Are Online Colleges Cheaper than Campus Colleges?

I’m a big numbers person, and I was raised in a family of cheapskates. As a result of that, I am always on the prowl for ways to save money in college. I have attended a traditional college campus for the longest time, but I recently did some research into online colleges to potentially save money. I was pleasantly surprised by the results I found.

It turns out that online colleges are in fact cheaper to attend than traditional colleges. The main reason for that is because they don’t involve the overhead of maintaining a college campus. In a traditional setup, you have to pay fees so the school can pay for utilities, lawn care, insurance, and a whole bunch of employees to work with you. Online, you don’t have to cover any of that.

From what I’ve seen, school supplies are also cheaper with online classes. Most of the information for the courses is available through the classes themselves, and students can rent textbooks to use for the semester. Of course, there is the cost of the computer and internet connection, but you would have to have that for any college you go to.

Does this mean I recommend distance learning for everyone? Not in the slightest. You shouldn’t choose a school to go to just because it’s cheaper. You can usually find scholarships to help you cover the cost of tuition and materials no matter what. With that in mind, this fact should encourage you to at least look at some of the best online colleges to see if they have a degree you could benefit from. If you happen to find a great solution for your future, at least now you know you won’t have to spend a lot of money getting through it.

How to Make Friends at Online schools

I don’t know about you, but I have always made friends through school. I may have met one or two of my friends through a club or random encounter, but the bulk of my social circle spawns from my past life as a college student. Making friends on a college campus is really easy, but you may run into a challenge if you decide to go to school online. Lucky for you, I have the solution for this little dilemma…Email.

Yes people, they can be used for more than spam and Facebook updates. Every time you enroll in a class online, you will get a list of emails for other students in the class. This may not be something that they shove on the bulletin boards, but it will be somewhere in your classroom portal. You can use this list to reach out to other students and potentially make friends while going to school online.

The best online colleges will actually have chat systems built into their classrooms, so you can actually instant message other people in your class if you want to. it may seem awkward to talk to strangers online, but it is no more awkward than talking to people in a bar. Just share your personality and see who picks up on it.

Will you find your best friend in an online college? I don’t know. What I do know is that you will never find out until you try 😉 Now go on with your bad self. You got friends waiting for you!