A little over a year ago I was interested in re-attending college. Well, to be perfectly honest that was far from one of my priorities. My mom and Uncle had attended both an Online College and a Campus. Both of them had seemed to get more out of attending the Online College. Anyway, I was attending a Job Fair over a year ago when I had walked up to the University of Phoenix booth. The guy at the booth mentioned they had programming courses and talked me into attending.

I have attended a local College Campus before near my town but I just was unable to benefit from the learning environment that I experienced there. I was far too distracted by my classmates and seemed to always fall into their peer pressure. Are there benefits that could be obtained from attending a physical College Campus rather then an Online one? I am sure there are, but the other has advantages as well.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Physical College Campus
Advantages (Keep in mind this is simply my list. Feel free to add/debate anything on it)

- Physical interaction.
- Able to have a hands-on approach.
- Can speak to the instructor/counselors at anytime.

Disadvantages

- Must drive to and from school. (Gasoline prices)
- Temptations are present. (More difficult to learn for some)
- Books can get expensive. (Some required books costing up to 200 dollars)

Online College
Advantages

- Able to attend from anywhere. (Assuming you have Internet Access)
- A more one on one environment with the instructor.
- Can use google to understand concepts.

Disadvantages

- Must keep yourself on schedule.
- Unable to connect to the Internet = No attendance.
- Disputably more expensive.

Online Colleges might not be right for everyone, however, it has worked out well for me. When I attended a College Campus I was failing horribly in more ways than I would like to admit. As a student for University of Phoenix I have been keeping extremely high grades and maintaining a nearly 4.0 Grade Point Average (GPA). This does not mean everyone will have the same experiences as I have had with the change of environments, however I do not think the idea of attending an Online College should be quickly thrown out. It is possible that working from the comfort of your own computer in your own home could help someone do better in College.

Some say Online College Degrees are less credible, however, why would we be attending college simply to have a Degree anyway? I believe the College experience is about acquiring experience in the area someone chooses. If I wanted to be a Doctor then I would be aiming to acquire experience in the field of medicine. I would not be simply aiming to obtain a Degree stating I know what I am doing when in reality I do not. I am personally attending College to put some WD-40 (rust remover/oil) on my Web Design experience and acquire some new skills as I do so.

How do you feel about Online Colleges? Do you think they are just as credible as a Degree from a physical College Campus? Why or why not?

Tags: campus, college, experience, home, online, personal

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Comment by kyle karki on October 13, 2009 at 10:26pm: ok...u seem to have good knowledge about online college..so i was wondering if u could help me on it..im kinda a thinking of taking one too...

Comment by Ryan Beerbower on August 4, 2009 at 1:20pm: I've taken classes online and to say the least you do have to keep yourself on schedule. For someone who just wants to blow through school not learning anything you need to ask yourself, "Why am I here in the first place?" Just work hard at it and everything will be fine. Obviously, working from a computer has its advantages and disadvantages. I would reckon to say if you have a busy lifestyle Online is the way to go. Everyone has their own valid opinion and I think both work just fine in my humble opinion.

Comment by Bret Spector on July 31, 2009 at 12:15pm: I think that online colleges are for a certain type of people. Those who are too busy to go to college, because they didn't when they were younger, and want to go to college, but have a job now, and it's difficult. And for those who just don't want to go to college. lol.

Comment by Joe Cool on July 31, 2009 at 6:42am: Ashryne, I am currently attending Western Governors University. It is an online University and the tuition is extremely reasonable. They even give you credit for IT certifications. In fact most of the courses are the actual certifications. It is a competency/assessment based program where you have to demontrate your knowledge by actually passing an IT certification for a partucular class. When you complete the program you finish with a degree plus many IT certifications. It looks awesome on a resume. Good luck my brother from another mother.

Comment by Tedd on July 31, 2009 at 2:27am: I am currently attending University of Phoenix myself (Online classes). I find the flexibility to be perfect for me.

Comment by Ashryne on July 30, 2009 at 3:55pm: DogReader - I completely agree with you. That disturbs me as well when people are paying for their education but fail to give it their all and attempt to learn. That is one thing I tell my counselors whenever they call me. If I am paying so much money for college, I am going to make sure I learn something and get the most I can out of it.

Comment by DogReader on July 30, 2009 at 3:53pm: Ashryne, congratulations on finding what is right for you and doing so well. I think that each person has to find what best fits his/her needs at the time. I know that, for me, meeting new people and being introduced to new ideas are very important. What surprises me about 'school' is that people paid such high tuition fees and hope to receive as little as possible. ~ Catherine

Comment by MacBaby16 on July 30, 2009 at 3:30pm: This wasn't a completely online college. It's the university I go to...they are trying to put all of their grad courses online to make it easier for teachers. :)

Comment by Ashryne on July 30, 2009 at 2:57pm: Well, I'm not sure which Online College you were attending but for UoP it is a requirement that all instructors make themselves available for the students to contact. I speak to my instructors on a regular basis and I do not really run into difficulties doing so. As you said, it could of been just a bad experience. When I was reading up on University of Phoenix's reviews before by former students I came to the conclusion that the majority of people think the online environment is horrible for a College.

Many people say these Colleges will get you no where in the workforce, which is not true in all cases. My mom works for the County where I live and she is a member of a program here that places individuals into employment, has been for over 15 years now. Anyway, what she tells me that employers look for is not the degree but the experience. She said that some people come to her with a Masters Degree in whatever, yet she cannot find them employment because they simply lack the experience or skills.

Comment by MacBaby16 on July 30, 2009 at 2:42pm: I have only taken some online courses before. At first, I thought I would love them bc you know working at your own pace, getting things done early and then just finishing the class, etc. However, i was totally wrong...or maybe I've just had bad luck. Professors of online classes need to be available all the time by email to communicate and help out with questions. My online class right now is where I'm having this kind of issue...she never emails or answers any questions. It's really frustrating.

I almost like having to go to class just bc I do learn a lot from others and I like that interaction. But of course online classes are just as credible :)

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