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How to get a Free Education
Looking at the cost of education these days, one can imagine that education is a big business. But, even in this day and age, there are ways to get a free education. Leading the change for free education these days are the online platforms that have come up in a big way. Several universities have teamed up together to promote online platforms for free education. Some private players have partnered with universities to bring free education to one and all. There are also repositories where one can find educational material for free just with registration and application.
Apart from those online platforms, students can even do an audit class to further their education for free. Also, some universities have tuition benefits for their employees. These are the primary ways one can get an education for free. In a guide, we will discuss how to get a free education – in detail.
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Growing Cost of Education
According to CNBC, in the year 1978-79, the cost of attending a private college was the modern equivalent of $17,680 per year, and for a private college, it was $8,250. By the year 2008-2009, it grew to $ 38,720 for private colleges and $16,460 for public colleges. Fast forward to 2018-19; those costs have risen to $48,510 for private and $21,370 for public colleges, respectively. So, education is a very expensive affair. But education still remains a very sane investment. According to the Fred data, in 2020, college graduates’ weekly wages were approximately 84 percent more than those of high school graduates.
According to the latest Salliemae study (2019-20), the average families spend approximately $30,000.00 on education, up from $26,266.00 in 2018-19. That is an increase of approximately 15 percentage points in two years. Considering how big a business education is, this growing cost of education is here to stay. The cost can approach up to $100,000.00 if one enrolls in Ivy league colleges.
The Start of Free Education by reputed institutions
This cost of education is a hindrance to all, and it had been a privilege for a few. Keeping this in mind, in 2012, professors at MIT and Harvard realized it was a time for a seismic shift in learning. From the tried and true to the leading edge. From “for some” to “for all.” By opening the classroom through online learning, edX empowers millions of learners to unlock their potential and become changemakers. Thus, free education gained huge steam from these actions, and a lot more online platforms for free education came into being. Today free education is a viable option, and organizations have recognized these platforms and have even started collaborating with some. With the power that the internet possesses, online platforms and free education are here to stay.
Types of Free Education
As discussed above in section one, there are multiple ways of accessing free education. Below we would discuss them in detail.
- OpenCourseware (OCW) – OCW is a public platform that offers free courseware. Some OCW platforms partner with universities to offer their programs, imparting free education to enrolled students. Coursera is one such platform. Coursera partners with more than 200 leading universities and companies to bring flexible, affordable, job-relevant online learning to individuals and organizations worldwide. They offer a range of learning opportunities—from hands-on projects and courses to job-ready certificates and degree programs. Khan Academy is another such platform. However, they don’t offer certificates or degrees but prepare students to learn and discuss further studies. Their mission is to provide free education for anyone, anywhere.
- Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) – Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are free online courses available for anyone to enroll in pursuing free education. These are courses run by universities, corporations, or institutions leading to certification if you desire a minimum fee. edX is one such platform. eDX is a consortium of 160 universities coming and joining the platforms to offer various online courses championing the cause of free education. Similarly, Udemy is another resource where many students find free educational resources. Coursera is also considered a MOOC. Coursera also has a large database of free courses that students can benefit from.
- Work for a University or a College – There are universities with tuition benefits for employees. There could be some prerequisites like employed for a certain amount of time to avail of tuition remission benefits. But this is a good way to further your education for free.
- Educational Repositories – There are a few online education repository platforms like iTunes and Youtube EDU etc., where one can find a lot of study material all for free. All they need to do is a free registration and download of the application or a browser to work with, thereby furthering the cause for free education.
- Student Audit Classes – If students decide to audit a class, they must register for the class, but they do not get to sit for the exams and do not get credits for the course. But they get to do the entire course for free. Thus, getting their hands to free education.