I am not going to tell you whether this school is right for your child. That depends on what he wants to study, how far from home he is willing to live, and what your family can afford. What I can give you is something very valuable: a precise understanding of what kind of institution it is, so that you can compare it based on sound judgment rather than assumptions.
What Kind of School It Is and Where It Stands
Montgomery County Community College is a public two-year institution. In the language of federal reports, that means its programs last between two and four years, and the highest credential it currently offers is an associate degree. The Carnegie academic classification describes it as a mixed transfer and career and technical school, large within its category, where most students attend part time. This does not measure whether it is good or bad. It measures what type of school it resembles, so you know which institutions to compare it with.
Be careful if you are looking at old lists: the category Carnegie assigned to it has changed since 2015, so if you come across a guide from that time, you will see it described differently.
The campus is in Blue Bell, within Montgomery County, in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metropolitan area. Its census code places it in a suburb: within the urbanized area, but outside the principal city. If your child plans to live at home and commute every day, do yourself a favor: drive that route on a weekday at the exact time of his classes. The time shown on the map is almost never the actual travel time.
One note worth clarifying right away: this institution does not appear with any of the three special designations in this federal record—it is not a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. That says nothing about which communities it serves or how your child will feel there. You find that out by visiting, talking with current students, and looking for organizations and cultural centers.
A Community of Nearly 9,000, Mostly Local
In the most recent official count, Montgomery County Community College had 8,895 enrolled students, all undergraduates. It is neither a small school nor one of the giants: it falls within the range of 5,000 to 9,999 students, and compared with 587 similar public two-year schools, it is on the larger side of that group.
Here is something that is important to understand before picturing a campus that is crowded all the time: most of these students attend part time. If you convert that enrollment to a full-time equivalent, the institutional figure falls to 4,615. That means the enrollment figure does not tell you how many people are in a classroom at 10 on a Tuesday morning. Before assuming a schedule, ask directly when the courses in your child’s intended program are offered.
As for who makes up this community: 11 out of every 100 undergraduate students are Hispanic or Latino, a small minority, and compared with similar schools, the institution is below the midpoint of the group. If your family is Latino, this does not rule out the school, but it does tell you that during your visit you should ask what is available for Latino students: a student group, a cultural center, or someone in the office who speaks Spanish.
There are more women than men—59 out of every 100—and a good mix of ages: 28 out of every 100 are between 25 and 64 years old. And almost all are from Pennsylvania: 99 out of every 100 entering students reported a permanent address in the same state when they applied. If your address is in another state, this does not tell you which tuition rate would apply to you; ask directly, because tuition classification and this residency figure are two different things.
How the Academic Year Works
The calendar is semester-based: two long terms of about 15 weeks. The school reported that it accepts credit from AP exams and also what IPEDS calls credit for life experience—independent study, adult courses, work experience, portfolios, prior licenses, and military training. It also enrolls high school students in college courses for credit through a formal dual-enrollment program.
Here is the hard truth I do not want you to miss: the school’s statement that it accepts AP does not mean it automatically awards credit for every exam. We do not know what score it requires or whether those credits will count toward your child’s specific program. Request the transfer-credit evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not budget for the savings until you have confirmation on paper.
One fact puts the institution’s level into perspective: in the most recent degree report, this school awarded no bachelor’s degrees. That is normal for a two-year college—of the 587 similar public schools in this census, 586 are in the same situation—but if your child’s ultimate plan is a bachelor’s degree, this fact is your reminder that only the first stage of that path can be completed here. Starting now, verify in writing which transfer agreements the school has and which courses would later be accepted.
The ratio of students to instructional staff is 18 to 1, a middle-range figure, neither among the lowest nor among the highest at similar schools. This number does not tell you the actual size of a classroom; it only describes a general institutional ratio.
Reported Academic Opportunities
The institution reports offering study abroad, undergraduate research alongside regular classes, a complete program that can be taken only at night or on weekends, and noncredit developmental education for anyone who needs to strengthen foundational skills before taking regular courses. Their reported status confirms that they exist as stated options; the details of each one—capacity, requirements, and schedule—must be confirmed directly with the school.
Open Admission: What It Means and What It Does Not
Here we come to one of the central points about this school. Montgomery County Community College reports an open-admission policy for all or most of its first-time undergraduate students. The application fee is $0.
This sounds like a relief, and in part it is: there is no admissions competition to overcome as there is at a selective university. For that very reason, there is no “acceptance rate” to analyze here, no enrollment rate after admission, and no reported policy on the use of the SAT or ACT. It is not that the school carelessly left those data blank: under open admission, the federal system simply does not request them.
But—and this is important—open admission to the institution is not the same as guaranteed entry into every program. If the program that interests your child has its own requirements, limited capacity, or a separate admissions process, confirm that directly with the program, not through the school’s general policy.
Regarding transfers: in the most recent fall term, 692 students came to this school after attending another institution. That is a high number compared with similar schools. What we cannot tell from this information is how many credits were accepted when they arrived; that must be determined case by case. As for those who leave this school for another four-year institution, the available official departure figure is different: 19 out of every 100 students in the full-time, full-cohort group left within 150% of the normally expected time.
Cost: What Is Published and What Is Actually Paid
At Montgomery County Community College, among 117 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid, paid the in-state or in-district rate, and whose EFC records listed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $7,468. Among 73 students in the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $10,740; among 48 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $14,453. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income and their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (117 students) and the average for the highest-income band (48 students) is $6,985. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $9,436.
The advertised price is not the same as the amount paid. Here, for students with low income, the average net price was $7,468 in the 2022-23 academic year.
The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at this public institution, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average for students with grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships; it also uses that rate. If your family lives outside the state or district, the calculation is different. Ask about it before applying.
Aid and Loans: Here, You Have to Go Looking for Grant Aid
Out of every 100 degree- or certificate-seeking students, 45 received some form of grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid. That leaves 55 without that type of aid. Compared with similar schools, this share is in the lowest quartile of the group. Among those who did receive grant or scholarship aid, the annual average was $4,460. Federal Pell aid, reserved for families with demonstrated financial need, reached 34 out of every 100 students.
This does not tell you what your child will be offered. It tells you that at this school, more than at others, you have to actively seek out aid rather than wait for it to arrive on its own.
And now the figure I most want you to understand clearly, because it directly affects the family budget: in the most recently reported school year, 46 out of every 100 undergraduate students at this school received a federal student loan. It is among the highest shares at comparable public two-year schools—at least nine out of ten schools in that group had an equal or lower share.
Among those who borrowed, each received an average of $6,789 that year. If your child borrowed a similar amount each year during the two years the program lasts, the total would be around $13,578, not including interest. That number is decided before the first signature, not afterward.
A clarification that protects your budget: this average covers only federal loans taken out in the student’s name during one year. It does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, debt owed to banks, or credit cards. And it is not the total debt with which someone graduates; that would require adding all years together, and that number is not in this report. The institution also reports offering an installment tuition payment plan, in case you prefer to spread out the cost instead of paying it in a single payment.
The percentage above describes other families, not yours. The amount your child would have to borrow comes from his own financial aid award letter. Wait for that letter before ruling out the school and before committing to it.
Campus Life, Course Format, and Support Services
This school does not offer its own housing—neither dormitories nor apartments under its control—or reported meal plans. That does not mean the official financial aid budget ignores the cost of living off campus: that budget does exist, and you should request it directly if your child needs that estimate.
No ROTC opportunity was reported in any branch. Among the two-year schools in this guide, only 45 out of 843 marked that they offered it, and this school was not among them. If your child’s plan includes ROTC or that particular scholarship, ask the admissions office directly before ruling out the option completely; this field shows what was reported, not everything that may exist.
The school does compete in intercollegiate athletics and is affiliated with the NJCAA and another association. This does not indicate which specific sports it offers or the transfer pathways for its athletes; if athletics matter to your family, ask the athletic program for the current list.
Regarding course format: 35 out of every 100 undergraduate students were taking all their classes at a distance in the most recent count; the other 65 were taking at least one class in person. That is a high number, but it covers the entire undergraduate population, not a particular program. One program may be almost entirely online while the program next to it may be almost entirely on campus.
The library has paid staff and annual spending of $100,000 or more, has physical and digital materials, and participates in interlibrary lending. That spending threshold is what the government asks about, not a measure of how good the collection is. What really matters is asking about the hours: if your child studies and works at the same time, whether the library is open at night or on weekends matters more than any budget figure.
Reported support services include combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services upon program completion, on-campus child care for students’ children, participation in the Yellow Ribbon program for veterans, a dedicated point of contact for veterans and service members, a veterans student organization, and a published web page for disability services.
Persistence and Graduation: This School’s Most Difficult Truth
Here we come to the numbers that most need context, because they define whether the plan works over the long term.
Of the first-time, full-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, 66 out of every 100 met the official retention criterion: they were still enrolled there or had already completed their program one year later. Among those who entered part time during that same period, the figure falls to 49 out of every 100. Compared with similar schools, full-time retention is just above the midpoint of the group.
Not returning is not the same as dropping out. This figure does not distinguish between someone who transferred to another school and someone who stopped studying. If transferring was your child’s plan from the beginning, that is precisely the outcome this number cannot show you on its own.
And here is the figure I want to give you directly, without dressing it up: of the cohort that entered in 2020 for the first time and on a full-time basis, 23 out of every 100 completed a program at this institution within the expected time plus an additional half of that time. It is a historical figure for a specific group, not a prediction about your child. It does not include students who transferred in or those who started part time.
Expanding the window to eight years: of a cohort of 4,122 students who entered between 2015 and 2016, only 25 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school by August 2023. Among Pell grant recipients, the figure was 23 out of every 100, three points below the rest. Compared with similar schools, it is below the midpoint of the group.
I will say it without wrapping it in easy optimism: most of that cohort had not completed a degree there after eight years. That does not tell you why—they may have transferred, finished at another school, or paused their studies because of life circumstances—but it does tell you that the path toward a completed credential at this type of community college takes time and does not always end where it began. Before your child enrolls, request in writing how long the program that interests him normally takes to complete, how required courses are scheduled, and how the total cost changes if completion takes longer than expected.
What These Numbers Mean for Your Plan
You now have a clear picture of what Montgomery County Community College is: a public two-year school with open admission and tuition that varies substantially based on your residency, where the actual net price may be much lower than the published price, but where loans are also common and completing a degree takes longer than many people imagine when they enroll.
None of this tells you whether it is right for your child. That depends on what he wants to study, whether his plan is to transfer later to a four-year university or leave with a two-year degree, how far from home he is willing to live, and what your family can and is willing to pay. This article gave you one solid part of the map. The other two—what your child wants and what your family can afford—are things only you know. Put them together, and that is where a real plan comes from.
Note on sources: the information in this article comes from data reported by the institution to the U.S. Department of Education’s IPEDS system, corresponding primarily to the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, as indicated in each section. Best College Aid does not represent Montgomery County Community College or any government agency; this article organizes and explains publicly available information to help families understand it.