Wednesday, October 3, 2007

How to Save Money on an Online Education

A college education is expensive. On the low end, it typically cost about $25,000 to receive a bachelor’s degree. All too often people sign up for online universities expecting the cost to be significantly lower than traditional universities. It doesn't take very long for them to see the error in their ways. Just because the classes are offered online does not mean that the tuition check is smaller.

People will disagree. They might tell you that it is possible to receive a bachelor’s degree for as little as $2000. They're right. It is possible to receive a bachelor’s degree for the one-time low-cost fee of $2000. Talk with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, however, and you find that the odds are pretty good that the bachelors degree you receive won't go very far in helping improve your future career prospects.

Colleges and universities that offer a degree in exchange for a one-time low payment are known as diploma mills and the degrees they offer are not legitimate. If you are considering enrolling such a college or university, look before you leap.

Although many students find that the cost of tuition is usually the same for online universities as it is for traditional universities, they save money is in other areas. With an online college, it is generally easier to manage the demands of classes around current jobs or careers. Many students find the cost of living in their old home, often with their parents, is cheaper then getting an apartment in a big-city or moving into a dorm room.

The same students also find that they save a significant amount of money by not having to provide transportation to and from classes. They are able to invest the time they would have spent on transportation into studying, which allows a lot of them to complete the course faster than a student that went to traditional university.

Students of online universities and colleges also claim that they save money on books and school supplies. Several online colleges do not require that students purchase books before they take classes. A student doesn't always need to purchase books in order to complete a class. When books are needed, however, it might be a good idea to consult the Internet before running to the college bookstore. You can often find used textbooks for cheap on sites such as eBay and Barnes & Noble's.

Because federal funding is often not available to students enrolled in an online college or university, students interested in them should look for colleges and universities that offer scholarships to their students. Apply for the scholarships early before they are all gone.

If a student does not feel that they need to consult with the professor often, it they might be able to save on tuition costs by attending an online college or university with a higher student-teacher ratio. Since these colleges have larger class sizes, they are able to lower some tuition fees.


http://www.zcareer.com/articles/savemoneyoe.html