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Planning on starting school soon. Agh! Help!
I've been looking into a bunch of different online colleges but I'm having a hard time deciding which one I like the best. I figured all online schools would be pretty flexible but it looks like a lot of them have a chat room setup and you have to be logged on for class at specific times. I would prefer classes I do on my own time so I can fit it into my schedule with the new baby, but I am having a really hard time trying to find the right school for me! Anyone have any recommendations? And I would love to hear some of your personal experiences with online school
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Re: Planning on starting school soon. Agh! Help!
I would suggest finding a local school that has online offerings. I would avoid places like U of Phoenix and other for-profit colleges like the plague. They are ridiculously overpriced, and do not look as good on a resume as a 'regular' college or university would. Trust me, I speak from experience... ugh.
What do you want to major in? At my community college, they have lots of majors you can complete solely online, and many more that you could almost do completely online with just a few on-campus. I have had many online courses and never had to be on at a specific time for discussions. Also, my tests have always been online for them as well, but I know that's not a given for every school/professor.
Ditto all of this. My sister worked in HR and said that if she saw one of the online schools in a resume, she automatically threw it out. If you have a good community college around you, chances are it will be a lot cheaper than one of these schools too.
I do half of my full time classes online each semester. I've never had an online class that I had to be online certain times of day for. Never had to go on campus for a test. I know when it comes to science where you have a lab to fulfill, or public speaking that you have to speak in front of people there are requirements that you do have to go to campus for, but those are the only classes I can think of that my college offers that you have to go on campus for. There are discussions for my online classes that I have to do a certain number of posts each week, but I could do that at 3am if it was the only time of day I had to get it done.
I'm taking classes through community college and they have a lot of online options. One of my classes was 100% online and my other two are all online, except for 2 proctored exams per term. I can't do my entire degree online but I can do almost all of the pre-requisites/general ed. that way.
I suggest researching brick & mortar schools in your area and finding out what they offer online. Start with community colleges because they tend to cater to working adults with other obligations and they are a fraction of the cost. Usually you can transfer your credits to a 4 year university if you are seeking a bachelor's degree.
Also, my classes are set up in one week sessions...so at the end of each week assignments are due. There is no scheduled time that I have to login or be available. This works out pretty well because I have some flexibility but also with specific due dates it keeps you on task and prevents falling behind. Online classes are MUCH more difficult and time consuming that a regular face-to-face class. I have a BA from a private liberal arts school and my online community college classes are a lot more difficult.
Hope this helps!