Why You Should Take Online Courses During College
Want to strengthen your academic skills, explore a new subject, top up your time management skills, or work ahead and reduce your expenses? Consider taking an online course during college. Let’s take a closer look.
- Student Tips
Full-time college student taking a full course load? Want the magic solution to reducing the stress of rushing from class to class? Consider taking at least one course per semester online.
If you’ve never taken an online class before, consider this a gift—you can probably take the course at your current school and use this opportunity as a way to earn credits that you need to earn anyway, like general education credits.
Ready? Let’s take a look at six reasons why you should take online courses during college.
1. Strengthen your skills
Learn material you didn’t fully understand the first time around in a course you need. Think about applying this logic to a math or history course that you know you have to take and only sort-of understand.
Why online? Time. You probably have a personal timeline, but online courses often have a looser schedule.
Give that course that you suspect could give you grief in the traditional classroom a chance in the online one.
You might just learn something.
2. Explore other subjects
Sometimes the course you want isn’t offered that semester, or isn’t offered at all in the traditional college course. The online option gives you a way to explore a new area or subject, while still maintaining a full courseload.
Even better? If the course you want to take is free. Look at courses on edX and Coursera for fantastic, free online course options.
3. Practice time management and efficiency
You won’t have the stress of rushing from class to class, but you’ll be able to teach yourself time management and efficiency just the same.
As a concurrent online and traditional student, you’ll have to figure out your workflow—much like you will after you graduate.
You’ll need to devise a schedule that makes time for your coursework and devotes time to your online course also—you may also need to figure out where you’re going to work on your online course.
An online course’s flexibility is a beautiful thing (see #4), but you need to figure out the places that work best for you to study. A noisy dorm common room might not work and you’ll need to make accommodations.
4. Embrace flexibility
Not every college student is a recent high school graduate. If you have other responsibilities besides your course load, adding flexibility to your semester with an online course.
Online learning can happen anywhere, does not require transportation (unless you have to travel to an internet-ready location), and can happen any time.
5. Transfer credits
Want to give your semester a boost? Take online courses over the summer. Does your college or university lack a course you want to take? Take the course online and transfer the credit.
A word of caution: before you sign up for an online course that is not based at your college or university, talk to your advisor and your registrar. Why? Make sure that the online course you’re taking will transfer and you’ll get the credit you earned.
6. Reduce your expenses
Online courses cost less money—and are sometimes even free (see #2)—than traditional course credits.
Besides the cost of the course itself, you might need to consider external costs like transportation, childcare, and course materials.
If you’re looking for a way to enliven your learning experience on campus, try an online course—not only will you give yourself a new opportunity, you’ll potentially open a door you didn’t know existed.
Learn more about online studies.
