College
Graduates wait for the beginning of the commencement ceremony at Williams Stadium on the campus of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, May 9, 2015. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

These days, you can do anything online — order groceries, try out haircuts, hire husbands and more. You can even go to college without setting foot in a lecture hall. The possibilities are endless, which can be a bad thing if you're trying to pick an online school.

If you're hoping to sort the good online institutions from the bad, there are resources that can help.

College Choice, an online publication that ranks schools for students and families, recently announced its picks for the best online colleges in the United States. In a news release this week, College Choice named Western Kentucky University No. 1, followed by Pennsylvania State University World Campus in second place and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide in third.

"The need for accredited online universities has grown exponentially. Even when institutional enrollment numbers decline, accredited online university programs steadily increase, which makes selecting from the best online colleges an important task," managing editor Christian Amondson said in the release. "Because digital learning is becoming so important, this ranking was created for working professionals and busy students to continue their education while maintaining their lives."

College Choice's rankings were based on factors like student retention, financial aid and tuition. However, as always, you should view the list shrewdly.

For comparison's sake, U.S. News and World Report named Embry-Riddle's online school as its No. 1, while putting Temple University and the University of Oklahoma at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. But BestColleges.com decided the best online colleges were the University of Central Florida, Arizona State University and the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.

Without further ado, here are College Choice's top 10 online colleges:

1. Western Kentucky University

2. Pennsylvania State University

3. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

4. University of Illinois—Chicago

5. Arizona State University

6. University of Florida

7. CUNY School of Professional Studies

8. Pace University

9. City University of Seattle

10. Creighton University

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