The summer’s here and you’re looking at summer school.

Maybe you want to get ahead. Or, maybe you have to upgrade a course to get into your first choice program or school this September.

The thing is, there’s that summer job you’ve just been offered and that vacation your family’s been planning for the last few months. You can’t be trapped in a classroom by a regular schedule.

You need flexibility.

So you get online and start shopping, just like you’d search for clothes, books, movies, or the latest video game. Now think about it … when you shop for those things, you look at the reviews, you compare prices, and you probably choose an online store with a good reputation. If you can, you’ll probably buy from a trusted seller you’ve heard about from your family or friends. You might even want to be sure you can return items that don’t fit or arrive broken.

But now you’re shopping for something pretty important: your education.

How do you know if the online high school you find in your search is the real deal? Unless you know someone who’s already taken a course there, you’ll need some way to tell that you can trust their offer. If you’re careful about where you buy your clothes or games, think about how much more important it is that you invest in quality when it comes to an online high school course.