When it comes to education, it’s definitely one of the most important areas of our life. However, over the past few decades, and especially in recent years, it’s been dramatically shifting away from the old paradigm of only attending a college or university in order to obtain a recognized qualification or degree.
In fact, nowadays, more degrees, such as the online nurse practitioner degree offered by Walsh University are obtained online, and what’s great about these degrees is that, not only are they fully recognized by employers, but they’re completely flexible so that those studying them are able to work them around their existing family and work commitments. You can even get a doctorate online these days.
Of course, there’s always going to be a downside to everything, and since education is such a personal and individual thing, there’s really no right or wrong way to go about getting yourself educated.
If you’re currently trying to figure out whether the online or traditional way of attending college in person is the best way for you to obtain your degree, then in this post we’re going to share with you some pros and cons for both sides of the argument so that you can see which one may best fit in with your lifestyle.
Online:
- More flexible: Online education is obviously going to have a great deal more freedom and flexibility when compared with having to be attending classes on a certain schedule or at a specific time. Of course, you still have to do the work, but you can pretty much make your own schedule as long as you’re turning your work in on time. This type of learning is definitely more suitable for people who need more flexibility in their schedule, such as families with younger children, or those who work long or irregular hours.
- No Commute: One of the best benefits of working from home in any capacity is that there’s no commute to get to work or college each day. Although you may have to go to a college on occasion, if it’s a fully online based school, then you don’t have to worry about commuting at all.
- Same amount of access to support and resources: Nowadays, thanks to the sheer number of colleges offering education online and more people opting for this, basically the only notable difference is that you’re not physically attending classes in person. Other than that, most online degrees and courses come with the same amount of support and access to the same kinds of resources that a traditional college course would offer.
- Can work completely focused: If you find that you get easily distracted, or this is simply something you want to avoid, then a big benefit of not having to attend classes in person is that you can work completely focused in your environment.
- Less social interaction: The downside of doing your college work online is that you’re not going to have the same level of social interaction with your fellow students as you’d have if you were attending a college class in person. Of course, this may not be overly important to you, but studying on your own or just not having the atmosphere of a classroom could get isolating after a while.
- May not have the option for a graduation ceremony: Since it’s now becoming so common for online education to be the norm, many schools do find some way to offer a graduation ceremony for their students. However, it’s not a guarantee like it is when you attend a college in person, simply because so many colleges are based completely online and simply don’t have the facilities to provide such ceremonies.
- You may have less accountability: Another downside of doing your college work online is that you’re going to be left to your own devices, and not have the same accountability that you’d have if you were attending classes in person. Of course, obtaining a degree, whether online or in person always requires a good level of discipline, but in college, you definitely have more accountability to actually get stuff done.
- You may get distracted: It’s also possible that you could get distracted when doing your college work online if it’s from home – especially if you have a lot of things going on, such as people coming in and out all the time and not giving you the time you need to focus on your college work.
Traditional:
- You’ll have more options to meet others: Attending college in person obviously gives you great opportunities for meeting other students and this can help you feel less alone, but also give you people who can help support you and keep you accountable and focused, which is definitely never a bad thing when trying to get a degree or educate yourself in any way.
- You can ask questions right away without having to wait for an answer: A good upside of attending college in person is that you’ll be in the same room or building as your teachers and other students, so if you have a question or need help with something, you can get them right away, and not need to wait on a call back or an email to be answered.
- You can have more personalized in-person support: Although you’ll get plenty of support when studying online, the teacher will be able to offer a great deal more customization to your support that could massively help you when studying in person at a college.
- You’ll have a graduation ceremony: A graduation ceremony is an important part of your college education and provides a great sense of accomplishment when marking the end of everything you’ve worked so hard for, and when you study in person and actually obtain your degree, then you’re guaranteed to be able graduate and attend a ceremony to mark that graduation.
- Less flexibility for when you attend class: A downside of attending college classes in person is that you’ll definitely be tied to a specific schedule and have to attend during certain times, so it’s not always the best choice if flexibility in your schedule is what you’re looking for.
