22 Dec 09 Choosing The Right Online College

Now that going to college online is a widely accepted practice, choosing the right online college is more important than ever.  Previously schools that weren’t accredited were fairly prevalent, there to take your money and deliver an education that won’t be recognized by any reputable employer.  You have to find the right school for you, and the one that will set you on the correct career path.  Remember, you’re looking for an online college to set you up for professional success, and only the best accredited options will do, to that end.

So, the first step is looking at the schools you are interested in, and checking their accreditation.  There are two types of college accreditation, regional accreditation and national.  Regional accreditation is the most important, as regional accredited schools are recognized by all employers, and their credits are transferable from school to school.  So if you find that you don’t like this school as much as you thought you would, from a regional accredited school you can transfer your course credits to a new school.

Now after you have a list of schools that interest you, with regional accreditation, you can move on to the next step.  Here you want to compare all the important factors.  Cost being a major one, think about how much the schools cost, because this student debt will take you some time to pay off.  Now you want to look at student population and student teacher ratio.  Schools with fewer students are usually more desirable, as are schools with a higher number of teachers compared to students.

Also make sure to look at the school’s graduation rate and how many credits are necessary to earn either an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree.  You want a school with a higher graduation rate, and with an acceptable amount of credits required.  The more credit’s a school requires, the longer it will take you to earn them, or the more money they will cost.  So take that into account when picking an online college.

Now you should have a fine tuned idea of which schools interest you the most.  From here you should get into contact with a school representative and discuss your interest.  Contact all the schools you’re interested in, and make sure you don’t make a decision until after you’ve voiced your questions and concerns to every school individually.

Tags: Accredited School, Accredited Schools, Bachelor, Career Path, College Accreditation, Earn Money, Education, Going To College, Graduation Rate, Important Factors, Options, Professional Success, Regional Accreditation, Set Path, Student Debt, Student Population, Student Teacher, Teacher Ratio, Weren