Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
Learn as if you were to live forever.
- Mohandas K. Gandhi
Learn as if you were to live forever.
- Mohandas K. Gandhi
Online school is an increasingly popular choice for students looking for different educational opportunities, and there are many tangible benefits of going to school online.
First of all, there’s the fact that going to school online typically costs less than attending a traditional brick-and-mortar college or university. Some of the cost savings come from the logistics: you aren’t paying any relocation costs that are necessary to move across the state or country to attend college, and there’s no campus housing to consider. On top of that, though, it’s not uncommon for online schools to be priced below their more traditional physical counterparts. For instance, the University of Illinois-Chicago charges students $635 per credit hour for online degree programs, but out-of-state residents who decide to pursue an undergraduate degree at the physical campus can pay as much as $860 per credit hour. That kind of savings makes online school a legitimate option for many students who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford a higher education.
Another great benefit to going to school online is the convenience. Attending a physical university means conforming your schedule to theirs, but an online school lets you decide when to log in and complete the coursework. Most online schools allow you to work at your own pace, requiring only that the work be completed by a given date and not that you log in at the same time as the rest of your classmates. It’s up to you when to study, allowing you to schedule your classwork around a part-time or full-time job. A degree program at a more traditional college or university wouldn’t be able to offer this amount of flexibility and independence in course scheduling, but going to school online means you get to decide what to do and when.
Finally, it’s worth considering that many online schools let you complete the coursework and graduate with greater speed than might be possible at a more traditional institution. Although going to school online allows you to set your own pace and often take longer to get a degree than normal — if you’re working full-time while attending school, for instance — you can also load up on coursework and graduate sooner than expected. Check with your counselor or academic advisor, and take a lighter load at first until you know what you’re comfortable with, but know that the option is there to complete your degree and enter the job market quickly.
There are more benefits than just these to going to school online, but it’s clear that it’s an afforable, convenient option that gives a more traditional experience a run for the money.
