Question for those who have used K12 independently: pay per month, or all up front?

[pehp]

K12 is having a little sale that is tempting me.  I had originally planned to try it out by paying $34/month.  Their little sale right now allows a discount for paying upfront (access to the class for 12 months), for what ends up being $18/month.  The materials cost is the same. (I am planning to purchase Language Arts.) 

 

The advantage, I suppose, of paying per month is that you could finish early and thus potentially save money. Or if we hate it (this is our first try), we're not out that much money.  

 

The flip side is, if we do like it, and aren't on track to finish early (and thus start a new year of coursework early....I am not schooling next summer, so this seems unlikely), we'd save about $100 by paying upfront.  

 

If you use K12 independently, how do you prefer to structure your payment? 

 

 

[MyHandsAreFull]

We used K12 about four years ago for a couple of classes (independently). I prepaid for the whole class and ultimately wished I hadn't.

 

It was our first experience with homeschool and I wanted a "just add water"/instant and easy curriculum because I was afraid it would be too hard for me otherwise. Then I found WTM, talked to other moms, etc and just discovered there were so so many options out there.

 

We tossed K12 out after about 5 months because it just wasn't the right fit (not awful just not the best fit for us--seemed to have a lot of busy work and the math wasn't that great).

[EKS]

My information is several years old, so things may have changed, but when we used them, there was a 30 day window where you could get your money back.  Also, at least back then, if you signed up with the yearly plan and finished a course early, you could start another course without paying more.  I remember that some people would do things like history one semester and science the next to get two courses for the price of one.

 

Also, back then you could call them and ask for a demo account, which gave access to just about all of the courses (K-8) and all of the lessons for a limited time.  I used that several times to evaluate whether particular courses might work for us.

[pehp]

Thanks so much! My husband advised me to buy the course in full, so I did!  (This morning!)  

 

Kai....it is true still that you can cancel w/in 30 days.  So I will do lots of exploring during that time and cancel if need be.  I'm hoping need will not be. :)  What I didn't know until I talked to K12 is what you said--that if we finished the course early, we can just add on another course buying materials only!  I don't know that it will actually happen, but I appreciate that flexibility and possibility.  So, we'll see. 

 

(I also did the demo account. It was very helpful earlier this year!)

 

I will report back here in about 6 months to let anyone who is curious know how the course goes. I'm a devoted Charlotte Mason gal, so this is a huge change of methodology for me.  But for many reasons I think I'm ready to transition into a slightly different approach.  (I could take that back, though! Will let you know!)

 

[CAtoVA]

I always pay in full to get the discount. This year, for the first time, it was somewhat of a loss because my DS ended up going to school after about two months of homeschooling. We did use it some during the year but not enough. So, I think you have to evaluate your circumstances but barring anything unusual it makes more financial sense to pay in full imo.

[pehp]

I've looked through the books and am fairly satisfied so far. It's so, so different from the approach I have taken so far (Charlotte Mason to the core!).  I get a little squeamish around anthologies. But the "Classics" collections are nicely-illustrated, which I appreciate (I hate cartoonish illustrations...HATE them) and the course seems well-rounded.  So, I'm not sending it back at this point!  Stay tuned! I reserve my right to change my mind within the next 25 days! ;)