Hilary Duff did it. So did James Franco. And Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Sure, they may have done it to stay out of the spotlight, but online classes have another advantage: they can save you money. Taking some of your college classes online makes your schedule more flexible (which means more time making money at a job), and, in many cases, costs less than taking in-class courses for the same subjects.

Ditto for summer school.

Picking up a course or two during the summers might let you graduate a semester or two early—or at least on time.

And while taking AP classes in high school impresses colleges and can help you land scholarships, it can also help you skip a few basic intro classes in your first year of college. Having those credits already under your belt can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in course fees and tuition costs.