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Financial Aid for Online Courses

Online courses and traditional classroom teachings have many things in common. Both types of learning require hard work and commitment, and both result in a well-deserved degree. Those who doubt the effectiveness of online education need only to look at a recent study published by the U.S. Department of Education. The study found that students who participated in an online program often outperformed their classroom counterparts. This indicates that the quality of distance programs are indeed on par with traditional classroom teachings, and may even surpass the quality of classroom-based courses. With this in mind, it only makes sense that online education is seeing a surge in popularity.

Another driving factor in the rising popularity of online courses is the cost. Financial aid can be used to help students pay for their online education. Federal financial aid, also known as FAFSA, is available to students attending any regionally accredited school, which includes the majority of online programs out there.

Students enrolled in online courses can also qualify for a number of non-federal student loans, as well as scholarships and grants. In fact, most students who attend online colleges receive some kind of financial aid to help fund their education. For example, more than 75% of students at Capella University receive federal financial aid, student loans, and scholarships, according to the school’s website.

Even without financial aid, online programs are generally less expensive than campus programs. Though at first the price difference between online tuition and traditional campus-based tuition may seem minimal at best, the discrepancy becomes clear after taking into consideration the numerous additional fees associated with campus learning. While online learners only pay for the course, campus-based learners must often also pay undergraduate, housing, dining, and parking fees. For instance, the out-of-state tuition for an academic year at the University of Michigan is about $34,937, according to College Navigator.

Students must then also add on the cost of housing, which is an average additional cost of $8,924, as well as a meal plan, which is typically about another $2,000. Already, that pushes the cost of an academic year at the school to about $45,861. But that’s not all. All dormitories will need to be furnished and those who wish to attend out-of-state schools must also factor in the cost of relocating. In the end, attending a campus program could end up costing students more than $10,000 extra on top of the base tuition. Compare that to the base cost of online programs and it is easy to see why online education is considered more affordable, especially if a student can also take advantage of the various financial aid options available.