TOP 10 COLLEGES AND STUDENT FINANCIAL AID

2008 Online College Rankings Spotlight Availability of Financial Aid

The Online Education Database recently released its second annual Online College Rankings list, highlighting the top 41 undergraduate online degree programs in the country.
Enrollment in online education programs has grown considerably over the past five years. In 2006 alone, enrollment rose by 10 percent, with nearly 3.5 million students — almost 20 percent of all U.S. higher education students — enrolled in at least one online course, according to The Sloan Consortium.
This upsurge in online enrollments may be at least partly explained by the flexibility online degree programs offer. With their right-at-your-desktop virtual classrooms and classes that can be taken around the clock, online programs are able to accommodate the schedules of non-traditional students who might otherwise be unable to attend a college or university. From stay-at-home parents who can’t make the commute to full-time professionals who can’t attend classes on a typical college schedule, these non-traditional students, in growing numbers, have been able to capitalize on the flexibility of online degree programs, as well as on the availability of financial aid and student loans.
Top 10 Online Schools of 2008
In its rankings, the OEDb measured online programs in eight areas, including acceptance rate, student-faculty ratio, and availability of financial aid. In the financial aid category, the OEDb rated schools on the percentage of their students who are awarded financial aid.
The OEDb’s top 10 online schools of 2008, along with the percentage of their students who receive financial aid, are:
Upper Iowa University (100%)
LeTourneau University (99%)
Liberty University (99%)
Nova Southeastern University (94%)
California University of Pennsylvania (83%)
Grand Canyon University (90%)
Regent University (84%)
Champlain College (75%)
Westwood College (100%)
Tiffin University (96%)
Financing Your Online Education
As a student in an accredited online degree program, you generally have the same college loans and financial aid options available to you as brick-and-mortar students. Depending on your financial aid situation, you could qualify to receive need-based federal financial aid, such as Pell Grants, Perkins student loans, and subsidized Stafford student loans. You may also be able to obtain additional funds from non–need-based private student loans and Federal PLUS Loans, Grad PLUS Loans, and unsubsidized Stafford student loans to help pay for your online education.
3 Types of Financial Aid
Like brick-and-mortar college students, as an online degree student, you may have three basic types of financial aid available to you:
1) Federal Financial Aid
Federal financial aid may be either need-based or non–need-based. You’ll need to submit a FAFSA each year to qualify for most types of federal aid. Federal financial aid can come in the form of grants, which never have to be repaid; work-study awards, which you’ll have to earn throughout the semester, but which also won’t have to be repaid; and low-interest parent and student loans.
2) Institutional Financial Aid
Your school may award scholarships, grants, or student loans out of its own endowment. These institutional awards may be merit-based, need-based, or both. For its need-based awards, your school may require its own financial application in addition to or in lieu of the FAFSA. Make sure you check with your financial aid office.
3) Private Student Loans
If the education-related costs of your online degree program exceed your available federal and institutional financial aid, you may be able to get the additional funds you need with NextStudent’s Private Student Loans. Our Private Student Loans have no application deadlines, so you can apply at any point throughout the year, to fit your online class and tuition schedule — even if you missed the deadline to apply for federal financial aid.
In general, though, federal college loans offer more attractive terms than private student loans, so you should always look into your federal financing options first.
Once you graduate, you may even be able to consolidate your private student loans with a NextStudent Private Student Loan Consolidation.