I got my Bachelor of Arts degree in communications after four years at a prestigious liberal arts college, and I shelled out around ten thousand dollars per year for tuition even after subtracting grants and scholarships. Looking back, that was quite a big expense, and I was not even taking into account my room and board costs! But here’s the rub: I could have taken my degree online and saved a huge amount of tuition--and still ended up with the right educational credentials.
I discovered a community college that was offering various online courses, many of which could be used to complete credits towards a degree. The same college was also offering online associate degree programs. That piqued my interest, especially as the online program cost only a few hundred dollars per semester, since it was a community college and the program did not make use of their classrooms. From their point of view, that meant a classroom could be freed up for some other course, saving them money and thus accounting for the lower cost of the online program. The community college would still have a professor on their payroll to supervise the curriculum, assign readings and give exams. Nevertheless, the online program came out as more affordable for both the college and the students taking it, when compared to the costs of traditional classroom learning.
Of course, lower cost is not the only attraction of getting an online associate degree. The online program also offers great flexibility in scheduling. That way, if you have a full time job or have young children at home, you can customize your program schedule to better fit your day. You have a lot of leeway on when to take classes and complete assignments and tests. If you can only schedule an online class at midnight, you can adjust the program schedule accordingly. I know of no college that would hold traditional classes at such an hour. That may be the only time of the day you can allot to class time, thus making an online degree program your only viable option.
An online associate degree program is just as challenging as the classroom course. It is important to take it seriously and keep yourself motivated about completing your degree. It is easy to get caught up in your work and family life to the point that your progress on your degree ends up suffering. This is especially true when you are the one setting your schedule of classes. But stay on course, and you will end up with the best of both worlds: a finished degree and no undue change to your current lifestyle.
Did you find my tips on online associate degrees helpful? You can get more answers to your questions about online education at http://youronlineeducation.info
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