Ways to Save With Online Colleges

by: Kimberly Diane

Let’s face it! As if college tuition isn’t pricey enough on its own, the miscellaneous expenses can send your college bill through the roof. From books to gas and parking, it is easy for these amounts to add up pretty quickly. Online colleges can help shave off some of these miscellaneous expenses and save you a big chunk of money.

Save on Books

Have you seen the price of textbooks? Get every book for every class and you may see the total cost for all of your books amount to as much as the tuition. And when you sell your book back at the end of the semester, you sometimes get just 2 or 3 dollars for a book for which you paid 150 dollars. But what can you do? You need those books to learn. Well, if you attend online classes, you may be able to download your reading material instead of paying for pricey textbooks. Some professors may even write their own teaching material and send it to you to download.

Save on Gas

While gas hasn’t been the skyrocket prices it was just a few months ago, not having to pay for gas to commute to a college campus can be a huge bonus, especially if you have to commute a far distance. Since you attend your classes online from home, the office, or wherever you feel most comfortable, online colleges save you the expense on gas.

Save on Parking Permits

Nowadays, parking permits seem to cost an arm and a leg and they don’t even guarantee you a spot. When I attended a state university campus, the parking permit cost over $400! With online colleges, you don’t have to worry about this parking expense. Just keep your car parked where you have it and log online to attend your class.

Save on Babysitting Expenses

If you are a single parent, more than likely, you may find it difficult to attend college classes on campus because babysitting expenses can get pretty expensive. The great thing with online colleges is that you don’t have to worry about finding a babysitter. Since you attend your classes online, you can still stay at home with your child and spare the babysitting expense.

Most Importantly, Online Colleges Save Your Time

I remember the days of attending a state university and having to get there one hour before just so that I can find a parking spot in the garage, for which, as I mentioned above, I paid over $400 per semester for a parking permit. I also had to commute to the campus during rush hour traffic. This added up to almost 2 hours of sitting in the car; time which could have been spent studying. With online colleges, you simply walk to your computer, whether it is at home, work, the library or coffee shop, and log online to attend your classes.

Savings with Online Colleges

As you can see, there are very many ways to shave off some of those miscellaneous expenses you run into when you attend a campus college. From books, to gas, to parking and babysitting expenses, it is easy for the savings to add up to a few thousand dollars over the course of a semester. And in this economy, who couldn’t use the savings! Start your search for online colleges now!