Tips to Help You Survive Life as an Adult Student

Going back to college years after you graduate high school can provide a unique challenge. However, getting the degree you've always wanted can open up new doors in your life, so the obstacles you may face in achieving that goal are often worth it. Here are some tips to help you handle those hectic days as an adult student.

Create a Schedule

Because you're trying to fit more activities into the same number of hours each day, your schedule may feel a bit more frenzied than usual, especially at first. To keep you from getting stressed out and help you stay organized so you don't forget something, you need to have a schedule.

No matter how small something seems it should be written down on your schedule. Every five minutes add up and can put you behind. By writing down exactly what needs to be done and when, you can be sure you don't forget anything important.

Delegate

Don't be afraid to ask for help. Whether it is from a friend, a partner, or even your kids, helping hands can help make your life a little easier. Let someone else cook dinner once a week, run errands, or do the laundry. You may even want to consider hiring out some tasks to be done, such as yard work. Look for ways to free up more of your time for studying.

Don't forget to factor in the time spent doing homework and completing projects. You'll need to allow extra time besides what you spend in the classroom. Even students attending online colleges, who have more flexibility in their routine, still have to find time to study.

Take a Break

No matter how busy you get, you still need to find time to take a break and relax.

• Spending some time away from work and study can help you feel refreshed when you go back.
• If you have a family, make some time to spend with them.
• If you are single, enjoy a night out with friends or even some alone time doing your favorite hobbies. This will give you the energy to keep going the rest of the time.

While online colleges offer students more options on scheduling fun time, everyone needs a break now and then whether attending virtual or traditional classes. Remember your goal and that the added stress to your schedule is only temporary, and you will get through it.

New Resources for Finding Online Colleges

The popularity of online colleges is growing every day as more and more online programs are accredited and endorsed by established schools and more and more students realise that college online is an effective strategy to obtain a much-needed degree while still working to support themselves or remaining in their existing home if unable to travel.

The College Online Advantage

The reason more and more people are seeking advanced degrees is easily seen by the numbers:

• A study conducted by Georgetown University concluded that by 2018 50% of all jobs will require as a minimum a Bachelor's Degree instead of a simple High School Diploma.
• Individuals with Bachelor's Degrees earn an average of $12,758 more annually than workers without a Bachelor's Degree.
• The unemployment rate for workers who hold a Bachelor's Degree is typically 3-4% lower than those with only an Associate's Degree or High School Diploma.

Finding Online Colleges

One problem, until very recently, that plagued students seeking to experience college online was finding an appropriate college. While brick-and-mortar colleges and universities have endless resources both online and in print that evaluate their programs, resources, campus life, and culture, many online colleges are so new very little is known about them beyond their accreditation status and possibly their affiliation. In fact, an affiliation with an established university has largely been the decided factor for many students pursuing an online education.

Inevitably, new resources are beginning to appear to fill the information gap regarding online colleges. While many one-shot resources online exist that purport to rank and inform about online colleges, these articles are almost instantly dated and often do not offer any individual perspective or experience. Newly established sites like www.onlinebachelordegree.us seek to fill that gap by offering real feedback from actual students that is constantly vetted and updated.

This sort of 'crowd-sourced' ranking and rating system is sure to be popular and effective for the target market of students interested in attending college online in the first place. This demographic tends to be most comfortable with Internet-based services (rather obviously) and the concept of crowd-sourced ratings and recommendations is very attractive to them. These sites also feature very simple search tools that allow prospective students to see at a glance what's offered by an online school, their accreditation and affiliation status, and feedback from actual attendees concerning class materials, technical features, support and overall experience.

Tips for Finding the Best Online College Degrees

Finding a good school to go to is difficult for any student. You have to consider location, degrees and majors offered, cost, reputation, and other details that concern you. Finding online college degrees is just as difficult as finding a program at a brick and mortar school, but there are some benefits. Many times online college degrees are cheaper, can be done quicker, and have the same quality as a traditional degree program. Here are some tips to use in order to find the best program for your needs.

Importance of Accreditation

When looking at online college degrees, it is very important to find a program that is accredited. Accreditation ensures your program follows the same standards and regulations as other programs, and is important for many reasons. First, if you ever find yourself needing to transfer, or wish to go on to graduate school, accreditation is a requirement. Your credits will not count for transfer if they come from an unaccredited school. Secondly, many employers will not hire you if your degree comes form an unaccredited school. Finally, if your profession requires a professional license of some sort, you will not be able to obtain it unless your program is accredited. There are multiple accreditation agencies to look out for, and the specifics depend on your state and your intended career.

Choose your major wisely

You will need to make a decision on the type of degree you wish to have (associates, bachelors, masters, doctorate, or certificate), as well as the type of program you are interested in (psychology, computer science, etc). Although there are hundreds of majors represented online, not everything will be available. Sometimes a major is available online but has the requirement that some classes will need to be taken in person, such as certain labs. It is best to figure out these details beforehand, so that it doesn't sneak up on you and cause you to be unable to finish your degree.

Reputation

You will want to research your online college in order to find out its reputation. You will want to attend a rigorous and high quality program. Think Harvard versus a community college - quality matters. You will want to research the professors, graduation rate, reviews, complaints, and the value you will be getting for your money.

Now you are well on your way to obtaining the advanced degree you've always wanted. This is a great way to advance your career and increase your earnings. Now all you need to do is apply, pass your classes, and graduate!

Private College Fights for Its Position with The Modern College Online

History does not stand still: We're all living in history whether we realise it or not, and the times are always changing whether there are songs on the radio telling us so or not. The endless change in society can be worrying for the older generations, used to the old ways, and exciting to the younger generation always looking for new things, but in the end the only constant in the universe is, in fact, change.

One aspect of the world currently learning this lesson are old-fashioned brick-and-mortar private colleges, which are suffering through a lengthy and seemingly permanent decline in enrolment as online colleges rise in popularity and gain credence - and accreditation.

The Cheaper College Online

The numbers are staggering:

1. A recent study predicted that 30% of all private colleges will close by 2023.
2. Enrolment of freshman students declined more than 10% from 2010 through 2012.
3. The cost of traditional college is immense - and growing. Room, board, Costs have risen 42% in recent years.

In a world where $23,500 often represents a person's entire income, this is increasingly placing college out of reach for many prospective students. And increasingly they are turning to the more affordable college online strategy to attain the much-needed degree.

Online Colleges: More Affordable

College online is more affordable in many ways:

1. Lower tuition in general; most online colleges tuition stands below $10,000 - often significantly below.
2. No associated room and board costs.
3. No transportation costs.
4. Frequently lower or non-existent materials cost (free software and course materials)

Private colleges are fighting back, but the effectiveness of their efforts remains to be seen. Some colleges are expanding their graduate programs to bring in more revenue from older students who are more comfortable with a physical experience. Some are offering scholarships simply for considering the college; for example, Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama now offers a $1,000 scholarship simply for touring the campus; the cost of a 4-year program at Spring Hill is currently $170,000.

However, as the old equation pitting the cost of a degree against the higher earnings of college graduates returns smaller and smaller numbers, the expectation is that private colleges will have to drop tuition costs to compete with online colleges or simply fade away. How many are left after a few decades will depend greatly on how effectively they can recreate themselves.

Avoid Diploma Mills on the Way to the Online College Degree

Someday working people realize they should go back to school to get better career chances. That means not only better wages but also more options available for switching jobs or gaining promotions. Online college degrees can save you time and money, and allow many people to get a degree who would have been unable to if they had to depend on traditional college environments. In order not to waste your time and money on an online college degrees , you should make sure you are not attending a diploma mill.

Purchasing a Degree

Diploma mills literally sell you a degree. That's so simple: pay for a degree and get one without having to take classes or do homework. By some institutions you can even pay for transcripts or graduation certificates. Sounds great, but the degree you will obtain won't be accepted for a job, and will not be accepted if your profession requires any type of licensure or accreditation. They are an expensive waste of time.

What do they say to the students?

Quite often you can hear that they are giving degrees based on your life experience, or based on academic standards that are well below that of legitimate universities. Even if you get a degree it will not help you when nobody will accept it. There are many legitimate online college degrees that are quicker and cheaper than brick and mortar schools.

Diploma Mill is useless when not illegal

Least, but not last, for many people, purchasing a degree from a diploma mill is a morally wrong decision. When people invest lots of time and efforts in earning their degrees, using a diploma mill is a way to try (although typically unsuccessfully) cheat the system. Even if your work experience alone would have qualified you for a job, many employers will turn you down due to a diploma mill degree. In many states, it is illegal to attempt to apply for a job using a diploma mill degree.

Use our recommendations to choose a reputable online college:

• 1. Get information from accreditation websites. The online university should be accredited by a legitimate accreditation agency. And this will be listed on the university website, as well as the accreditation agency website
• 2. Do a search for your school and read reviews and complaints
• 3. Check whether the syllabi compare them to syllabi at other schools
• 4. Make sure the degree requirements match what is typically expected for other similar programs

Should you be attentive and consistent in your search, you can be sure to find online college degrees that are reputable, legitimate, and will help you get farther in your career.

It's Never too Late with Online Colleges

No matter how long it's been since you graduated high school, it's never too late to go back and get your degree. Whether you've been out of school a few years or a few decades, you can still attain the education you missed out on when you were younger.

More Adult Students

While it used to be odd to see an adult on a college campus carrying a load of books, that sight is very common today. In fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, the number of adults over the age of 25 who went back to school increased by 42 percent. This is a higher rate than for those under 25 years, which increased only 34 percent.

Not everyone enrolling is in their 20s and 30s either. Many of them are in their 40s and on up into their 60s. You might even find a few students who are older than that, and are perhaps in their retirement and want to do something they missed out on when they were young.

You'll find these adult students in both online colleges and in the traditional classroom setting. Some of them are enrolled part-time while others carry a full class load. They may have a full-time job or they may have quit work to focus on studying full-time.

Everyone's Reasons are Different

The reasons that adults choose to go back to school are as varied as their ages. Whatever your reason is don't pass this cool database of online colleges by.

• You'll find some who wanted to go to college but didn't have that option when they were young. For them, this is the realization of a dream. They may be the first person in their family to graduate college.
• Other adult students have lost their jobs and need to find a new skill set for today's work force.
• Others are stuck in dead-end jobs with no hope of advancement or salary increases. Still others choose a college degree that was practical instead of what they really wanted to do.
• There are also many students who want to advance in their current field or company and see an education as the way to do that.

The growth of online colleges has helped make a college degree a reality for many adults. You'll also see many college campuses changing to cater to the growing adult student population. It proves that it's never too late to go back to school and get the degree you've always wanted.

Online Colleges: The Challenge of Going Back to School

Many adults dream of going to college and getting that degree they didn't get when they were younger. They may have skipped college in favor of getting a job right out of high school or dropped out of college before graduating. They may even have gotten a degree but not the one they wanted. Whatever the reason, they still dream of going back to school to obtain their goal.

Challenge #1: A Busy Schedule

For many, their lives are much more hectic today than they were when they graduated high school.

• They have full-time jobs, sometimes more than one.
• They often have families, including kids who need their attention.
• It can be difficult to think about fitting homework and classes into that tight schedule.

This is why online classes become such a valuable resource for studying. Many times, you can study when it fits into your schedule, even if that is in the middle of the night. Often, you can take longer than a traditional semester to complete a class or you can take one class at a time. You also don't have to worry about commuting, which is time that can be spent on other responsibilities.

Challenge #2: Paying for School

Another issue that faces adults who want to go back to school is the ability to pay for it.

• They often don't qualify for the scholarships they would have right out of high school.
• They also may not know about other scholarships and grants and often don't have the time to spend researching.

By choosing from the many online colleges available, they can usually find a program that is affordable and fits in their budget.

Studying online also reduces some of the other expenses associated with attending college. For instance, the cost of driving to class and parking fees can add up very quickly. With online classes, there isn't any room or board to pay since you'll be living at home and telecommuting. These are expenses that can add up over time. You are also not limited to attending a college in your area, but can shop around for one that fits in your price range.

Going back to school as an adult can be a challenge, but the benefits far outweigh the challenges for many. Looking at online colleges gives you more options to choose from and allows you to continue living the rest of your life while getting that important degree.

The Tendencies in the college professors staff as more degrees are earned online

The revolution in education that has produced the plethora of online colleges continues unabated. Although largely driven by financial considerations as tuition costs continue to rise dramatically, shutting many poor and even middle-class students out of the traditional college experience, the college online experience is growing in reputation and desirability as new software innovations combined with growing support within colleges and universities themselves creates a workable environment for earning an accredited degree without ever physically attending a single class.

Online courses are cheap to produce and conduct for colleges, and thus are an easy source of revenue for them.

Still there are significant cocerns among academics who are worried that the 'college online' movement will result in the unexpected extinction of a fixture of the academic world: The tenured professor - or perhaps all professors, entirely.

Professors Importance in Online Colleges

Whereas when physically attending courses students often place a great deal of importance on the professor conducting classes based on their reputations, experience, and real-world achievements, there is much less focus on this when it comes to online classes. And where it does exist it tends to focus on the 'rock star' status of some professors conducting 'MOOCs' - massive online open courses. For everyday courses taken in pursuit of a degree, there is much less focus on who is planning and teaching the course.

And colleges like it that way, because it cuts costs and gives them leverage:

• In 1969, 78% of courses were taught by tenure-track professors. In 2013 that number has dropped to 33%.
• The bulk of courses are today taught by Adjuncts, who are basically freelancers and earn about $3000 per class.

The move to adjunct professors is exacerbated by the move to college online, which can be taught by any qualified individual.

Virtual Educators and College Online

Another concern is that even the 'rock star' professors that people will pay extra to learn from may find themselves teaching from beyond the grave. As online colleges are already reliant upon pre-recorded materials and lectures, the expectation is that someday a famed professor with excellent course materials may simply be continuously sold to new students, with no need to find a replacement professor unless significant changes and breakthroughs in the field make the existing course material useless or deprecated.

While the end of professors may be considered to be a melodramatic concept or perhaps even nothing of much concern, it does herald an upheaval in how we educate and learn - and therefore cannot be ignored.