The cost of education has become so high that many have even taken to studying abroad to save money. It’s true. You can attend reputable universities for free in places like Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway and even Slovenia. You don’t even have to speak another language. They offer all-English degrees.
But that doesn’t work for everyone.
(Source: hccs.edu)
What’s the kicker? You have pay for your room and board. Jobs are not guaranteed and costs of living vary. That, and you have to leave behind your family and friends for long periods of time, maybe years. Maybe you have a kid or the thought of leaving the comforts of home is abhorrent.
Luckily, you can get a fairly substantial education with just an internet connection. The key is knowing where to go. Everybody has something to say now. Most of it is not vetted for accuracy, so you have to do the legwork checking legitimacy.
Well, we’ve already done it for you. This article is full of resources you can trust. Grab a pencil. Class is in session.
Free Online College Course Sites
(Source: blog.mytopdog.co.za)
Get ready to bookmark some pages.
There’s some overlap, but these sites offer a variety of online courses from universities and other sources. Much of the resources come free. They make money by selling ad space or offering additional non-free courses.
There is nothing stopping you from gleaning as much as you can from the free resources until you find one that toots your horn. Then you know exactly where to spend your money. Try testing out your local university for free first. “Hi, I’d like to take a class for free…” Not happening.
Okay, ready for it? Here are the links: Coursera, Khan Academy, Open Culture Online Courses, Udemy, Academic Earth, edX, Alison, and iTunesU Free Courses.
Free Online Courses from Ivy League Schools
(Source: news.yale.edu)
In a similar fashion, these are university-based sites, for some of the country’s most reputable educators. You’ll find everything from standard coursework to lecture series.
If nothing else, these are great places to start investigating what may interest you. You don’t even have to pick a major or meet with the financial aid office. Just investigate until you find one you like.
The difference between these courses and the ones above is that these are from the best of the best.
People who graduate from these institutions get hired. While you can’t slap free online coursework on your resume, you can rest assured that you’ve sampled the best options to know what you want to pursue.
Recognize any of these institutions? Stanford Online, Harvard Extension, Open Yale Courses, UC Berkeley Class Central, MIT OpenCourseWare, and Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative.
Watch Smart People Speak on TedEd
(Source: youtube.com)
You know those snazzy videos by TED that make you think about everything you ever thought you knew? They do that because the speakers are the best at what they do. From the same group, you can watch more educationally focused lessons at Ted Ed. Yup, for free.
You can search for lessons or build your own custom course. Of course, you won’t get a degree from this, but you will get educated.
That may be all it takes for the next opportunity.
Add a Skill
(Source: huffingtonpost.com)
There are skills that make you a shoe-in for jobs, degrees and certifications aside.
If you speak six languages fluently, you have access to jobs that won’t ask where you learned those languages or what was your GPA. If you consider coding a language, then you throw that on the same pile. It may be tough to get a free online education in a trade, but you can add skills without leaving your couch.
Sites like Memrise and Duolingo, offer free language education. Start today and by this time next year, you could be fluent.
Code and Codecademy will teach you how to code. The implications of learning to code are beyond the scope of this article. Simply put, if you have the inclination, do it.
(Source: thepracticality.com)
That should keep you busy for awhile.
If you went through every stick of the above link, retaining everything you learn, you would be the smartest person on Earth. Okay, maybe not, but you would know much more than the average human.
Most importantly, you would know where you want to go next. Get ready to be excited.
