Students Turn to Sophia Learning for Savings on College-Level Courses

To date, Sophia Learning has saved students over $1 billion in tuition. Through an easy-to-use online learning platform, students can move through college-level courses at their own speed, at an affordable monthly subscription, and can submit these courses for transfer credit review.

Sophia Learning offers more than 70 high-quality college-level courses that students often need to complete a degree. Sophia's courses are recommended for college credit by the American Council on Education and are designed to be transferred to 80+ partner colleges and universities who have agreed to accept them. Students can also submit Sophia transcripts to non-partner intuitions to be evaluated for credit.

“Sophia is thrilled to celebrate this milestone of reaching $1 billion dollars in savings for students pursuing their college degrees,” said Shawna Thayer, Ph.D., CEO of Sophia Learning. “At a time when a college education is so valuable, yet can be cost prohibitive, we are proud to offer students an affordable and flexible pathway to completing their general education requirements—whether they are getting a head start on college while in high school or finishing up the final courses they need to complete a degree while working.”

Students can save up to 90% on their general education courses with Sophia compared to what they might pay at a traditional institution. The self-paced format of Sophia allows students to complete college-level courses in one third of the time compared with traditional semester-long courses. Courses are accessible around the clock from virtually any device.

"Sophia offers students a way to explore college-level courses while potentially reducing some of the financial strain that can come with higher education," said Michele Spires, Assistant Vice President, American Council on Education. “ACE recognizes the value of approaches that make college more accessible, and the $1 billion students have saved through Sophia points to how alternative and innovative pathways can play a meaningful role in addressing college affordability.”

Younger students can also use Sophia to start exploring college-level courses and potential degree programs. To further this mission of accessibility, this summer, rising high school juniors and seniors can get a head start on college with access to six of Sophia’s college-level courses at no cost. The courses include biology, information technology, and college readiness. By participating, students can build academic confidence, explore areas of interest, and transfer their completed course for credit once they are ready for college.

Eligible high school juniors and seniors for the 2025-2026 school year can sign up for the curated list of free college-level courses between June 2 and July 31, 2025. The offer will be good for 60 days after sign-up. Students must sign up for this offer at freehs.sophia.org.

How we made our calculations:

Our cost savings estimates are based on the average annual tuition at public four-year, in-state institutions as reported by the College Board Trends in its 2024 College Pricing Report. We base the calculation on Sophia Learning’s subscription price of $99 per month.

Our time savings estimate compares the speed that learners complete Sophia courses to the traditional 15-week semester. The average length for Sophia course completion is 28 days.

Of course, the cost and time savings that an actual Sophia learner might experience will differ depending on the number of Sophia courses they take, the time it takes to complete those courses, and the price per course at the college or university that the learner enrolls in.

Learn how to enroll in Sophia Learning.

About Sophia Learning

Sophia is an online learning platform that allows students at any stage of their higher education journey to get started on or continue their education by taking affordable and flexible college-level general education courses. Sophia courses are ACE^®-recommended for college credit and are designed to be transferred to many colleges and universities. Sophia students have saved more than $1B in tuition dollars, completed more than 1M courses, and have been awarded more than 2.9M transfer credits at receiving institutions. For more information about Sophia, visit Sophia.org. Sophia is a subsidiary of Strategic Education, Inc.

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