Online schools are offering very good academic programs that are internationally and nationally accredited.
And that’s why, whether you are a parent looking for your child’s flexible learning, or someone who is not satisfied with the education provided in the classrooms of brick and mortar.
You can apply to an online school. Now, you might be wondering what has to be done during admission?
To answer that, this information guides you on the reasons, how, and the clever tactics to be able to apply to an online school.
Table of Contents
- Why to Apply to an Online School?
- Steps on How to Apply to Online School
- Important Documents Required to Apply in Online Schools
- How to Choose the Best Online School?
- Mistakes to Avoid When Submitting Application to Online Schools
- Tips on How to Get Scholarships When Applying to Online Schools
- In Conclusion
Why to Apply to an Online School?
The world of online schools is getting more and more popular among families all over the globe largely due to the cost cuttings and flexibility offered.
People are now talking about how online schools help invest in a child’s future. And this is not without a single reason:
- Time and Place Flexibility: This is due to the ability of students to learn in any place and at their pace. This comes in handy especially to children of busy heritage and regular travelers, as well as sportsmen.
- Individual Learning Paths: Most of the online schools offer adaptive learning technologies, which enable individually tailored education pathways to be used to suit each student and their pace.
- Safe and Comfortable Learning Environment: After COVID-19 many parents feel safer after they have known that their children can learn at home.
- Access to Global Curriculum: The residential country of the student doesn’t matter anymore. They can enroll in an IB, Cambridge, or an American curriculum, and get a world-wide exposure.
If you are trying to get worldly exposure, a certain curriculum or just a more personalized learning experience, an online school is highly recommended. It is also a great inclusive option.
Steps on How to Apply to Online School
Application to an online school is one where there is not a lot of fussing but then you have to be rigorous in your application. To make the steps more practical, let us take an example of 21k school.
Step 1: Program Research
First start looking at the online schools which match your education goals. Considerations of importance are:
- Type of curriculum (e.g. CBSE, IGCSE, IB, American)
- Grades provided
- Instructed language
- Pedagogy (project-based, inquiry-based, synchronous/asynchronous e-learning)
- Opportunities for extracurricular activities
- Technology requirements
A possible case: 21K School
21K School teaches two general curricula: Indian (CBSE/NIOS), and British. Parents can choose a program on the basis of learning aims, long term educational planning (India or outside), and capabilities of the kid.
Step 2: Check Admission Requirements
The requirements vary as per different online schools. Being said that, they mostly include:
- Confirmation of grades from previous years
- Special criteria for special programs
- Standardized tests like GRE, SAT, etc.
- Basic digital access and parents support, in low-grade years.
- Look up for application deadlines and frequency within a semester or an academic year.
Step 3: Process of Application
Most schools offer a chance of online registration on any of its websites. The steps in common are:
- Register yourself with the school via their admission portal.
- Complete the application form: Create an account, put information about yourself like academic performance, desired curriculum, grade of study.
- Upload documents: Birth certificate, old report cards, ID proof can be uploaded.
- Ensure you take care of the application or registration fee, as applicable.
- Go through an online orientation or interaction, where necessary.
- Wait for the confirmation through an email or the portal update.
How is it done in 21K School?
- Visit: www.21kschool.com
- Choose a program (Indian/British).
- Complete the enrollment form.
- Join online counseling after assessment.
- Make payment after acceptance.
An academic mentor is assigned to the student after admission. And after enrolling, a learning kit is provided to the parents to ensure a successful start.
Important Documents Required to Apply in Online Schools
Scanned copies of the following documents are to be kept ready when applying:
- Birth Certificate of student
- Previous school reports/transcript
- Transfer certificate (as the case may be)
- Passport-size photographs
- Student and parent identification provided by the Government
- Medical papers or Individual Education Plan (if applicable)
- Language Proficiency Test results (in some of the international programs)
The files should be in standard or acceptable formats (PDF, JPEG, PNG) and labelled plainly. The things to do before online school starts are document verification and collection.
How to Choose the Best Online School?
Choosing the best online school includes peeping into their accreditation, teaching techniques, student assistance, flexibility and technical setup. All of this is to find which is the best online school in India. Three pillars of decision-making are as follows:
1. Think of Accreditation and Reputation
Accreditation guarantees quality education in the school. Consider the following accreditations:
- CBSE/NIOS(India)
- Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE)
- International Baccalaureate (IB)
- Cognia (programs in the United States)
Look up reviews online, student performance, alumni reviews, press, and understand what is accredited online schools.
2. Evaluation of Programs Offered
Look into:
- Subject variety
- Pedagogy (regulatory, text-saturated, technology enabled)
- Student-teacher ratio, and class size
- Language offerings
- Advanced examinations (e.g. AP, A-levels)
Don’t pull up and ensure that the school supports your vision over the long run. These can be of being a graduate from a university abroad, or to becoming an entrepreneur.
3. Financial Aid and Grants
The online schools can be flexible in paying the fees and offer scholarships. Anyone who wants to know how much does online school cost can read about it:
- Early bird discounts (in case it is applicable)
- Merit-based scholarships
- Need-based aid
- EMI options
- Brother/ family compromises
- Ask the admissions to allow flexibility payment.
Mistakes to Avoid When Submitting Application to Online Schools
The students may make errors in attempts to seek admission in online schools. This may be as a result of a number of reasons but it has to be addressed with some preparedness.
1. Negligence of Applications Deadlines
Missing the time of submitting the applications might lead to your child being late to join the new school term. There is nothing wrong with putting reminders and applying at least one month in advance.
2. Compromising The Technical Requirements
It is important to demonstrate readiness to go digital, hardware and software wise as well as the internet speed. Another requirement is that schools require the student to prepare a level of technical availability.
3. Overlooking the Expectations of Parent Involvement
Online learning normally requires the involvement of a parent or a guardian particularly in the lower grades to be in class. The advantages of online schools should not overlook the parental benefits. Marginalization of this commitment is there among some of the parents.
4. Ignorance of Scholarship Opportunities
Suppose that there are scholarships. In many schools, they are not given publicity. Contact the admission office, ask what kind of financial aid they offer and prepare your supporting documents.
Tips on How to Get Scholarships When Applying to Online Schools
With an aim of making education inclusive, the majority of the accredited online schools offer financial aid on a need or merit basis. These are some of the methods you can use to prepare you better and guidelines on pursuing online schools:
- Be ahead of the game: Scholarships can have earlier deadlines than the normal ones.
- Be excellent academically or extracurricular: Awards, portfolios and grades help you showcase your academic or extracurricular excellence.
- Write a personal statement: Explain why you need and deserve education with the help of a personal statement
- Talk to school counselors: They can either identify opportunities that many people do not know or limit the programs to which you thought you were unaware.
In Conclusion
The admission process to an online school has never been that easy. In online schools quality education is secure together with the liberty, or international experience or any other course that suits your child better.
You should nurture your plans and do sufficient research and act to find a school that suits your vision of your life and education.
One should take papers and verify school documents and also know how to obtain scholarships and what not to do.
Online schools like 21K School have made online schooling feasible and even desirable to the family who would like to get global training right on their door step.
