Why not get a degree online?

In the last few years online degrees have become very popular, and for good reason. There are a lot of advantages to an online degree that makes them a good choice for many people. However they are not the best choice for everybody. Not everybody is cut out to study online and in some cases an online degree may not actually meet their needs. It is important to assess your goals and your aptitudes before you enrol in an online degree program so that you can make sure that it is a good choice for you.

The main disadvantage of an online degree is also its biggest advantage, online degrees allow for very flexible scheduling. While this allows students to study at times when it is convenient for them it also presents a problem for a lot of students. The problem is that with no set schedule and nobody to tell you to do your work you have to motivate yourself to get down to work. This is actually something that a lot of people struggle with. The sad fact is that many students who start out to get an online degree will never actually finish the program. If you are going to enroll in an online degree program you are going to have to honestly assess if you are going to be able to make yourself do the work, a lot of people can’t.

The other big disadvantage of an online degree is that you don’t really get a chance to interact with your teacher. This means that you are pretty much on your own to learn the material. While strides have been made in order to make the classes more interactive they are still nowhere near the level that is offered in a traditional classroom while almost all online schools offer some sort of tutorial support when you get stuck it really isn’t the same as having regular access to the teacher. Not interacting with your teacher can also create some potential problems if you want to go on to grad school. Most grad schools are going to require a letter of reference from an undergrad professor; this is going to be a problem if you have never met your professor.

In addition to not interacting with your professor you also won’t get the chance to interact with the other students. This can be a problem for a lot of people. Many people find the social aspect to be an important part of attending school, obviously this is going to be severely limited if you are studying online. Indeed for some degree programs, particularly the MBA a big part of the reason for attending is to network. While there has been quite a bit of progress in recent years to make the course more interactive it is still nowhere near the same as actually attending classes together.