College prices have reached an unsustainable level for many people. Students who cannot receive support from their parents are now reaching for trade schools and other job preparation programs at unprecedentedly high levels.
College prices certainly have not shown any indication of going down anytime soon. Is getting a degree still practical? Online school offers an affordable alternative to traditional classroom learning environments. However, they also provide a different experience. Is it worth forgoing the traditional campus rights of passage to pursue an online degree?
While this is ultimately a subjective consideration, there are objective numbers to go along with it. In this article, we take a close look at the cost-to-benefit analysis of online versus in-person colleges.
The Cost of Going to School
Traditional classroom learning environments come with at least three different categories of expense:
- Housing- College students arrive on campus with only the clothes on their backs and whatever luggage they can fit into the trunk of their parent's car. Everything else is provided for them by the university. Convenient? Sure. For you. And for the university. Student housing comes with an enormous markup. Where else can you expect to pay upwards of $1000 a month for a room that is roughly the size of a closet? A closet you’ll be sharing with someone else we might add. Then there are the meal plans. The average college dorm meal can cost upwards of $10 per plate. A budget-minded shopper, on the other hand, can make themselves a pretty good meal for just a few dollars.
- Tuition- More straightforward. Universities generally charge for tuition by the credit hour. Even more budget-oriented state schools can cost tens of thousands of dollars in tuition fees, alone over the course of four years.
- Opportunity- College students are also removed from their community and their support system. This makes it harder to pursue extracurricular employment opportunities. Schools do have jobs available to students, but they are often funded through stipends, which means that the student may very well earn less than minimum wage for their efforts. They may also struggle to balance their professional, academic, and professional responsibilities— particularly in view of the fact that many college students do not have a car on campus. Students still living at home on the other hand have a much easier time working a job while they pursue their degree.
Boy that’s a lot to wrap your head around, isn’t it? So is getting a traditional degree an unmitigated disaster? Not quite. In the next section, we will take a look at why all of those expenses are worth it for some students.
The Case for Traditional Classroom Learning
Universities with physical locations may cost more but they also give you more. Big beautiful buildings. Libraries stuffed with books and academic journals. Labs. 3-D printers. Virtual reality headsets
None of these resources are available to online students.
Physical campuses are a great place to work. Meet friends who could very well last a lifetime. Have memorable experiences!
Many people consider college the best years of their lives. They probably would not feel that way if they had spent their time staring at a computer screen.
Finally, traditional colleges tend to have a higher degree of pedigree. This is admittedly changing. The entire world went remote in 2020 and now there isn’t much stigma surrounding online learning.
Still, a Harvard degree is going to be worth more than one that came from an online school. If you are entering a highly competitive profession, it may be worthwhile investing more in a degree that comes with some prestige.
Here’s a rule to keep in mind: most financial advisors recommend that you not borrow more than you can expect to make during your first five years of employment. This means that if you were going into a career with a high starting salary, you could afford to borrow more money to get a more valuable degree.
However, if you are entering a career with fixed salary expectations, it will not be worthwhile to take out a lot of money and student loans.
The Benefits of an Online Degree
Online degrees by contrast are significantly more affordable. Many cost half the price of tuition. Your housing expenses will be the same as they were before enrolled in school. Your employment outlook will also remain the same.
Online schools may not have the same pedigree as their brick-and-mortar counterpart but they give you more options.
The vast majority of college students go to school in their home state. Online learners, on the other hand, can choose from any institution they want. This includes colleges with traditional brick-and-mortar campuses— though those institutions will generally have higher tuition costs.
This gives remote learners a ton of freedom when it comes to looking for programs or even instructors that they find compelling.
Online programs also come in more flexible formats. Many consist of pre-recorded lectures that you can complete at your leisure, provided that you can meet predetermined deadlines regularly.
These affordable and flexible learning environments are a great way to get your degree while taking care of other responsibilities.
What’s more, these degrees are just as useful as the kind that you can get from a traditional campus. In most states, you can become a teacher, a nurse, or even a social worker through online programs. Online schools also have robust graduate programs to consider. Opportunities that allow you to expand your professional credentials while working in your career.
Granted, it is more important to thoroughly research your schools before you select them. Make sure that the online school you are considering is fully accredited. It’s also a good idea to make sure that the degree will be recognized in your state and that students who have completed these programs have had successful job placements. You can generally learn about the quality of a program by using online review sites like RateMyProfessor.
There are lots of great online schools out there. With a little bit of due diligence, you can find a program that suits your financial and lifestyle requirements.
