Best Online Colleges
Welcome to BestOnlineCollege.net, where you’ll find all you need to know about finding the best online college for you.
By studying through online college programs, you can do the following:
- Earn a degree without leaving the comfort of your own home.
- Increase your career prospects, salary potential, job responsibilities, and move into management in your current job.
- Save money on tuition, fees, travel expenses, room and board, and course materials.
- Continue working full-time or part-time while earning your degree.
- Start receiving instruction and training in a new career without having to leave your current position.
- Communicate with professors and students all over the world.
In case you question the idea that earning a degree will increase your salary potential, check this out: the average college graduate earns nearly $1 million more over the course of a lifetime than a high school graduate. Those who go a step further and earn master’s degrees pull in an additional $400,000 over a lifetime.
If you’re thinking about studying at online colleges and universities, join the crowd. Distance learning or distance education has become increasingly popular, and actually saw the number of students taking online courses double to 3.9 million from 2003 to 2007; this growth outpaced traditional universities by 12%.
Are you ready to learn more about finding the best online college for you? Read on.
What kinds of schools offer online courses?
According to a Vault.com survey published in 2005, 90.6% of public learning institutions offered online courses; 46.1% of public postsecondary schools offered full online degree programs. You can find online courses at the following types of learning institutions:
- Career, specialty, trade, and vocational schools
- Two-year, junior, and community colleges
- Four-year colleges and universities
While some schools operate entirely online, others offer a combination of on-campus and online options; make sure you read descriptions carefully to find the best online university for you.
Can I earn full degrees online?
Yes! Not only can you earn all types of degrees, including associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate, online, you can also earn specialized diplomas and certificates. Again, be sure to read program descriptions carefully.
I want to major in X…is there an online degree program for that?
Chances are, the answer is yes. Online courses and degrees are available in such a wide variety of disciplines these days, and the opportunities seem to grow every day. Some of the most popular categories of online courses and degrees include the following:
- Accounting, Business & Marketing
- Criminal Justice & the Law
- Education & Teaching
- Foreign Languages
- Hard Sciences
- Information Technology (IT) & Technology
- Nursing, Health, and Medical
- Personal Development
- Social Sciences
- Vocational & Career
What factors should I consider when choosing the best online college for me?
Some of the most important aspects to consider when choosing between online college programs include the following:
- Your personal and career goals and how the course or degree program will help you achieve them
- Whether you have the time and money to complete a course or degree program
- Tuition and any hidden fees associated with the course or program, including course materials
- Accreditation, especially if licensing requirements apply to your profession
- Faculty qualifications, experience, reputation, etc.
- Student/faculty interaction
- Past student evaluations and opinions
- What courses and programs are offered at other online and traditional colleges
What about online university rankings? Should I consider them?
Online university rankings can certainly help you pinpoint the best online college for you. While some rankings are more reliable than others, if you look at enough of them from a variety of sources, you will begin to see patterns emerge and get an idea of the overall reputation of a school.
Rankings are based on many different factors depending on who is calculating them, but some of the most common criteria include the following:
- Average GPA and standardized test scores
- Acceptance rate and student selectivity
- Retention rate
- Graduation rate
- Employment statistics
- Faculty resources
- Student-faculty ratios
- Financial aid sources
- Accreditation
- Alumni giving and endowments
Not all of these criteria may matter to you depending on your goals for taking online courses or enrolling in an online degree program, so it’s important to note the methodology used in rankings when comparing online college programs.
How do online college programs work?
As suggested in the name, online college programs function mainly online. Although you’ll encounter many of the same features as in traditional programs such as assigned readings, tests, and writing projects, the big difference is, of course, that you will be doing your learning and studying almost exclusively online. Online college degree programs use email, forums, discussions boards, and other online communications.
Note, though, that depending on the discipline, hands-on experience may be required in order to complete the course or degree; nursing, for example, often requires such clinical work, so be sure to read descriptions carefully.
Are you ready to find the best online college for you? Get to it!
