• You are going to pay less. Your taxes at an online college don’t include paying for cleaning personnel, electricity, water, building maintenance, construction of new buildings, buying books for the libraries and so on. You are even going to save money from transportation costs because you obviously don’t have to be attending any class. So you won’t be paying for gas, parking space and so on. Unless you want to have your college lesson in the outdoors, somewhere in nature.
• You have the ability to create a schedule and take classes according to your free time. If you have a part-time or even a full-time job hence you probably have anywhere between 2 and 10 hours of your day occupied. Unlike traditional college, where you have to attend classes whether you like it or not, here you can leave time for everything, if you have good time management skills.
• If you are already an adult person, but would like to get a qualification in order to start a new job, or to learn the latest techniques and discoveries in your area, then an online college is just for you. You won’t feel awkward because you’re around hundreds and thousands of students at the age of 20. You are going to be in the comfort of your own home and, as I already mentioned, study at your own pace.

(Source: collegesandcareers.wordpress.com)

CNBC reported recently that degrees from online universities are gaining acceptance with employers and with society in general. There is no doubt that employers are simply familiarizing themselves with the validity of online degrees as they increasingly show up on job applications. This is why the accreditation of online universities is so important. Without accreditation, your employer can never be sure if your online degree is not just the product of a diploma mill that cranks out worthless diplomas to people willing to pay for them.

Online degree-holders should know how to market their degree, using their particular mode of education to their advantage in interviews. Employers’ ears perk up when they hear that a job candidate was able to go to college and work at the same time, balancing both successfully. That translates to them that the candidate has the ability to be dedicated to a task and accomplish a challenging goal.

Read More from ResumeBear…

 by Ellen Bremen

1.  Talk about your readiness for distance learning and realistically assess whether or not it is for you. 

Talk to a prof who is well-known for online learning (doesn’t even have to be one whose class you will be in), a student who loved online learning and one who didn’t love it, an educational adviser, or even by taking a distance learning readiness quiz like this one or this one or this one (or one that your college offers!).

Sound like a lot of investment and time? Well, if you are planning to be a full or part-time career online student, finding out what online learning really looks like is worth that time.

2.  Discuss the obligations of online learning with anyone who has the potential to support you (or hold you back).

Many, many of my students do their online work in the early morning, late evening, and some float in and out of the course site while they are at their jobs (not that I’m saying this is the ideal). In a traditional class, you have set times for your learning and you are conveniently away from work or home. Online learning will be very different. You will be in the thick of the exact distractions you are usually away from.

If you start to feel seriously nervous, ill, sweaty, nauseous, etc., your mind and body may be telling you something. If you truly do not believe you can handle the workload, the schedule, the requirements, or that you have the dedication for this type of learning system, then listen to that gut feeling and read tip #5 below.

5.  If you find yourself under water before or during the first week or your circumstances have changed, tell your prof and find another class option.

My message here is do not just fade away from your online course without letting someone know that you have a) changed your mind about this mode of delivery; or b) a life circumstance will prevent you from being in school at all.

If the class is not right for you, go to the prof immediately and say, “I have realized that the online version of this course is not right for me. Can you help me find a face-to-face course that would work for my schedule?” You may also be able to find a hybrid course that meets partly online and partly face-to-face, an evening class, or a weekend class.

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Government Grants

Government grants are the most common type of grant available because they are easy to attain and have very little requirements other than US citizenship and SSN. Government Grants can range from the Pell grant which gives between $650 – $6,500 per academic year to a student or the conditional TEACH grant which grants up to $16,000 per year to a student. Other supplementary grants for equal amounts of a normal grant may also be earned through application through the FAFSA.

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1. Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck, this book help students figure out what they truly want to do with their lives and how to work towards their goals. This is a great read for young adults that are unsure of what career to pursue.

2. 50 Best Jobs For Your Personality by Laurence Shatkin and J. Michael Farr, this book is a very unique resource that helps college students choose a future career, based on their personality type.

4. Your Best Year Yet by Jinny Ditzler, will help motivate students to work toward their goals and make this year their best one yet.

5. Get Your Degree Online by Matthew Helm and April Helm, this book will help students discover what classes to take, degrees to pursue, and how to earn their degree online.

9. Career Wisdom for College Students: Insights You Won’t Get in Class, on the Internet, or from Your Parents by Peter Vogt. Sometimes college can’t teach you everything that you need to know. Fortunately, this book will help fill in the gaps.

Read More…

Back in grade school, probably the least appealing thing anyone could have suggested to me involved taking classes during the summer. The mere thought of summer school made me cringe, and I didn’t want anyone infringing on my right to a homework-free summer. But once I got to college, the game changed. As I saw thousands of students staying in school to take summer classes, I realized that they were on to something. There are many reasons why you should stick around the classroom come summertime.

Stay in the Social Scene

Although many students look forward to sumer as a time to unwind or get out of the daily college grind, many end up as hermits who waste months hanging around the house. While summer should be a time to relax, you don’t need to go into social hibernation until September. Summer classes are an excellent way to keep you socially involved. I would venture to say that summer classes actually provide a better atmosphere for meeting people than the normal school year. This is because summer classes are usually smaller, which creates a more intimate setting to develop closer relationships with classmates. So if you’re looking to make a few new friends, consider finding them in a summer class.

Out of Town? Online is the Answer

It is true that the majority of college students either go home for the summer or find work or an internship to keep them busy. For those of you who don’t stay close to campus during the summer months, there is an option for you as well. Almost all colleges now offer options for distance learning, whether it be through online classes, independent study, or another method of taking classes. Online classes are nice because they usually have deadlines for you to meet, keeping you on schedule to finish the course in a certain amount of time. If you don’t think you can consistently find time to meet periodic deadlines, some colleges offer independent study courses. These classes let you work at your own pace, as long as you finish the course within a designated period of time, such as a year. These courses typically cost more money, but they can be worth it depending on your circumstances.

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Charlie Sheen has been all over the news recently. His bizarre, and entertaining quotations have mesmerized the nation. We here at My Colleges and Careers would like to present what these quotes reveal about Charlie Sheen’s chances for #winning at online education.

Ten Reasons Why Charlie Sheen Wouldn’t Do Well At an Online College:

1. He would melt his keyboard with his fire-breathing fists, rendering him incapable of taking online classes.
2. Most online colleges don’t offer warlock studies.
3. Trying to turn tin cans into pure gold will get him an F in his chemistry classes, but an A in an online course in alchemy, maybe he really is a warlock!
4. It’s best to stay off the internet and online universities if you want to avoid “trolls.”
5. Any professor in an online nursing program would disagree that Charlie Sheen is a drug. 
6. English teachers of online courses wouldn’t allow him to spell corner with a “K.”
7. The teachers at an online school would be unable to process his papers with a normal brain.
8. If he has been surfing on a mercury surfboard he is likely suffering from mercury poisoning and should see a registered nurse.
9. He couldn’t study in an online criminal justice program if he plans to be a sheriff with an army of assassins.
10. If he took an online philosophy course he might start to believe that the scoreboard can lie.

Also: Check out our Hello Charlie Sheen Word Press Plug-in

The good thing about going to an online college is that there is no reason to be nervous because it is so different, yet similar and familiar to attending a traditional college class. The following are ten reasons you shouldn’t be nervous about going to an online college:

1. You get to go to school from the comfort of your home.
2. You don’t have to worry about talking to anyone new.
3. You don’t have to worry about public speaking, which is excellent for those with anxiety.
4. You can take your time and do your class work anytime of day.
5. You don’t even have to get dressed! You can be in your pajamas and go to school online. Online colleges allow you to be nice and comfortable and not have to worry about how you look.
6. You don’t have to worry about driving and traffic. You can save money going to an online college because  of high gas prices.
7. You don’t have to worry about asking the teacher for help because you can do this through emails, which makes it easier to ask questions.
8. You shouldn’t be nervous about going to an online college because you are in control. You choose when and where to do school. Online college is made to focus on the student, so you are in control, given the tools for ultimate success of a higher degree of education.
9. You still get books and lecture notes to help you study and get a good grade on your class quizzes and tests, just like you would in a normal classroom.
10. You also still get to interact with fellow students, just in an online environment, which may make it easier to talk to someone new and make a new college buddy. They can help you with class assignments and with any troubles you may have in an online college.