Many students assume that the cost of a graduate degree earned online will most definitely be lower than the final cost of earning a degree in the classroom. Unfortunately, this assumption can land you several thousand dollars of student debt simply because you failed to do price comparisons or estimates on how much the true cost of your degree would be. If you want to be best prepared to make the right choice when it comes to earning a graduate or business degree, you should assess the costs. Here is a breakdown of the average costs to earn an advanced degree while you study online.
Differentiating Between Private and Public Schools
When you want to earn a professional business degree or a graduate degree, you will need to differentiate between private schools and public schools and how the tuition rates can vary. You may have more opportunities for aid or for other types of financial assistance when you choose to attend a public school over a private school. Teachers and other staff can gift aid to students and the school is able to offer school-specific scholarship to students who have performed well and demonstrated their commitment to their students while they attend public schools. This reduces costs and makes the expense to earn an advanced degree more manageable.
Cost to Attend a Public Graduate School Online
According to the research done by GuidetoOnlineSchools.com, the total cost to attend a public school online for public graduate degree is $29,000. Since there is no special living expense to attend a school when you are taking a distance education program, the cost for board does not apply. Costs to enroll in and attend a private online graduate program in a not-for-profit setting averages in around $39,600. As you can see, in a period of just two years, you will pay an average of $5,000 more per year to attend a private school.
Comparing the Costs of Online and Traditional Programs
Now that you know the costs to attend school online, you should educate yourself on the cost to earn your degree traditionally. Surprisingly, earning your degree on-campus may cost you less. The average cost to earn a graduate degree at a public school is $21,900 per year and at a private school at $34,100. The costs are lower for tuition when you go on-campus, but the actual costs have still jumped 60% over the last 10 years.
How Can You Save When You Pay Higher Tuition?
Online tuition rates may be higher overall, but that does not mean there is not potential to save if you take a program online. When you study online, you can complete coursework and lessons at the best time for you. This means that you can still work full-time and attend school so that you can pay for it. You also do not have to relocate to attend a school if you live far away from all campuses.
You should always compare the cost of tuition when you are comparing grad schools. Costs should be a major concern if you cannot afford to pay for your education outright. Once you have researched the cost of a graduate degree from school to school, you can then start to become competitive for admissions.
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