Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Quavondo Nguyen

A growing number of colleges offer free, non-credit courses online. Although these classes won't show up on your transcript, I've always believed that opencourseware is a great way to learn the basics of a subject or give online learning a risk-free try.

CollegeDegree.com recently published a list of over 70 free online classes, applications, and other resources. They explain:

"While you can't get college credit for taking open courseware classes, you can make the most of the information and education they offer both in personal and professional aspects of your life. After all, even if you're not working towards a degree, taking the same courses as those in the ivy league can't possibly hurt you and may even be able to better keep you informed and on the cutting edge of what's going on in your field."

See if there's a subject you want to study this summer.