In previous years, receiving a higher education required traditional classroom attendance and hours of homework and studying instead of attending online university colleges. This made it nearly impossible for adults with full-time jobs, families, disabilities, etc. to attain a college degree. In recent years, the innovation of the computer and internet has made the dream of attaining a college degree a reality for many people. Online school programs for college have enabled people, who otherwise would be able to, earn their bachelor’s degree and/or master’s degree.
Whenever something sounds too good to be true in today’s world, you would have the propensity to question it. It is significant for you to be vigilant when choosing among the many online school programs for college that are on the internet. After all, education is a major commitment due to the time and money you would be investing. The first worst that could happen to you is that you spend thousands of dollars and thousands of hours investing in an invaluable education. The second worst thing that could happen to you is your bank accounts are hacked and/or your identity is stolen due to you becoming a victim of a swindle.
The most significant factor to choosing among the many online university colleges to achieve your online degree bachelor or an online degree masters is to determine if your prospective online university colleges are accredited. This is the biggest issue when selecting from among the many online university colleges because many of them are not accredited. The famous Full Sail University is an example of a non-accredited online university college. Many online programs that offer a deal that is too good to be true such as completion in a unrealistically short amount of time or are affiliated with a religious denomination are often unaccredited. If you complete a program that turns out to be non-accredited, that will greatly decrease your job prospects after graduation, which will be a waste of your precious time and money because your degree will not be worth any more than a piece of paper with fine writing on it. To prevent this misfortune from happening to prospective online students such as yourself, We’ve listed the top 10 best online university colleges in 2016.
The Top 10 Accredited Online University Colleges
10. Bellevue University- This nonprofit online university college is ranked at the top of the list because of its wide variety of online degree bachelor programs. Bellevue University has a total of 47 online degree bachelor programs. They offer programs in areas such as business, criminal justice, psychology, communication studies, etc. The tuition is very affordable at $6,450 dollars, which is comparable to the price of one year at a community college. It offers technical support and library resources 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It states on its website that it genuinely cares about the needs of a busy working adult.
9. Ball State University- This online university college is ranked the second best on the list due to its 70 highly-quality online degree programs in nursing, business administration, early childhood education, and general studies. However, the number of online bachelor degree programs are limited to only four. Award-winning faculty teaches the programs. US News ranked it on the Best-Of list six years in a row. The tuition is an affordable $9,344 dollars. This is an online university college that gives you a high-quality education at an affordable cost.
8. Colorado State University-Global Campus– This public online university is ranked third best on the list due to the great progress in online education that it has made in recent years due to being granted a large amount of money to invest in 13 online bachelor degree programs and many online degree masters programs. Accounting, applied social sciences, business management, communication, information technology, marketing, etc. are among the few of their many high-quality online programs. This online university college also offers a high-quality education at an affordable rate of $8,440 dollars. Colorado State University-Global Campus also offers a streamlined enrollment process and financing options.
7. Drexel University- Drexel University is a private research university that is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It ranked fourth best on the list due to being one of the top ten universities in the country. It is more expensive than the other online university colleges at a tuition rate of $47,051 dollars. However, you would definitely be getting what you pay for because Drexel University assures that their online curriculum is equivalent to the curriculum on their on-campus classes; therefore, you would be receiving the same quality Drexel education in the comfort of your home, local library, café, beach, etc. They offer 10 online bachelor’s degree programs along with many other online degree masters programs and certificate programs.
Related: 10 Ways to Choose the Best Online University and Colleges
6. University of Massachusetts – UMass is ranked fifth best on the list because it offers a variety of programs from different campuses such as Dartmouth, Boston, Amherst, and Lowell that are in a main hub. They offer many of their online programs through their leading campus. They offer 29 bachelor’s degree programs in areas such as human services, global affairs, finance, economics, etc. at a tuition of $13,443 dollars.
5. University of Illinois – This University is ranked sixth best on the list because it renders online programs from the best three schools at the University of Illinois. It offers programs in the areas such as philosophy, mathematics, computer science, history, etc. It offers 13 bachelor’s degree programs. The tuition rate is a $11,367 dollars. If you are not interested in a degree, but wish to expand your knowledge, University of Illinois offers free online courses through Coursera.com.
4. Oregon State University – This university is ranked seventh best on the list because it is among the top national universities. It is also in U.S. News and World Report’s top five schools offering online bachelor’s degree programs. It offers a 20 online bachelor’s degree programs and is adding additional programs every year. The unique areas of the programs that are offered are agricultural sciences, German, horticulture, family sciences, etc. All students, even international students, pay the in-state tuition of $9,122 dollars.
3. Arizona State University – This university is ranked eighth best on the list because it is a growing online university college that offers a variety of unique programs such as engineering management, global health, and film at an affordable tuition of $10,157 dollars. It offers 49 online bachelor’s degree programs. It has top-tier faculty and is ranked among the best in the nation.
2. University of Florida- This university is ranked ninth best on the list because it is among the top 50 schools in the country. The online tuition of $6,313 dollars, Which is cheaper than their on-campus tuition. It has some of the highest-quality programs such as health education, geology, sociology, geography, etc. It has 17 online bachelor’s degree programs. Along with affordable tuition, it has many financial aid for college students.
1. Pennsylvania State University -This university is ranked the tenth best on the list because it has been offering distance education since the 19th century. It was the first state university to offer an online degree program; therefore, this university is an expert in online education. It offers 21 bachelor’s degree programs. The tuition is reasonable at $13,516 dollars. Some of the program areas it has are turf grass science, agribusiness management, and international politics.
Financial Aid for College Students
One of the concerns that a traditional college student and an online college student shares is financial aid. Most likely, you do not have $6,000-$47,000 dollars in cash at your disposal; therefore, you need to turn to financial aid such as online college scholarships. The good news for you is that there are many online college scholarships. These online scholarships for college students and college scholarship information can be found on various websites across the web.
Websites for Online Scholarships for College Students and College Scholarship Information
The government and private organizations are cognizant of the fact that the majority of college students, including online college students, need assistance paying for college. A website that lists scholarships specifically for online students is Nonprofit Colleges Online. Another website that lists a list of general scholarships is Scholarships.com. Chegg.com is a great site for scholarships for a variety of people for a variety of reasons. The U.S. Department of Education’s website has a list of general financial aid information.
Your Virtual Path to Success
There is no reason for you to be ashamed of pursuing an online degree. It still requires the same investment time and dedication. With that being said, do not be fooled into thinking it is an easier way to attain a degree. However, the benefits of it are having your classwork and homework combined, doing your schooling around your own busy schedule, and saving money depending on the online university college you choose. As long as you do thorough research and select a reputable, accredited university among the many online school programs for college, you will be on the virtual path to success.
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