The Ogburn Online School

Attaining high school diploma online is an enticing concept for teenagers and adult students both, in todays’ world of internet-savvy, ambitious and multitasking young aspirants. Such courses are career saviors for full time travelers, athletes, working adults including soldiers who had missed the chance of attaining a degree they had long desired, troubled kids such as kids who are prone to get bullied or have a sort of disability or disease or simply youngsters who want to work from the comfort zone of their home, at their own pace without silly distractions or peer pressure, and thus want to undergo a wholesome learning experience.

It is high time that students and adults debunk some of their myths regarding online high school diplomas. The most common hearsay surrounding online diplomas is that Traditional colleges around the country don’t accept online high school diplomas, but accept diplomas from brick-and-motor high schools. This is just a half-witted myth. Colleges around the country have accepted and will continue to accept high school diplomas from students who have done their work online. However, the catch here is that in order to be widely accepted, a diploma must be a quality diploma that should come from an online school that has accreditation from the proper regional board. As long as the online high school is accredited, the credits should be able to transfer to a traditional high school. Sometimes credits don’t transfer because the traditional high school has different graduation requirements than the online school. In this case, the credits don’t transfer because the traditional school has nowhere to record them, not because the online school diploma isn’t being valued. The same issue applies when students try to transfer credits between two traditional high schools.

Thus, while reviewing applications, colleges generally do not distinguish between diplomas from online high schools and those from traditional high schools. What is important to the college admissions officer is that the student hold a high school diploma from a regionally accredited high school. Online high schools have no budget constraints as compared to some formal public schools due to which they render much wider array of options, as compared to traditional public high school. The number of courses available in online high schools are plentiful. Students may opt for as many subjects as they want. It brings about a whole new set of options which might lead you to develop new interests, which you would have never thought of before. In a way, it makes you engaged in creative thinking.

Colleges are primarily concerned with good grades and need airtight evidence that proves the student is a consistent hard worker and strives towards excellence. That is the reason they are immensely impressed by students who improve their grades every semester. Colleges then look at what the students do outside of school, like athletic training, part-time or full-time jobs or piano lessons etc. Colleges lead a thorough inspection of the application presented to them by the students. What really matters is that the online high school diploma comes from a school that is properly accredited. College admissions officers are not as concerned about whether the school is a bricks and mortar school or a plastic school or an online one, as long as it challenged the student. Grades, test scores, community service, and work and life experience will be a much bigger factor in admissions than the high school the student attended, as the college admissions officers are looking for students who will be a good fit at the college itself.

What to Look for When Choosing a Virtual High School

You  need to be extra careful to make sure that you do not end up in an unaccredited online high school or diploma mill, at any cost as that would be a sheer waste of your time, money, and most of all, efforts. When researching and comparing online high school programs, find out which ones have college or university affiliations. That would make your work less aggravating. Many online high schools also offer dual enrollment programs that allow you to even apply your high school credits towards a college degree. If you intend to go to college immediately after your online high school program, consider choosing a school that has a dual enrollment option. Also, if given a choice, go for regional accredited schools rather than nationally accredited ones, since the former is more cordially accepted amongst the reputed colleges, universities and even employers. Get rolling with a valid online high school diploma, but only after a thorough research. Make sure the online school is regionally accredited.

Sweep through respective testimonials from the respective students of an online school is a great way to analyse the learning environment they offer and you can decide for yourself whether it fits your objectives or learning style. Alternatively, you can log in to their respective online demo application to see firsthand just what it’s like to study at that particular high school. Consult with the respective Academic Advisors are address all your queries to get your queries straight. However, there are certain other things you need to sort out before getting enrolled. You should be clear about your purpose of wishing for an online diploma. You should gauge the various affordable tuition payment program options available at your online school, so that you can plan your finances accordingly. After all, if you have the desire for genuine learning, expenses should not be a hindrance. You just need to talk to your Academic Advisors or the Admission specialist. Also, it is on you to keep the drive alive throughout the course.

Once the status of accreditation of the online school is confirmed, the student knows that a degree from that online high school is a degree that will be accepted by a top-level university. The rest of the questions the student needs to work upon, pertain exclusively to his or her personal needs; Basic concerns are related to :

• the teaching method and whether it would compliment your learning and grasping style
• whether the work is strenuous
• whether there is a variety of courses
• whether the schedule is set by instructors themselves or students
• whether there are abundant online resources for the student, like libraries, data-bases, tutoring and real-time help
• whether the student to teacher ratio is too high

So, you need to keep an alert mind and carry out a thorough research. Consult your queries straight forward with the Education Advisor of the school, along with taking feedback from peers who have gone through the course or doing advanced search on the web on the respective online school. To avoid a zero value diploma, you need to do play your role smartly before getting enrolled.