Thanks to the increased exposure of the online world, more and more people are trying to perform their activities in this medium, and that includes learning. In the past decade, dozens of online universities have appeared, all of which offer the ability to study and get a degree online, without requiring you to leave the comfort of your home! But one has to wonder, which are the benefits and downsides of online universities? Let’s find out!
The Pros of Online Colleges/Universities:
- One of the major benefits that come from online universities is definitely convenience. You don’t have to commute or live in a new city just to attend a physical university, which makes it easier for you to attend your studies at your own pace, and that is a major plus for sure.
- Lower expenses, because since you’re not commuting, it’s a lot easier to save money because you don’t have to spend on accommodation. Not only that, but the online universities also have smaller taxes, which is yet another place to save money from.
- Technology helps you access the content faster, and you can easily customize the learning experience instead of having to deal with the old school learning methods that aren’t working great nowadays.
- Constant access to the course materials enables you to easily peruse and learn the desired courses whenever you want, as there are no time restrictions whatsoever. If you want to learn at 3 AM in the morning you are free to do so, and the content is always there for you!
- Variety of courses! When you attend a university online, you have a ton of courses to choose from, depending on your needs. Not only that, but aside from taking courses you can also obtain a bachelor or masters degree, not to mention that you can get certificates as well, it’s all up to you and your needs.
- Self direction, which means that all students can choose when and how they complete the schoolwork. Since the online courses can be accessed from any computer, the results will be well worth it!
- Multimedia presentations are offered by online universities all the time, and this means that you will be able to learn in an interactive manner, something that normal, land based universities simply can’t offer!
The Cons of Online Colleges/Universities:
- No social interaction is a major downside here because being in a brick and mortar university allows you to engage in dialog with other students and make friends, something that’s rather limited in the online world
- No campus environment is another con, since you don’t get to live the student life as all the others do, with all its good and bad things
- You will need a good computer in your home and a constant web connection wherever you are in order to access the online courses
- Managing time is a major problem for most of those that choose to learn online because it’s easier to just postpone learning and focus on all the other things.
- Transferring credits from an online to traditional university can be a problem as well
- You can’t get financial aid most of the time from an online university, and this means that you have to use all the financial resources at your disposal.
As you can see, attending an online university definitely has its ups and downs. In the end, it all comes down to what budget you have, what type of social life are you after during the university and the degree you need. All of these add up and will guide you towards the better option!