Finding the right course and earning a valuable degree can be challenging, time-consuming, and expensive nowadays.
It’s no secret that Americans are paying tens of thousands of dollars every year to earn a degree in hopes of beginning their career. For some, they aim to strive even further: working toward a postgraduate degree or Doctorate. As the touchstone for our society, and the foundation for our financial future, pursuing higher education from a quality institution is absolutely critical. Due to the inherent costs associated with college, many people, however, are unable to or disregard a college education outright.
Earning a college degree can be challenging, time consuming, and expensive. The alternative solution rests in the hands of online education. Often seen as a improvident or a scam in its infancy, online learning centers have made considerable strides for legitimacy, quality of content, and tools to provide the best education possible.
In this guide, I’m going to weigh the differences between online and brick-and-mortar schools. We’ll discuss the benefits, advantages, and concerns you should have before considering an online education so you’re equipped with what you need to know.
Who is Online Education For?
If you’re thinking about pursuing an online degree or taking college courses online—great! You’ve come to the right place. During its shaky inception in the early 1990s, online education was marketed as an avenue for education possible to those least likely to pursue it. Namely working adults who saw higher education as inconvenient.
For the most part: this is true. Perhaps the biggest advantage of an online education is the convenience and accessibility it offers over a traditional institution. I’ll be deep-diving into the benefits of getting an online degree later, but the advantages are quite clear. Being able to read, research, and learn from the comfort of your home at any time makes even the busiest of bodies think twice.
As technology improved, so did education and the techniques professors employ to teach students. Applicants can take advantage of powerful learning tools, digital course books and supplements, video and audio, and the Internet to get an education online. With online degrees being regarded as credible and legitimate as a traditional slip, online college is a viable alternative to brick-and-mortar.
Put simply: online education is for anyone who finds living and learning on-campus to be inconvenient or too expensive. There are some noticeable differences between digital and traditional, but online learning often offers enough benefits to outweigh what one loses without face-to-face interaction. Online education is also for anyone who would like to attend a school or undergo a program that is inaccessible to where they are located. Lastly, an online degree offers students the chance to work, raise a family, or pursue other interests while learning.
How Does an Online Education Work?
For those who have gone to a public school all their life, transitioning to an online only format could be startling. You may be wondering exactly how digital learning works and inherent differences and obstacles students might face. I’ll be going into the concerns you might have regarding an online degree later. For now, let’s breakdown the online learning process from soup to nuts.