How do I Choose the Best High School Distance Learning Program?

Choosing the best high school distance learning program means matching it with your reason for home study. Whether you're going to take an online high school program due to health issues, family or work commitments or just being able to work at a faster pace to focus on pre-college study or a career, keeping your life goals and specific situation in mind is important. When you want to find the best possible high school distance learning program for you, a good first step is to consider all of your school and program options.

Just as traditional high school has the option of public or private learning, online versions do also, and the basics are much the same. Private high school distance learning often focuses on a certain philosophy or religion and the parents must pay for tuition and software. Public online charter high school programs have free tuition and are designed to be accessible to everyone. If you're on a tight budget or have no computer, look for a public distance high school program that supplies the equipment and learning materials. Although both types of online learning are convenient, as you can complete high school from home, remember that either path will still require a lot of self-motivation, perseverance and hard work.

Whatever type of school you choose, make sure it's properly accredited. An effective way of doing this is checking whether reputable colleges will accept transcripts from the schools you're considering. Many top universities now have a high school distance learning program, and this can be an excellent choice if you're self-motivated and do well at academics to start earning college credits, although it also tends to be an expensive option. In some cases, there are scholarships available for top college and university gifted learning online high school programs, but competition for these can be strong. It's usually worth contacting these programs and expressing your interest, situation and skills if you feel this is the best type of high school online learning for you.

If you are struggling academically, online high school is not likely to be a good option unless you're able to also have in-person tutoring. Before choosing any high school distance learning program, get an in-depth look at the course work and grade requirements to make sure you'll be able to achieve the marks you need. Asking for and taking practice tests to find out if you're at an acceptable knowledge and skill level for each course in the program can save you from a lot of problems once you're already enrolled. Don't forget to consider the dates, times and locations of in-person exams so you'll be able to work them into your home-based study schedule.