Today's students are fortunate to have a variety of options available to them when they are ready to obtain an advanced degree (whether undergraduate or graduate). Most traditional colleges, meaning the brick and mortar variety, offer a wide array of scheduling choices to students whose personal lives preclude the classic full-time student lifestyle. There are now a plethora of evening and weekend classes, as well as tracks that allow non-traditional (also called returning) students the ability to go to school on a part-time basis and still be on target to obtain their degree.
There is also a greatly expanding menu of distance learning options. At this point, almost any degree can be obtained online, which allows both traditional and non-traditional students the ability to have a fair amount of flexibility in their educational schedules. Because of this, online classes are increasingly popular among all sorts of students.
However, this flexibility can be misleading. It is not the case that students can just do their work whenever they want to, in whatever manner they wish. In an effort to replicate face-to-face classroom interactions, distance learning classes have discussion forums to which students are required to post discussion responses, usually four times a week. They also have group, or team, projects which require students to coordinate schedules and piece together projects ranging from power-point presentations to term papers to business plans. They also have a strictly-scheduled series of individual assignments including journal reflections and research papers.
And so, while students can, for example, write those term papers at midnight and post them at 5 AM if they want, they still have to meet their deadlines for both their individual and their group-oriented projects. Such deadlines come fast, as online classes are typically only four to five weeks long.
So, which option is better for you? There are lots of factors to consider. First is geography. Do you live near a brick-and-mortar school, one which you would want to attend? If so, then this is an option. Your second consideration at that point would be the structure of your life. Do you have a rigidly-scheduled job, a family, volunteer responsibilities? Are you packed so full in your daily life that sitting in class three nights a week feels impossible? Or would you welcome the opportunity? A third consideration is cost. Although distance learning is certainly not free, online classes can definitely be more cost-effective than brick-and-mortar classes. Finally, think about your personality. Are you self-disciplined enough to check in with your online class every single day, do what you have to do, and meet your deadlines? Do you enjoy a good face-to-face conversation with your peers or would you prefer to remain more anonymous in your scholarly pursuits?
All of these factors and more should be taken into account when considering which option is best for you. Either way, remember that there is help if you need it.
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