Contrary to what some prospective students believe, online bachelor’s programs aren’t always easier to get into than those offered on a physical campus.
That’s one of several findings based on an analysis of data that schools submitted to U.S. News in an annual survey about admission to online colleges.
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The average proportion of applicants who were admitted to online bachelor’s programs between July 2016 and June 2017 was just 2.4 percentage points higher than the average acceptance rate at their on-campus counterparts for students entering in fall 2016. U.S. News data also show that some online bachelor’s programs have lower acceptance rates than their respective in-person offerings.
Karen Pedersen, chief knowledge officer at the Online Learning Consortium, partially attributes the slightly lower acceptance rate at on-ground programs to the greater space limitations compared with online colleges.
“It’s often the same program, the same curriculum, potentially the same faculty. So based on delivery modality, they don’t necessarily change any aspects of the admission process,” Pedersen says.
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The exception may be SAT or ACT score requirements, she says; online programs that are designed for working adults, for example, are less likely to request that information.
It’s important to also note when examining these data that online bachelor’s programs, which use a separate methodology, attract a different population than the on-campus programs ranked in the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings.
The acceptance rate data for in-person programs ranked in the Best Colleges rankings include first-time, first-year students who applied and were admitted either full or part time. The online program undergraduate admissions data include transfer students with some credits already completed as well as others who aren’t first-time freshmen.
The graphic below shows the average acceptance rates among ranked online bachelor’s programs for 2016-2017 compared with their on-campus counterparts for fall 2016. The graphic also lists the online bachelor’s programs ranked in the top 200 that have the highest and lowest acceptance rates.
Online degree programs often differ from on-campus programs because they typically have rolling admissions, so applicants are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis until seats are filled for the incoming class. In contrast, most in-person options have stricter college admissions deadlines.
More than 87 percent of ranked online bachelor’s programs that submitted these data to U.S. News reported having rolling admissions for applicants in 2016-2017. Experts say that’s because online undergraduate programs typically cater to busy adults who also work and desire the flexibility to apply when they want.
Another reason, says Pedersen, is that online program courses can vary in length. Schools may offer rolling admissions to cater to those enrolling in programs with various start dates.
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“They may offer five-week courses, or seven- or eight-week courses, kind of dividing the traditional semester into shorter learning experiences where a learner may take one course at a time instead of a full load,” she says.
See the top 10 ranked online colleges that have rolling admissions in the graphic below. Each is also ranked in the top 10 of the 2018 Best Online Bachelor’s Programs.