| Getting a college degree online seemingly appears to be a
very convenient way to gain further education without having to
inconvenience your home life. An easier way to obtain an edge in
the working world is by getting that online college degree that
you’ve always wanted, without having to leave the comfort of
your own home. All of this may very well be true, but there are
a few things that a person should consider before becoming
financially tethered to an online college or university. Can
you make the time?
Take a moment and evaluate how much free time you really have in
your personal life. After tending to your work, house chores,
possibly children, and making time just to relax, how much time
do you have left to study and work on assignments? This involves
hours reading which can be very time consuming.
How comfortable is “the comfort of your own home”?
Do you have the peace and quiet necessary to read and study? Are
the people in your house (spouse, children, friends, etc.)
willing to give you the time and space you need? More times than
none, this is the biggest problem. Everyone around you might not
be willing to put there life on hold for your betterment. This
is a hard reality, but when you are at home, people will be
tempted to confront you with home issues that will interfere
with your studies. If you were in a classroom setting, this
would not be a problem. Unless you are one of those individuals
you can’t turn their cell phone off.
How credible is the online college degree you are pursuing?
There are now several online colleges to choose from, but how
credible are they once earned? Will the college degree earned
online hold any weight in the working world, or did I just put
all this time and effort into a worthless piece of paper? You
may want to research via online bulletin boards or websites.
Even word of mouth to some extent. It’s not my place to tell you
which online college is worthy, but rather to advise you to take
the time to see if the college you select will get you the job
that you want.
Can I afford the loan to get my education?
Certain online universities have government loan programs set up
where you don’t have to pay back your loan if you complete your
schooling. These sound great in theory, but what if you don’t
complete your schooling and have to pay it back? They are
usually very expensive and here’s the catch: Once you get the
loan, the school gets paid in full. So they get their money no
matter what, and you get stuck paying the government back the
remainder of your loan for nothing in return. The online
colleges are making a fortune off students under these
circumstances. From information I gathered off of different
online studies, the freshman dropout rate is over 25% higher for
online students. The overall dropout rate is nearly equal that
number.
What are the “pros” to online college degree courses?
Under most circumstances, people who say they don’t have the
time to attend traditional college classes do so mainly because
of family issues. Children involved and no sitter available.
Unfortunately like I said earlier, the children can make it
difficult to concentrate at home. I am not trying to discourage
any parent in getting further education, but trying to prevent
them in finding themselves in a hard financial situation because
they couldn’t make it work for them. More than half the time, if
you don’t have time to go to classes, you probably won’t have
time to do them at home either. There have been many parents as
well as other individuals who have made this work successfully
though. These are just things to consider. A big convenience for
most to online class is not having to partake in the social
aspect of college. If you are an aging adult, sitting in class
with pimple faced kids can be annoying. It can also be
distracting hearing about all the parties and other gatherings
that take place at school. If you have any health issues that
make it difficult to leave the house, online college is a
fantastic option.
I hope this knowledge has helped some of you in your decision
making process. I have been fortunate enough to have an
insider’s look at online colleges classes and ultimately I
believe any education is good education. Your knowledge is the
one thing nobody can take from you, I just want you to be sure
that your newly acquired knowledge can be put to good use and
benefit you and your future.
Timothy D. Arnold recruits students via his online college
portal
http://www.choosing-a-college.com You can view more his
articles at
http://www.articlelocator.us/
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