how much should an online college degree cost?

It varies greatly between different institutions. The one thing you should be looking at though, so you get the best for your buck, is the "cost per credit hour" compared to its reputation, and which falls into your budget line. You can compare reputations of institutions by going to the U.S. News College Rankings website and searching for your school. You'd be suprised to find schools like University of Phoenix, which are at the bottom of the list, and not considered a very good school, charging more than major universities such as UMASS or East Carolina University. Usually you will be able to find really good schools at a cost per credit hour of $150 - $250. Since each course is 3-credits, one class would range from $450 - $750. That is still on the cheap range. You can find EVEN better schools, such as Drexel University, George Washington University, Harvard University, Syracuse University... etc, that charge $800 - $1200 per credit hour, so each class at these and other more expensive colleges would roughly range between $2,400 - $3,600 per class. Now if you want to know how much it would cost to go to school for one year, understand that a fulltime student takes minimum 4 classes per semester, 2 classes is considered part time. And I know the math doesnt add up, but 30 credit hours, or 10 classes is supose to equal 1 year (the other two credits are assumed to be taken during winter or summer breaks). Since an associates = 2 years = 60 credit hours. A bachelors = 4 years = 120 credit hours, you can see the math.

So finally to answer your question "How much should an online college degree cost" - Well, without the cost of books or any other expenses, it should cost between $4,500 - $15,000 a year, depending on "Cost per credit hour". And to complete a bachelors, it should cost around (total) $18,000 - $60,000.

(The math was done with a cost-per-credit hour range of $150 - $500)

The cost of an online degree will vary with each school. It may be better to ask about the school you are considering. Any degree that costs next to nothing is a huge red flag. Also, a degree that costs well over what you are alloted for the Stafford loan is a red flag as well. Give us some more info and then we can help you with your decision.

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