When people consider the benefits of getting an online degree one of the first things they think about is convenience. It’s obviously much easier learning from your couch than it is from a stuffy classroom. But does it go beyond that? Is there cost-saving potential when looking at online degrees?
In this article, we will take an in-depth look at the difference in price between traditional and online degrees. Read to learn more about the financial aspect of this complicated choice.
Do Online Schools Save You Money?
Online-only universities are typically more affordable than their brick-and-mortar counterparts. Sometimes the savings can be very dramatic— up to 50% of a discount per credit hour. The discounts will always be so steep, but usually you will save some money.
Online students also can live from home which can result in enormous savings over time. While housing expenses vary from university to university, it is not at all uncommon for students to spend around $1500 per month on their shoebox-sized dorm room.
Can You Learn the Same Things Online?
In most cases, you can. From careers in data, to healthcare, to education, you can enroll in many of the same programs online that you would be able to do in person. Some degree paths—like nursing—will require you to go out in the world and acquire firsthand experience. Most of the time, however, you can complete an entire program from the comfort of your home.
Can Students of Online Universities Get Scholarships?
Online universities will offer scholarships the same way any other school will. If you are interested in pursuing a scholarship or grant opportunity, look for options offered by local charities and state organizations, as well as grants and scholarships that are specific to the school you would like to attend.
Chances are you will find no shortage of programs to apply for regardless of where you are going to school.
Are All Online Programs Cheaper?
No. Schools that offer only online options tend to provide affordable degree paths. However, if you were considering a school that also has a brick-and-mortar campus. You will almost certainly pay the same amount per credit hour as any other student of the school. Unfair? Try mentioning that to the Dean. They won’t be moved.
You will still save on the cost of room and board but your expenses will be about the same as a commuter student. What’s more, you won’t benefit from any of the same resources as the students.
Here’s the thing: brick-and-mortar universities aren’t being greedy—at least that isn’t their only motivation. They have ENORMOUS overhead. All of those buildings and resources cost a fortune to maintain. All students—remote or in-person—bear the financial burden of helping to keep the lights on.
Unfortunately, for online students, this can mean paying for things you don’t get to use.
Adjacent Consideration
There are also adjacent cost considerations to keep in mind. Most pressing? It is easier to work while pursuing an online degree. Not only will this allow you to stay focused on your career while in school, but it may reduce the amount of loans you will have to take.
The extent to which this will save you money will depend on how much you are working/how much you pay out of pocket for your degree, but it can make a big difference over time.
There are similar considerations to think about as well. Will you be able to save money on babysitters by taking classes from home? Save money on gas by skipping the commute? It may not sound like much but it adds up over time.
Are There Any Other Way to Look at It?
There are other considerations that are harder to quantify in terms of cost-to-benefit analysis. Traditional universities cost more but they also give you more. What is that worth to you? Everyone will answer that question differently.
Here’s an example of a situation where the resources of a traditional university may translate directly into cost-saving potential.
Let’s say you are a nursing student. You are excited about the potential of helping people as a career but you also don’t know how well you will stand up to the pressure.
You are currently enrolled at a brick-and-mortar university. A good one. They have excellent resources, including a very elaborate simulation lab. At the simulation lab students are able to experience the pressures of hospital work in a consequence-free environment.
During a simulation, you experience a panic attack. You immediately realize that while you are still interested in career and healthcare, you do not think you are interested in becoming a nurse.
That’s a clarifying, life-changing experience, right?
Let’s run the scenario different way. You are still a nursing student but now you are completing an online program. The online program naturally does not have a simulation lab. They do have a simulation phone application and it is interesting, but it does nothing to simulate the real pressures of a hospital room.
You do your clinical rotations, but they run smoothly. You do not encounter any life-or-death situations, and by the end of your education, you still feel excited about the challenges of your career in healthcare.
Then you start working at a hospital. Pressure gets to you immediately. You become one of the many nurses who quit within their first year on the job.
Now you have a degree, that is not exactly useless— there are lots of other ways to use a nursing degree— but you find yourself wanting to pivot careers dramatically.
But you can’t. Not without going back to school. Not without taking out tons of new loans.
Is this an unlikely situation? It’s hard to say. There aren’t really any statistics on how much money people save through simulation labs.
Here is what is safe to say: universities have lots of resources that cannot be replicated online. Some people get a lot out of those resources. Other people are happy to forgo them in favor of a more affordable education. You’ll have to decide which category you fall into.
There is another consideration to weigh: how well do you learn in a self-guided environment? People who tend to procrastinate or are prone to distraction may not do very well in an online environment. Because you will have a lot of autonomy, it is easy to put work off or skip a class. Furthermore, it is harder to get support from teachers in an online-only environment.
Those savings we mentioned earlier won’t amount to much if you have to take each class twice. Ultimately, there is a balance of considerations that you need to make when choosing your education. The cost is important, but you need to choose an environment in which you can thrive.
