Can you Get Financial Aid for Online College?

As a general rule online colleges are treated just like any other school when it comes to qualifying for financial aid. This means that all of the grants and student loans that are available for students at regular colleges are also available for online students. There are however a few things that you will want to keep in mind before you run out and apply for a student loan.

The first thing to think about is whether or not it actually makes sense to take out as student loan. We have all heard the stories of graduates with huge amounts of debt, more than they are likely to ever be able to pay off in most cases, this is something that you want to avoid. Fortunately one of the advantages of online college programs is that they offer a way to do this.

One of the main reasons that people choose online college is that it allows them to work full time while they are in school. This should make it possible to cover the cost of your tuition without requiring that you take out a student loan. Of course this assumes that you don't choose a very expensive online college.

A lot of people pay far more than they have to in order to get an online degree and this is one of the reasons that they often have to take student loans, or worse remortgage their house in order to pay for school. The reality is that there is simply no good reason to pay tens of thousands dollars a year for an online degree. It might well be worth it to pay that much for a degree from Harvard but not from the University of Phoenix. Online degrees just don't have a good enough reputation to justify that kind of price.

There are lots of reasonably priced online degrees available, the best values are from the state universities. These should allow you to get the degree that you need without running up huge amounts of debt.

One other thing to consider if you are planning to work full time while you take classes at an online college is that this may reduce the amount you qualify for when it comes to student loans. Most student loan programs are based on the idea that you will be a full time student and not working full time. Even if you carry a full time course load if you also have a full time job there will be loan programs that you ineligible for. This is another good reason to not rely on student loans to get an online degree.

In all honesty if you are going to rely on student loans and are not planning to work full time you would be better off attending a traditional college. Most students find it easier to learn this way and the degree will carry more respect.