In the modern, connected world, the traditional college experience leaves much to be desired. It’s time-consuming, inconvenient, expensive, and may require a commute. For those of us desiring a smooth, hassle-free college experience—especially adults who’ve been out of high school for a while—an online degree can be a rewarding and hassle-free experience.
There are plenty of reasons to get a degree online. Maybe you’re already working and want to get a degree in your spare time. Perhaps you’re disinterested in the “traditional college experience,” or maybe you just want to enhance your current career with continuing education in this course if you’re passionate about making real change. Whatever the case may be, here’s what you need to know about getting a bachelor’s degree from an online school.
Avoid Diploma Mills
Think of an online college as a streamlined way to obtain a degree, especially for those already busy with work and family. While the benefits of attending a school online are considerable, that’s only if the school isn’t a diploma mill. Diploma mills are simply an organization claiming to be a school that offers degrees in exchange for cash. They’re insidious and the worst part is, both the “school” and the student often know the degree is illegitimate. Some of them pretend to be real schools. These can be especially dangerous. Diploma mills will often lack admission requirements, real courses, and have other red flags that are easy to spot. Protecting yourself from them involves some diligence, research, and checking the background of your potential school.
Understand Which Degrees Are Offered Online
Are you interested in psychology? Business administration? Healthcare? Education? How about criminal justice? All of these fields have comprehensive online bachelor’s degree programs available from a variety of online colleges. Each one features extensive education and training in each area. By the end of a bachelor’s degree, you should have the knowledge and skills necessary to start working in your field almost immediately. The most popular degrees people look for online are usually in Bachelor of Arts (BA) degrees in business/accounting, health care, and psychology. These are by no means the only options available online, but those are only a handful of what’s available at many online colleges. There are many more, including these:
- Behavioral Science
- Psychology
- Accounting
- Business Administration
- Health Care Administration
- Social and Criminal Justice
- Education Studies
- Early Childhood Education
- Health and Human Services
- Healthcare administration
- Homeland Security
- Emergency Management
- Liberal Arts
- Instructional Design
- Operations Management
- Organizational Management
- Leadership
- Sociology
- Project Management
- Nursing
- Cyber Security
As you can see, the diverse array of subjects available mean you can find what you’re most interested in (and best suited to) and pursue an online degree for that subject. Bachelor of Arts (BA) degrees integrate liberal arts and similar disciplines in with the field of study, while Bachelor of Science (BS) degrees spend more time focusing on the degree’s subject matter. While pursuing a bachelor’s degree, students can also choose to emphasize in a particular subject to further broaden their horizons, expand career opportunities, or even prepare for pursuing a master’s degree at some future point.
Find Out What Kind of Financial Aid is Available
When it comes to attending college, financial aid is crucial. Attending an online college (or doing any distance learning for that matter), functions much the same as a traditional college. The same types of financial resources are typically available to online college students as well. This includes the FAFSA (free application for federal student aid), grants, loans, and scholarships. Student loans are usually available through the department of education as subsidized and unsubsidized loans, Perkins loans, or Direct Plus loans.
Students can also pursue private loans to pay for their education. Aside from borrowing money to pay for school, students can seek scholarships or apply for grants. Financial aid resources are usually available through FAFSA’s student aid websites, so it’s essential to figure out how you’re going to pay for college before submitting that admission application.
Get to Know the Faculty
Who’s teaching your classes may not be something you’d normally think about—especially when taking classes online. After all, you’re going to be doing your work on your own, so is it really necessary to virtually meet and get to know your professors before simply sitting down to complete the course? Yes. It’s a good idea to know who’s teaching your classes, their background, and their level of expertise.
The biggest reason is quite simple: they’re the most valuable resource a student can have during a course. Some of them have digital office hours too, where you can arrange a chat or a meeting anytime. Getting to know your professors can also help you generate research or possible field-related opportunities and provide some much-needed motivation when times really get tough.
Set Up a Workspace at Home
Since you’ll be doing your coursework remotely, it’s best to have an area set aside where you can work peacefully and (preferably) uninterrupted. Of course, this might not always be a possibility, but trying to set aside some space in your office, kitchen, living room, bedroom, den, or elsewhere in your home to work on your studies is ideal for attending an online college. You should also try to set aside various times of the day and manage your time to allow you to work on your studies without intruding much on your everyday life. Since online college largely depends on technology, here are a few of the various tech-related items you should focus on having available:
Internet connection – Since the school is online, having an internet connection is an absolute must. Speeds should be at a minimum of bandwidth to allow smooth video playback, decent upload/download speeds, and video conferencing (like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or Skype).
Learning Management System (LMS) – The LMS is the key component of getting your work done. It’s where you’re going to find the bulk of your assignments, lectures, videos, resources, and other vital information pertaining to your courses. Blackboard is the most well-known but may not necessarily be the one utilized by your online college.
Devices & Apps – While they may not be the primary devices on which you do your coursework, mobile devices – tablets and smartphones – can be a boon to anyone desiring to do coursework on the go. Just download any apps your college uses and make sure you set everything up properly. These devices can also be used for eBooks and other digital materials.
Computers – As the majority of your coursework will happen via the internet, having a desktop or laptop computer is essential. Many online colleges typically require their students to have access to such machines and some may offer a laptop as part of a package deal, but it depends on the school.
Schedule (calendar) – The best way to keep your assignments and deadlines in order is with a schedule. Whether it’s a physical calendar/planner or you decide to make use of online tools, keeping track of things is crucial to success.