Orlando, FL – Valencia College has a gift for graduates of the class of 2014 from Orange and Osceola counties: Apply now and you can receive free tuition for one class this fall.
Students must apply to Valencia and register for the class by July 3 to qualify.
The college is extending the offer to students who graduated with a standard diploma from public high schools in Orange and Osceola counties.
Valencia will waive the cost of the three-credit course, which is valued at $309. Students will still be responsible for the cost of lab fees, textbooks or other educational materials.
If students successfully complete the class, they will earn three credits that can be applied toward an associate degree or bachelor’s degree.
Further details about the free class offer can be found at http://net1.valenciacollege.edu/future-students/freshman-freebie/
Valencia College officials are offering the free course to encourage more local students to attend college. Although earning a college degree remains one of the surest paths to the middle class, only about half of those who graduated from Orange County high schools in 2012 enrolled in a public college, university or post-secondary program that fall. In Osceola County, only 43 percent of the 2012 graduates enrolled in a public college or university program following graduation (source: Florida Dept. of Education).
And research shows that if students don’t attend college immediately following high-school graduation, they are not likely to enroll in college later.