Online school has increased in popularity throughout the years. Students have the ability to learn from wherever is most convenient for them. All types of students attend online colleges including both undergraduate and graduate students. Online college will play an important role moving forward – especially with the uncertainty brought on by COVID-19.
Table of Contents
- Best Online Colleges & Universities Rankings
- Most Affordable Online Colleges & Universities
- Best Academic Online Colleges & Universities
- Why Online College?
- FAQS
The value of a college degree cannot be understated. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, students who earn a bachelors degree will earn, on average, $23,972 more than a student who only has a high school diploma. As well as making more money per year, students with a bachelors degree have a lower unemployment rate versus students who only have a high school diploma.
There are hundreds of online programs available to students who are thinking about attending online college. It is important for students to research prospective schools and programs. The following guide provides a list of the best online colleges and universities in the United States.
All schools on the list are either public 4-year universities or private 4-year, not-for-profit colleges. There were many different criteria and ranking factors used to make this list. Our team took academic factors, affordability factors, and online learning factors into account. Some specific criteria our team looked at included graduation rates, retention rates, degrees offered, and numerous online factors.
Best Online Colleges and Universities (Top 100)
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The Top Online Schools
The above table is our complete rankings for online colleges and universities in the United States. In order to provide more accurate and complete rankings, we only included schools that offered more than 8 undergraduate degrees and more than 2 masters degrees. All schools on this list are either 4-year public universities or 4-year, not-for-profit colleges. We collected data from the National Center for Education and weighted different factors based on what we considered most important.
Our best online colleges and universities list should be used as a resource for students considering online learning. It is important for students to conduct their own research to find the best fit for them personally. What may be the best option for one student may not be the best option for another student. Use our list as a guide to help narrow down your own personal search for online schools. Read below for more information on the top 10 online colleges and universities from our findings.
University of Florida
The University of Florida is number one on our list of best online colleges. The University of Florida is located in Gainesville, Florida and has 52,218 students. Students can pursue degree in biology, business administration, computer science, criminology, and other various degrees. All online!
- Bachelors Programs Offered – 14
- Masters Programs Offered – 43
- Graduation Rate – 90%
- Retention Rate – 97%
- % Students Receiving Financial Aid – 82%
- % Students Admitted- 39%
Florida International University
Florida International University has 33,478 students and is located in Miami, Florida. Students who attend FIU can earn degrees economics, English, electrical engineering, and finance. FIU offers an astounding 34 online bachelors programs.
- Bachelors Programs Offered – 34
- Masters Programs Offered – 27
- Graduation Rate – 58%
- Retention Rate – 83%
- % Students Receiving Financial Aid – 52%
- % Students Admitted- 84%
University of Central Florida
University of Central Florida is located in Orlando, Florida and has 68,475 students. Some of UCF’s most popular online bachelors programs include nursing, psychology, and anthropology.
- Bachelors Programs Offered – 19
- Masters Programs Offered – 26
- Graduation Rate – 73%
- Retention Rate – 90%
- % Students Receiving Financial Aid – 64%
- % Students Admitted- 43%
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University is located in Boca Raton, Florida. There are currently 33,478 students enrolled at Florida Atlantic. FAU offers 11 online bachelors programs and 13 online masters programs. Some online bachelors programs include bachelors in marketing, accounting, computer science, and nursing.
- Bachelors Programs Offered – 11
- Masters Programs Offered – 13
- Graduation Rate – 52%
- Retention Rate – 83%
- % Students Receiving Financial Aid – 52%
- % Students Admitted- 84%
Liberty University
Liberty University is a private Christian university located in Lynchburg, Virginia. In terms of enrollment, it is one of the largest evangelical Christian universities in the world. Currently, there are 79,152 students enrolled. Liberty offers 24 online bachelors programs and 54 online masters programs.
- Bachelors Programs Offered – 24
- Masters Programs Offered – 54
- Graduation Rate – 55%
- Retention Rate – 82%
- % Students Receiving Financial Aid – 84%
- % Students Admitted- 56%
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech is located in Lubbock, Texas and is a public research university. There are 10,424 students enrolled at Texas Tech. Texas Tech currently offers 9 online bachelors programs and 34 online masters programs. Some online masters programs offered by Texas Tech include masters of arts in communication studies, masters of business administration, and masters of engineering.
- Bachelors Programs Offered – 9
- Masters Programs Offered – 34
- Graduation Rate – 60%
- Retention Rate – 51%
- % Students Receiving Financial Aid – 60%
- % Students Admitted- 79%
North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central is located in Durham, North Carolina and was founded in 1909. North Carolina Central is a public university and is categorized as a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). There are currently 2,521 students enrolled at North Carolina Central University. NCCU offers 9 online bachelors programs and 11 online masters programs.
- Bachelors Programs Offered – 9
- Masters Programs Offered – 11
- Graduation Rate – 46%
- Retention Rate – 56%
- % Students Receiving Financial Aid – 81%
- % Students Admitted- 100%
Trine University
Trine University is a private college located in Angola, Indiana. Trine has 3,045 students and offers 13 online bachelors programs and 4 online masters programs. Some online bachelors programs offered include accounting, management, healthcare administration, and information systems.
- Bachelors Programs Offered – 13
- Masters Programs Offered – 4
- Graduation Rate – 55%
- Retention Rate – 67%
- % Students Receiving Financial Aid – 75%
- % Students Admitted- 67%
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma State University is a public university located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Oklahoma State enrolls 28,480 students and focuses on online masters programs with 23 programs offered versus 8 online bachelors programs offered.
- Bachelors Programs Offered – 8
- Masters Programs Offered – 23
- Graduation Rate – 61%
- Retention Rate – 81%
- % Students Receiving Financial Aid – 60%
- % Students Admitted- 78%
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw State University is located in Georgia – they have two primary campuses located in Kennesaw and Marietta. There are currently 35,420 students enrolled at Kennesaw State. Kennesaw State offers 13 online bachelors programs and 18 online masters programs.
- Bachelors Programs Offered – 13
- Masters Programs Offered – 18
- Graduation Rate – 43%
- Retention Rate – 79%
- % Students Receiving Financial Aid – 71%
- % Students Admitted- 58%
Most Affordable Online Colleges and Universities
We ranked the best online colleges, but what if you are most concerned with price? We got you covered. The table below is for the best online colleges and universities solely based on affordability. We took a couple of different factors into consideration when looking at the most affordable online schools. Some of those factors included in-state tuition, out-of-state tuition, and the percent of students who received financial aid. Sort through the list to see which schools are included in our most affordable online college rankings.
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Best Academic Online Colleges and Universities
There are some very prestigious colleges and universities that offer online degrees. It may surprise students when they look at this list and see certain schools that offer online degrees. Colleges and Universities around the country are starting to see the importance of online learning and are adding courses and programs to their online learning curriculum. Schools are devoting more money and resources to their online degree programs and this is evident from some of the more “traditional” schools that made our list of best academic online colleges and universities. Sort through the list below to see the schools that rank the highest in academics for online colleges.
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Why Online College?
Many students may be wondering why they would ever attend online college over attending classes on a traditional college campus. There are many reasons to attend online colleges. One big reason may be that you do not have a choice – with COVID-19 and the uncertainty that surrounds it, some schools are moving students to online learning environments. Schools were forced to move students to online learning during the spring semester of 2020, and they might be forced to do so again for the fall 2020 semester.
Another reason students might attend online college is the freedom it can provide. Some students might not have the luxury to move away from home for 4 years to receive an education. Online colleges and learning make higher education a lot more attainable for students. The importance of a college degree cannot be understated.
According to the chart above, students who earn a bachelors degree will make $461 more per week compared to students who only have a high school diploma. $461 per week adds up to $23,972 per year. A college degree is a great investment and can be seen through the difference in average earnings of people with a college degree versus those who do not have a college degree.
Increased Popularity of Online Colleges
Lets face it, college is a marketplace. Colleges and Universities are offering a service and students are consuming their services. Students are seeking more options when it comes to attaining their degrees. Some students want the traditional college experience, some students want a hybrid experience between online learning and traditional learning, and other students want a completely online experience.
Colleges and Universities around the country have recognized these desires from their students and have adapted. More and more colleges and universities are offering online courses and more specifically, online bachelors and masters degrees. This is evident through the number of programs offered by the schools in our top online colleges and universities findings.
Some schools have added online classes that are offered to undergraduate students who attend school on campus to cut costs and increase the number of students they are able to teach. This hybrid approach is also becoming popular, especially with bigger schools. If students keep “consuming” the product, why change? Online learning will continue to increase in popularity, either out of necessity (COVID-19, or enrollment issues), or by choice of the students.
Rankings
Our online college rankings took a lot of different criteria into consideration. We only looked at 4-year public colleges or universities and 4-year private, not-for-profit colleges. We also only considered schools that offered at least 8 undergraduate online programs and 2 online masters programs.
After compiling a list of colleges that met the above criteria, we looked at various factors that we felt were important when ranking online colleges. We looked at retention rates, graduation rates, tuition, financial aid, number of online course offerings, and other various online college factors.
Factors Evaluated
Online College FAQS
We found that the following schools are the best online colleges:
1. University of Florida
2. Florida International
3. University of Central Florida
4. Florida Atlantic University
5. Liberty University
6. Texas Tech University
7. North Carolina Central University
8. Trine University
9. Oklahoma State University
10. Kennesaw State University
Online college degrees are just as legitimate as a degree from a more traditional college. As long as the online college is accredited, the degree will be deemed legitimate. Companies will recognize your degree and you can use your degree for future employment opportunities.
After looking at numerous factors, we found that the University of Florida is the best online college. University of Florida offers 14 bachelors programs and 43 masters programs. In-state tuition is $4,477 and out-of-state tuition is $25,694.