An Online Semester

 

Want to know what the actual experience of a full online semester is like?

pileofbooks

Prepare to read. Prepare to read a lot.

Online semesters can be incredibly freeing if you get on top of you assignments and have a good work ethic. They are usually a higher workload to make up for the fact that you wont be attending classes, instead you will be reading. In my experience a professor tries to keep the students concurrently engaged throughout the semester by implementing discussion boards and weekly assignments. This is to discourage students from procrastinating and waiting till a week before the semester ends to turn in all the assignments. In my poetry and world literature class, it is not uncommon for me to write 2-3 papers a week on top of the discussion boards and tests.

Online classes can be a blessing and a curse. I find that if I diligently work in the beginning of the week that I have Wed-Fri pretty much cleared up. There is a caveat to this however, most assignments aren’t available for the whole week. For example, my world literature professor will unlock the test and the second portion of the discussion board on Thursday. These will all be due Sunday, so what an online class does in freeing your week, it can do just the opposite by locking up your weekend. That is to say, If you have other friends in college, you’ve just reversed your schedule from yours.

I’m considerably hermit-like. That is, I am alone most of the time and self-sufficient. Online classes remove the need to travel back and forth from campus, except for midterms and finals. Although, they also remove you from that social circle as well. So if you’re like me and are naturally introverted, then a full online semester is your friend. If you are an extrovert, however, then you’ll probably go stir-crazy. That being said, I don’t see why you couldn’t just do your work with a group of friends if you wanted to. I mean, why not? With laptops and mobile phones, you can pretty much take your office or class virtually anywhere.

TL;DR (too long; didn’t read)

Pros:

  • Flexible Schedule
  • No need to travel to campus
  • You can fairly easily set your own pace

Cons:

  • Higher overall workload, in my experience at least.
  • Weekend Deadlines
  • Can be lonely

If you think I missed any aspect of an online semester that you want my opinion on. Please just comment below and I’ll do my best to get back to you in a timely manner.

Till next time, Auf Wiedersehen

I am 20 years old and reside (for the most part) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. I am on my second full year of classes(one year I took a single class as I was working). I have, however, recently moved to Prince George’s County and take my classes almost fully online for the exception of one short class at Takoma Park MC. I plan to finish my associates this fall or winter semester and transfer to a 4-year with an associates in General Studies.

Montgomery College has been my main occupancy for the past 2 years and I believe it’s also been the setting in which I’ve transformed and grown as an individual the most. I won’t say that the College is fully responsible for my change, but it has been a nurturing environment for me to trip up and fall down a couple times. Whether the issue was medical, personal, or economical. MC has been a forgiving institute, that I can say is unique to any 4-year. I feel that if I didn’t take my first steps at MC I wouldn’t be in college right now. I’d be in the army. Hmm, don’t the say the pen is mightier than the sword anyway?

So what now? Well I hope this introduction can show you a little of my background, as I am not a deeply personal man, I actually don’t talk about myself much, even less do I complain. Yet, I see this blog as accomplishing a task greater than a self-dominated diary of my experiences. I want this blog to persuade you to, if you haven’t decided already, to enroll at Montgomery College, I promise you won’t regret it.

This Post Has One Comment

  1. Jake, I like this post. I tend to learn better overall if I see and hear, and I find online courses take an incredible amount of self discipline and as you mention, can be isolating. I agree that the social aspect is very important but perhaps less so as one gets older and has work and family responsibility. In that case, it is a life saver to getting a degree if you don’t have to actually spend travel time or work it into a schedule. You mentioned something very important, however. Just because we don’t enter a classroom with online does not mean one cannot still connect with the class and see if anyone wants to join a study group or do online conferences or Skype with them. They would probably be just as glad to. I am presuming the weekend deadlines are quite intentional since most online students likely work jobs during the week.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts

Back To Top