decide which path is more likely to help you earn your degree. Part-time study allows for extremely flexible scheduling and lets busy students earn a degree or certificate without compromising their professional or personal schedules. On the flip side though, it also takes longer for students to earn their degree and it may be harder to find financial aid.

Therefore, a full-time student spends more time in class during a semester than a part-time student. The difference between part- and full-time students is the number of credits they take during a semester. Full-time is generally a minimum of twelve credits or about four classes. Part-time is usually somewhere between six and eleven credits or two to three classes.

With part-time student status, there is more flexibility with your schedule. After all, it’s a lot easier to pick two classes that don’t overlap than to try and work in five. An open schedule allows you to work more while moving through your college career. It is also most possible to pay off tuition costs as you go when you study part-time because you have the time to work. This is most useful if you do not want to take out big loans or cannot get scholarships. Going to school part-time can also help you earn in-state residency and therefore in-state tuition, which can be useful if there is a significant difference, as you cannot become a resident of most states while going to school full-time.

The benefits of full-time include completing school faster. There are also many scholarships that require you to be a full-time student in order for you to utilize them. These scholarships can help nullify the cost difference, but of course, you have to apply for them and continue to earn them. It helps to balance out the overall cost is that after you reach the tuition cost cap, you are no longer paying per credit. In a way, this means you get the most bang for your buck; you just have to deal with a larger cost up-front.

Full-time students, however, are usually eligible for benefits, such as the right to live in off-campus or on-campus student housing, that part-time students are not. Students who are enrolled on a full-time basis are usually entitled to more financial aid and grant money then part-time students, and a student who drops down to part-time status during the courses, and post graduation degree of a semester may be required to repay funds from grants and loans that they received at the beginning of the semester.