Oct
19
In high school, our teachers and counselors would always encourage us to do our best so that our chances of getting into a good college would be good. A good college was always defined as an Ivy League school where we’d be pushed even harder to attain our bachelor’s, master’s, and our doctorate. We were told that this is what we should shoot for, but we were never given any reasons why. That is a no brainer though, right? It wasn’t to me. In fact, from the outside it seemed as if the Ivy League schools were little more than a perpetuation of the “better than you” elitism that was ever present in my life as a high school student. Well that, and an excuse to charge $30,000 a semester.
I never finished high school, but I ended up getting my GED and eventually enrolled in my local community college. What I found was that most of my professors at my school knew their stuff very well. The only real problem with the curriculum there is that they had no budget to work with, so any learning was restricted to what we could get out of books or on the computer. There was never a lack of knowledge from the Professors, and with the help of government financial aid at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/, it didn’t cost me a penny either.
I can’t speak for everyone but while I was in high school what I really needed wasn’t the lies emphasizing the importance of getting into the best college. All that ended up doing was create stress in trying to achieve perfect grades. What they should have been talking to us about was majors. Knowing what you want to major in is such a hard decision to come to, considering many people have multiple interests and certain fields will yield more job opportunities than others. Furthermore, the emphasis on Ivy League schools tends to make people feel like they are failing if they don’t make it into one and instead have to settle for Online Universities.
The fact is, it doesn’t always matter where you go to school, it just matters that you went and finished. Plus, what happens when someone undecided on a major ends up getting into an Ivy League school to pursue a specific major, but has a change of heart after their freshman year? Not all schools have a wide selection to pick from, and their only option might be continue down the wrong path at their current school or drop out entirely. You likely wouldn’t have that problem if you were taking classes online as it would be simply a matter of looking for online degree programs in computer engineering or some other discipline.
Oct
9
Recently I began thinking about furthering my education again. I received an Associate’s Degree from my local community college about a year and a half ago, but that alone is nothing more than a stepping stone to a four year school. By itself it’s nothing more impressive on a resume than a high school diploma, which is really only good for getting jobs at Starbucks or McDonalds. I’ve been putting it off for a while but I’m at the point now where its time to start taking some actions – specifically, finding a school to transfer to in order to pursue a bachelor’s degree.
I’ve been putting off transferring for two reasons; cost and hassle. Cost is slowly becoming a non-issue, but the hassle of moving from where I’m at to some place I’m unfamiliar with is constantly there. For that reason, I’ve been considering WaldenU.edu. Specifically, I’m interested in obtaining a B.S. in Computer Information Systems. I’m not dead set on that though as I have some interest in the physical sciences as well (Astronomy, Geology, Meteorology) – and after looking through Walden’s Walden University’s online degree programs, they didn’t seem to offer courses in those areas.
Nevertheless, I need to learn about Walden a bit more and make sure an online degree program is really what I’m after. There are advantages to taking classes in person and in the past I’ve found that I learn better when I attend classes, but that’s mainly because I get distracted while I’m on the computer by IMs, emails, etc.
Aug
8
I’ve wanted to go back to school for a while now. Ever since I got my Associate’s Degree at a local community college, I haven’t really done much of anything school related. Part of the reason for that is cost and part of it is ability. I don’t own a car, so transferring to a four year school that’s not a reasonable distance away from where I live is not really an option. What I have been considering is applying to an online university like WaldenU.edu, though I have mixed feelings on how effective any online education can be.
The thing I liked about Walden is that their Enrollment Advisors stress that the cost of education is justified because it is “an investment in yourself.” I also liked that their purpose is to help give people the tools needed to make a positive impact in the world. I think a lot of universities lose sight of that, especially when students are pressured to pursue a higher education for the sole purpose of making more money. While that’s always a plus, it shouldn’t be the driving factor behind your decisions.
While browsing Walden University’s online degree programs, I noticed they offer a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Information Systems, which is one path I was considering taking if I was to attend school again. That coupled with the flexibility of online course schedule’s is what’s making me want to set aside some more time to learn about Walden.
Jul
16
Early last year I completed my Associate’s Degree at a local community college. I took general studies, which was designed to transfer students to a four year school, where they could pursue a bachelor’s in their related field of interest. In retrospect, I think it was a good choice because the financial aid provided by the government at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ was more than enough to cover the cost of tuition. The education wasn’t top notch all around, though I have to say I did meet some extraordinary professors who definitely knew their stuff.
I think the best part about attending a community college was that it enabled me to test the waters with courses taken online to see how they could compare to the courses you take in person. The answer to this isn’t really clear cut either, because Online Courses are going to work well with some people and be horrible for others. It’s all going to depend on the type of person you are. If you are good at keeping yourself involved in the material you’re learning (meaning you read about the material even if it’s not explicitly assigned), you’ll do well. If you’re interested in the subject matter it will also help because you’ll be more inclined to stay involved in the material (or you may have some knowledge of the subject already).
If I was to ever pursue an online education for my Bachelor’s degree, it would only be with certain majors. Some Online Degree Programs in Science would definitely be manageable for me – I’m interested in Astronomy, Meteorology, and even Geology and have read a lot about these subjects already. Something like Computer Science I would probably shy away from, because with any Programming course I’d want to be able to communicate with the Professor in real time about problems. Even though you can get help with issues through e-mail, it’s much harder to get walked through a problem on the computer.
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