I never thought that I would be finishing out my undergraduate career online. A lot of people have things to say about students who choose to do online school rather than in-person, but many of those assumptions are wrong. Truthfully, there are many benefits of being an online student, and here are just a few.
1. Time management.
Being an online student literally means that you can take your class at any given time during the week. You aren't required to get up at a certain time to go to school, sit in a class for fifty minutes to an hour, and then proceed to your next class. What I've found is that I can actually break up my class schedule better while I'm online than when I am in person. If I have something to do, all I have to do is save my work and log out of the course website. I don't have to worry about "missing class" if I'm sick, or if I have other obligations. You control your schedule when you are online.
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2. You can complete many degrees fully online.
If U really wanted to, I could have taken my entire degree online. I currently am taking a full semester of classes- 15 credits- and I'm still on track to graduate. I'm not missing out on important classes because they are all offered online.
3. You can still be a "normal college student."
It felt really different to me when I became an online student. I craved face-to-face interactions with people the same age as me, and I missed being on a college campus. However, many college campuses have public buildings such as a library or a student center, where you can take your online work and do it there.
4. You put in just as much work, if not double, than a regular student.
Online classes are a hell of a lot of work. Not only do you have to take notes completely on your own from online lectures, but everything comes from the textbook. On average, I spend around 25 hours per week outlining chapters, copying notes, and doing assignments for my classes. On top of learning everything at your own pace, there are also discussion forums, weekly quizzes, and full-length exams to take.
5. Living at home isn't all that bad.
Again, a huge difference for me when switching to online school was living at home when I was used to living on my own. But, I've made it work. One thing that I can recommend is potentially re-doing your room. This way, you have your own "adult" space to hang out in, and you'll be able to escape to it when you need alone time.
6. Yes, it saves money.
I was probably spending at least $7,000 per year on rent. That doesn't include my own groceries, gas for my car, electric bills, and cable. I'm saving so much money by switching to online school, and it's great.
7. You can still feel a part of your "big" school.
I was really worried that I would lose the Penn State pride that I had once I switched to its online campus. Luckily, there are ways to stay connected to your main campus if you are switching to online. Buy season tickets to all the sports teams, this way you have an excuse to visit the place you fell in love with for school, and visit friends.
All in all, not everything is lost if you decide to become an online student. It isn't the end of the world, and it definitely isn't for everybody. But, ultimately
