Choosing a College Planning for College

Choosing Between Online and Traditional College

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Written by CB Experts

If you’re making the important to decision to further your education, you’ve already taken the first step. But deciding how exactly to go back to school can be a little difficult. It can be tough to choose between a four-year program, a certificate, an online program, among just a few options. If you are unsure of what it is that you want to accomplish, you need to figure that out first. Once you realize what it is that you want to gain from going back to school, it’s now time to decide how to do it. Check out the following differences between online and traditional schools, and determine which college opportunity is going to be the best for you.

Schedule

Your schedule may be the biggest deciding factor in whether to attend a traditional brick and mortar school or choosing an online school. If you’re working full time but still want to go back to school for an education, choosing an online program from a website like Bryan & Stratton College  might work better for you because you can set your own schedule and work at your own pace. If you have a pretty open schedule and want more one on one with teachers and study groups, you might want to opt for going back to a traditional classroom based college.

Timeframe

The time it takes to earn a degree is a pretty important factor when it comes to choosing between online and traditional colleges. While getting a two or four year degree from a traditional college is very appealing, you may be able to earn that degree faster by choosing an online program. One of the reasons is that you can work at your own pace, and if you choose to work fast you may get a fast outcome. But just like the scheduling factor, if you’re the type of learner that benefits from one on one in person learning sessions and weekly study groups, opting for a traditional college might be your best choice.

Cost

The costs of online and traditional colleges usually vary quite substantially, meaning it will likely be an important thing to consider when checking out your education options. Usually online programs cost a lot less than traditional colleges, for a number of reasons. With a traditional college, you’re paying for a lot of extra things you get that you don’t get with an online college. With an online college you won’t get access to a large library (although you may have access to a virtual library), study rooms, face to face meetings with your professors, extracurricular activities, and many other things. If you believe that these things will benefit your education, it may be worth spending extra tuition on going to a traditional college. If you feel like you will be fine without those extras, an online college may be a good financial option. Many online programs do have substantial virtual resources too, so make sure you check with the college to see what kind of things are offered.

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CB Experts

Content created by retired College Admissions consultants.