Students and working adults who require financial aid to finance their educational pursuits may receive extra assistance in the form of scholarships and grants if they choose to enroll at online universities.
The University of Phoenix, a primarily online college, currently enrolls the most students who are receiving federal financial aid through the government’s Pell Grant program, the Clarion Ledger reports. Using these grants for online college is a great way to make it more affordable.
Pell Grant recipients are selected based on their expected family contribution, the cost of attendance at their institution of choice and whether the student is attending school full or part time, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s website.
As many adult learners are no longer dependents, they are unlikely to benefit from family contributions. Additionally, tuition costs at online colleges are typically lower than those at brick-and-mortar universities. As a result, professionals who choose to further their education through online degree programs may be likely to receive college grants.
The Ledger reports that 82 percent of first-year, full-time students enrolled in Virginia College – which provides several online education options – were Pell Grant recipients. Conversely, only 55 percent of students at campus-based Holmes Community College benefited from the program.
January 15, 2010
Pell Grants are supposed to get another infusion of cash from the Feds soon. Meanwhile there are good tax breaks online degree students can take advantage of, outlined in this article: http://www.aiuonline.edu/online-education/tax_credit.aspx
February 4, 2010
hello
July 17, 2010
How great is this. Not only do I get to achieve my degree at home, but also get help paying for it.
August 8, 2010
What a good article. This makes so much sense because usually online students are get a degree online because they have to work or take care of children. So, obviously they need the most financial aid.
August 8, 2010
Good idea. First online school, now financial aid.
August 8, 2010
Online school has to be the best, and now financial aid, what’s next.
November 4, 2010
Now that the new congress has been elected and all of President Obama’s supporters have been voted out, will it change the amount of financial aid students can get?
December 26, 2010
I am currentlty taking classes at online school and getting financial aid. I feel so lucky and I got the information here.
December 26, 2010
This is great news. Do I need to take a pre requisite class to learn how to work onlline?
December 26, 2010
Online school sounds really great. Do you need to be accepted?
January 15, 2011
This is such good news. I have been looking into many schools to enroll in an online course in medical coding and billing. All of them are so expensive that i had given up. Now if I can get some financial aid, it may again become a reality. Should I get the information from the school I am considering going to, or on my own?
January 15, 2011
I love the idea of going to school online. Do you need to be very disciplined to succeed at onlline school?
January 15, 2011
More financial aid for going to school online, that sounds too go to be true. Why are they offering more for online than oncampus?
February 27, 2011
Good to hear that I can get some help with paying for my online schooling!
March 6, 2011
This article has helped me decide to try to switch to online classes. I took one because I couldn’t get into the campus class I wanted and I really liked it. I had no idea that the same or even better financial aid was available. Has anyone else done this? Does anyone know if I will be able to transfer easily, or if this is going to be a huge hassle? Thanks
March 10, 2011
Hi Zoey, glad to hear you are interested in online classes. You can check out some testimonials from those who have tried an online education here. Transferring your credits can be a tricky process, try contacting one of your advisors to see what they can do to help.
March 16, 2011
Hi Elliot. In general acquiring any degree requires dedication and discipline. Online schooling requires discipline as you are in charge of completed the required reading, assignments, projects and so forth. You are ultimately responsible for your own success.
March 16, 2011
Hey Colby. I would first check with the schooling you are considering and then find some scholarships and grants on your own. Education Connection has a grants and scholarships page which can help you on your quest to finding financial aid.
March 28, 2011
Hi Rochelle. Whether a student is going to school online or on-campus there is a cap as to how much they may receive from federal financial aid. However, it seems that a majority of online students have been eligible for financial aid through grants and scholarships as mentioned by the Clarion Ledger.
April 14, 2011
Hi Jerry. Yes you will still need to be accepted in order to begin working on an online degree at an online school.
April 14, 2011
Hey Harry. This may depend on the school, however, Education Connection does have an online experience available for viewing so you can see what it would be like to take online courses.
February 1, 2012
Hi Brenda. There have been many changes to financial aid in the past couple of years, visit our financial aid section to get some of the latest up to date news on financial aid.