The Trade-Offs Of Earning An Online College Degree

Earning a degree from a web-based campus may be advantageous for most people, but it’s not for everybody. Just as a traditional college can cramp a student’s schedule with fixed-time classes and early or rush hour commutes, so does the flexibility of online college education can overwhelm anyone who is accustomed to the predictability and structure of the daily grind. If your concern lies anywhere near the following disadvantages, think twice before enrolling in an online college institution; but if you’re prepared to face new challenges head-on, then there’s probably no reason to stop you from getting that online degree.

The flip side of flexibility and a lack of time constraints necessitates that you take control of your own study time, and with an online course, the schedule you have set for yourself is all yours to stick to; this is a good thing if you are an efficient time manager, but if you procrastinate too much, the freedom afforded by open class schedules can wreck havoc on yours. Since you’ll be spending your class hours online, chances are good that you also won’t ever be able to meet with your instructor face to face. Many students are comfortable with this and find it even an advantage, but if you’re the type who gains momentum from the encouragement or input of a ‘tangible’ professor, you may find it hard to adjust in the sudden change in instruction arrangement.

The online classroom also means that you can afford to be virtually invisible to your classmates, even though there is an intense forum going on. You may be in your pajamas wearing hair rollers and no one would bat an eyelash. If you’re a bit of a busybody, you may miss the four-walled classroom, but not for long. However, for some people, the thought of attending class all by yourself can be quiet alienating and even depressing. Classrooms were created to foster a sense of belonging for every student who takes part in it, and such an arrangement is unfortunately difficult to simulate in an online setting, even if you consider that voice and video chats can make up for the shortcoming. If you’re accustomed to online communities, then a transition to an online classroom is easy enough; otherwise, it can be a tough fit.

Transferring your online credits should also be a major concern, since online and traditional credits don’t usually fuse nicely. If you intend to carry your online credits into another program (whether it is offered online or by brick-and-mortar colleges), take extra caution and determine if the credits in the course will transfer. On that note, consider school accreditation of the utmost priority! It’s easy to create an online school from scratch, but obtaining accreditation from a credible organization ensures you that the school you’re signing up for is legit. Check for accreditation, and check if the accrediting body is regionally and nationally recognized as well. You wouldn’t want all your hard-earned money and eighteen months of your time to go down the drain just because you were not careful enough to dig deep into an online college’s credentials.

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