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More students in Maryland might be opting for two-year community colleges as opposed to four-year universities than in the past, according to officials with local school systems.

Although officials still are compiling data on their high school seniors, career counselors in Montgomery County, the state's largest school system, say the cost of four-year schools is driving more parents to look at the community college option.

That seems to be confirmed by statistics being compiled by the

Maryland Association of Community Colleges.

Community college enrollment statewide is expected to see a significant increase next year, said Brad Phillips, research director for the association.

Community college enrollment rose by 9.3 percent last year. Typically, community college enrollment increases by 2 percent annually, Phillips said.

"It is more economical to start out at a two-year community college," said Sharon Boettinger, supervisor of counseling and student support services for the Frederick County school system.

Katherine L. Moore, career information coordinator at James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring, said by the end of the summer it will become apparent whether students do not get enough aid to attend four-year schools.

At Gaithersburg High School, the trend already leans heavily toward community colleges. Of the seniors who are going to college, 40 percent are planning to attend a four-year school, compared with 60 percent who are going to a community college, according to information provided by Geri L. Sliffman, the school's career coordinator.

As parents grapple with paying for college, they face a tuition increase at state schools for the first time in four years.

In-state students at the University of Maryland, College Park, will pay $4,026 per semester. But that still is a bargain compared to private schools, which can cost $40,000 or more per year.

By comparison, a Montgomery County resident who studies at Montgomery College will pay a little more than $1,600 for a 15-credit course load in the fall.

Many parents and students opt for community college because it has many of the same athletic programs and extracurricular activities as four-year universities, Boettinger said.

The Frederick County school system still is compiling information on the Class of 2010's college plans. In 2009, however, 49 percent of its high school graduates attended a four-year college or university, and 18 percent went to a community college, according to the state Department of Education.

Much like the Frederick system, Montgomery County school officials still are gathering information on graduates' future schooling.

Of the school system's 8,711 graduates in 2009, 61 percent told county officials they would attend a four-year college or university, according to the state Department of Education. Some 16 percent said they would attend a two-year community college, the data show.

In Baltimore County — the state's third-largest school system with more than 103,000 students — officials so far have not seen more high school seniors opting for community college in the fall.

"Everybody who's committed to a four-year institution will be going to a four-year institution," said Charles Herndon, a spokesman for the Baltimore County school system.

Of the county's 5,723 graduates in the Class of 2009, 48 percent said they planned to attend a four-year college or university, according to state information. Some 14 percent of Baltimore County students — or 783 students — said they planned to attend a two-year community college.

Baltimore County school officials, however, are finding that more students will stay closer to home and attend four-year schools in the state.