When one decides to take a course or go back to school, the most important thing to consider is how ready are you to give it your best then you decide how and where you want to study that course you have chosen. Many factors normally determine how one takes their course, whether online or the traditional way of learning that is on campus learning.
Online education is flexible, accessible and convenient to a student can complete assignments and participates in discussions and lecturers at their own convenient time. Students choose their comfortable environments to study from and they do not have to spend any money on transport to school, unlike campus learning where one has to follow the set time plan and attend every discussion and lecture at the exact set time.
Online degrees are as valuable as campus learning in that students get the same access to university course materials, same curriculum, tuition, and faculty. Some universities also award the same degree to both online and campus learning students and do not even mention that the degree was taken online.
Campus learners sometimes get access to on-campus departments and resources more easily than online students do and they get immediate attention from their professors either in class or their offices. This is unlike the online students who have no direct contact with their professors and even other students in their class for consultations and even discussions and often have to use email to communicate with their professors. Campus students also have access to social interactions like the dorm life, athletic programs, and even clubs that online students do not have a privilege to.
Although online learning helps a student cut costs like on gasoline, the student’s dining costs and student housing, one must invest heavily in appropriate technology and other important accessories that makes online learning possible. These include computers, video accessories, speakers and mail of course materials, unlike campus learning where one gets access to all the necessary technology and accessories they need t study on campus.
Campus learning gives a student the chance to build relationships that are healthy for personal development and even education something that online learning does not offer its students. Again some causes like health care, medicine, and even engineering require one to have practical’s in the laboratories something that online students cannot have therefore online learning somehow restrict the kind of causes that one can study online unlike campus learning that has no restrictions.
Some colleges in the USA that may interest you for both online and on-campus studies include the following:
- Harvard University
- Yale University
- University of Chicago
- Princeton University
- California Institute of Technology
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Although both online and on-campus learning has their advantages and disadvantages, one has to make a wise decision as to which one is the best for you. You must consider the amount of time you have, your commitment and the kind of resources you have to enable you to fully participate in your studies.