High School Diploma - How to Find an Online School

The number of online high school programs is increasing exponentially. You can do a Google search using "online high schools" and/or "virtual high schools."

Public v. Private

Online high schools come in two basic varieties, public and private. While most of the public ones only admit high school age students, most of the private ones accept students regardless of age.

I am regularly asked if I recommend any particular program. I do recommend a type of online program. If your state or community has an online charter school and you are of the right age (which can be as old as twenty-one in some cases), this is probably your best bet.

Why? Because it is almost assuredly free. Free is almost always the best price. Charter schools, although run differently and without many of the same rules, are also public schools. The one tiny problem is that most adults do not qualify for services because they are funded out of K-12 money and not adult education money.

Accreditation

Accreditation is vitally important. The types of accreditation that I recommend are regional accreditation, DETC accreditation, or state-approval. Note that state approval alone is only acceptable at the high school level. Be sure to check with potential employers or colleges to ensure acceptability.

While there are schools that do not fall into these three categories that are good schools, acceptability by employers and schools as well as outside quality assurance are concerns. Certainly graduating from some of these schools will be acceptable in some circumstances, but I'm not quite sure which schools and which circumstances. Tread lightly.

Whether you decide to earn your diploma online or at your local adult school, the important thing is that you earn it.