Most Affordable Online Colleges for 2024100 Online Schools with the Cheapest Tuition
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Carrie Sealey-Morris
Author
Managing Editor
B.A.
Carrie Sealey-Morris has covered bootcamps, careers, and higher education for College Consensus since 2017. Carrie is a graduate of the University of New Mexico where she earned a B.A. in American Studies.
Jeremy Alder has spent over a decade researching and writing about higher education to provided students with the information they need to achieve their goals. He has significant personal experience with career transitions, working as a freelance writer and editor, non-profit director, community organizer, preacher, teacher, retail manager, and carpenter prior to founding College Consensus. Homeschooled from the second grade, Jeremy is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin (B.A., Philosophy) and Duke University Divinity School (M.Div.). He currently lives in North Carolina with his wife, five kids, and a Labradoodle named Hank.
Cost is the most important deciding factor for most students pursuing an online degree. Thankfully, the continued growth in the number of online colleges and degree programs means there are now more affordable options than ever. To help students in their quest for an affordable online degree, College Consensus – the authority on college rankings – has put together a definitive ranking of the cheapest online colleges available.
Ranking the Most Affordable Online Colleges
The College Consensus method takes a lot of factors into consideration, but for the Most Affordable Online Colleges ranking we only consider one: cost. These are the accredited online schools with the lowest undergraduate tuition and fees for out-of-state students. To be considered for our ranking, colleges must be accredited and recognized by the National Center for Education Statistics while offering at least three bachelor’s degree programs that can be completed completely or primarily online. If you’re interested in a traditional campus-based degree, check our ranking of the Most Affordable Colleges & Universities.
Summary of the Top 10 Cheapest Online Colleges for 2024
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Are Online Colleges Cheaper than Traditional Colleges?
This is an excellent time for people seeking affordable online colleges and degree programs, but it’s important to realize that different colleges often cater to different needs when it comes to online programs.
For example, depending on where someone lives, they may want to choose one of the regional public colleges. Regional public colleges will usually have lower tuition costs for applicants who live in the region where the college is located.
On the other hand, an affordable private college will offer many of the same benefits as attending a private college offline. Those benefits can include a more hands-on approach, a religious or ideological grounding, or unique and unusual degree choices.
In addition, the online college landscape also contains numerous working-adult focused colleges. These institutions typically offer programs specifically designed to work with people who have jobs, kids, or other adult responsibilities.
Are Online Colleges Always Cheaper Than Traditional?
When it comes to online college vs traditional college cost, people often assume online colleges always cost less than traditional colleges. In truth, just as with traditional colleges, online college costs can vary widely. Each institution will have a different pricing method based on their own criteria.
Most colleges that offer online courses will have tuition calculators or average cost breakdowns. People are often surprised to find out some universities charge the same price for their courses whether online or off. Some places charge even more for their online programs than their equivalent on-campus ones.
The online college vs traditional college cost question has no clear answer. As with all things college-related, it depends. This should drive home why seeking affordable online college is so important.
The average cost online bachelor’s degree will vary as well from place to place and student to student. For those who want to figure out the average cost online bachelor’s degree or any other degree program for themselves, a net price calculator can help.
How Do Affordable Online Colleges Save Me Money?
When seeking an affordable online college, it’s important to look at the stated dollar amounts. Finding the cheapest online college per credit hour can help once someone has already narrowed their search to the places that interest them.
However, saving money with affordable online colleges involves a few other factors as well. Places that offer cheap online degrees fast aren’t necessarily the most affordable. As previously stated, applicants must consider the net price of attending. In addition, looking for places things like cheap online colleges without application fees can help as well.
Because students aren’t attending on campus, many places will offer a lower tuition. That’s not a given, but it’s worth searching for. Speedy courses also don’t require as many ongoing fees as a longer traditional course. Many factors affect the total cost of a degree, like:
Parking permits for commuters
Food (meal plans vs buying your own food)
Internet
Rent vs On-Campus Housing
Books and Supplies
Laptop/Desktop Computer
The cheapest online per credit hours can give you the numbers you need to calculate just how much you can save. People should always look at the numbers when they want cheap online degrees fast, because those accelerated programs can often come with savings they don’t expect.
How Do Online College Degree Programs Provide ROI?
People invest their money and time with the hopes their degree will pay off in the future, especially when so many students take out loans to pay for college. This is a return on investment college education, and it’s important for that investment to work. To that end, it’s a good idea to think of the best ROI degrees that can make that happen.
But, what online degrees have the best ROI? That all depends on where an applicant lives and which industries have the largest amount of growth. But we have a ranking of the best online colleges for ROI!
Figuring our college ROI by major is possible, especially if the major is one that allows an applicant to advance in their career field or get a fair start in a new career. The ability to move forward, earn more, and do more with a college degree is what makes the return on investment college education worthwhile.
