If you’re considering earning an online psychology degree, you probably have questions about how much it will cost you. Everyone’s talking about rising college expenses and student loan debt, and there’s no denying that college is more expensive than ever. That doesn’t mean you need to let finances stand in the way of earning your bachelor’s degree, especially because online classes provide high-quality education at a lower cost than traditional options.
Fees
Traditional universities might advertise low tuition rates, but don’t be fooled. These schools charge fees for almost everything. Mandatory fees can include funds for student activities, sports, technology, labs, library use, printing assignments, construction, and more. In the past five years, public universities alone have charged hundreds of millions of dollars in student fees. Online universities offer a no-frills approach; you won’t be able to hang out in the quad listening to music and watching the football team practice, but you also won’t to have to pay extra for those activities. Instead, your online school will charge for classes and nothing else.
Daycare
If you have children, you’re already familiar with the high cost of childcare, but have you thought about how attending classes might affect your daycare budget? If you attend evening or weekend classes, you’ll be stuck paying premium after-hour rates at your child’s daycare. With childcare rates eclipsing college costs , you might even end up with a daycare bill that outweighs your tuition statement. With online classes, you don’t have to worry about paying someone else to watch your kids. Many parents earning their degree love online classes for one reason: You can come home from work, spend time with your family, put the kids to bed, then log into your school’s website. You don’t have to pay extra money or sacrifice time with your kids. As your online psychology classes will tell you, spending time with your children is vital for their well-being.
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Commuting
One of the worst parts of traditional college attendance is dealing with parking. Driving to campus means spending hundreds of dollars on parking passes, tickets, and fines. Plus, you’ll spend hundreds of hours over your college career looking for a parking spot and walking to classes. Online classes let you avoid the stress of college parking and commuting. Instead of leaving work, picking up fast food that you eat in your car, driving 30 minutes to campus, arriving late to class because you can’t find a spot to park, then getting a ticket because you ended up in a handicapped spot, just drive home. When you study psychology at an online school, you don’t have to spend time or money dealing with a college commute.
Conclusion
When considering the cost of a potential college, make sure you’re looking at a complete picture. In addition to tuition, consider how much you’ll pay in fees, extra daycare charges, and commuting costs, not to mention the value of your time. Once you factor in these hidden costs, you might be surprised by how much cheaper an online psychology degree is when compared to a traditional program.
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