So I enrolled in a Diploma of Community Services with Open Colleges in March. With their discount the total price ended up being about $7000.

I thought I did my due diligence at the time but I'm kicking myself right now as I've found other providers who are offering the same Dip. for $1500.

I've already paid off $900 in my payment plan with Open so I didn't want to waste that by dropping out. So I thought I'd transfer to another Open Colleges Diploma like Business and enrol in the cheaper Community Services Dip. with the other provider.

But upon researching the Diploma of Business I found that Mentor Education is running a deal for their Dip. of Business that's just under $1000.

I will have to do more research but I'm still quite confused as to why the prices are so drastically different. The course codes are the same and all the providers are self-paced and online. I called them up and asked why the prices were cheaper and they claimed there was no government subsidy, they just think that's the appropriate price.

Can someone smart explain to a dummy like me why Open Colleges is so much more expensive?

If you were in my shoes would you just quit the program, wasting the $900 or follow through with the payment plan? Is there any benefit to studying with Open?

(I know that being confused about this means I probably shouldn't be studying business but please don't judge me 😅)

Also does anyone know if the University course pathways from Open Diplomas are exclusive to them, or is it just a matter of completing the same units?