Online learning is quickly becoming a popular route for scholars of all levels studying in nearly any field. Many scholars in K-12 setting already have some type of online education integrated into their course of studies. From flipped classrooms to blended learning also hybrid teaching models, scholars are becoming accustomed to doing at least some of their learning online.

For scholars entering university, there are many all-online options which offer a variety of benefits to scholars, including an extremely wide selection of course offerings also great flexibility. Many scholars also think that getting their degree online will be most inexpensive option for them.

Other than, is this really a case? What is truth about cheap online colleges? Is there actually affordable online schools/college out there? This article aspires to shed some light on this idea. Hopefully you learn a bit about facts behind online schools purporting to have ‘low tuition' also market them as ‘cheap.'

Big Questions We Want To Answer:

To give you an idea of what to expect, here are some questions we're going to answer:

1) Where is tuition money being spent? Are you getting most educational bang for your buck?
2) What's employment situation like after graduating from an online school? What's up with salaries?
3) How do online school graduates compare to their brick also mortar counterparts in terms of salaries?
4) Are these schools actually affordable? What is deal with scholarships, financial aid tax incentives, etc.?
5) Where does Open Courseware fit into this? What about rest of MOOCs offering free courses? What should we expect out of MOOCs?

An Affordable Education:

What accurately is an "affordable" education? You probably laugh at mere thought of those two words being mentioned together. If you have ever paid tuition or sent a child off to college, last thing you would ever say is ‘boy this tuition is cheap! I wish I could pay more!'

Here is what we mean by an "affordable" education. In a nutshell, level of affordability varies from person to person. Some people think only free online education is affordable. Others can pay at least a couple thousand dollars a semester to secure their education. So, affordability is a flexible term but, in a nutshell, it means your ability to comfortably pay for education without it having an overly adverse effect on your life. In other words, should you need to take out massive scholar loans to enrol in a 4-year university, which will make following decade(s) quite difficult as you'll always have a payment hanging over your head? If that 4-year university comes out to a $150,000 total loan, you'll end up paying a whole lot more than that once you factor in interest also length of loan. So is 4 yr university actually affordable? Probably not. Can you technically go as long as you are willing to take on that huge amount of debt? Of course! That's been engine behind record applications also enrolments lately.

But it looks like a new alternative is finally maturing to point that it is viable. That is online learning also it could mean you don't have to take on decades of debt.

But is this newly evolved alternative worth smaller price tag?

It depends. It depends on a hardly any things. Let's walk through key things to know about affordable online schools also what you should know about them if you are looking to apply or at least grab some information about them.

Tuition:

School money if affordability is an issue in determining where you will pursue your education, then tuition should be first place you look. While many people think that getting your degree online will be cheaper, that may or may not be case. In many cases, a degree earned online will actually be more expensive than a degree earned from a brick also mortar school.

Many argue that if you get a degree from an online school, you will reap benefit of cost savings associated with a lack of capital costs like maintaining campus buildings also you would not pay for things like room also board or commuting costs. But let's put all of that aside for a minute also look at meat also potatoes of what you'll be paying in any degree program - tuition.

Cost vs Benefit:

An interesting point that has not really been raised much lately is that of cost versus benefit of online learning. Fundamentally, it costs you a lot less to attend most online colleges. Compared to costs associated with brick also mortar schools (housing, transportation, dorm living, ramen, etc.) there is a big reason to consider learning via web. Couple that with fact that job prospects are improving for both online also Offline School graduates also you get some intriguing questions.

In other words, are you shooting yourself in foot before you even start race to a successful career by going to brick also mortar schools? Of course not. For time being (also for quite awhile in future), only place to get best education is going to be at a brick also mortar school. Whether you are pursuing a specialty degree that involves hands-on science, technology, education also / or math (STEM) then you are likely better off at brick also mortars. Let's also remember social aspect. You need to get yourself out of your office or off couch also socializing in order to really grow as an adult. That's hard to do if you are pursuing a degree through an online college.

However, it is not possible to socialize though getting an online college. You simply require being resolute in your aspiration to grow as a person. That's biggest thing learned in all research done on this topic. Online colleges are great for motivated, busy as well as engaged individuals. If you are already at a full-time job also need a degree or some continuing education to advance then you is a prime candidate. If you think online learning is an excuse to not do work also to just spend more time playing video games, then you are not going to be well-served.

Online learning is great for motivated as well organized scholars. Brick also mortar learning is great for scholars in specialized programs or ones that need a bit more structure to their lives. Once you decide about your desired degree, start researching as much as possible. Talk to graduates in person or via Skype. Talk to your current employer about benefit you would get if you got a degree (online or offline) also what future may hold.