As a college student, is it better to take online classes or be there in person?

Hey Vera!

When I was growing up, I hated having to get up to go to class and that continued all the way into college. But what I didn't understand at that time is that I was building a good work ethic and those traits translate to the real world when you get into your career. There's certain interactions with individuals that you can't experience from taking classes online that you'll get if your actually in that setting.

The main one is building camaraderie with your classmates, this is a bit harder to achieve online even though we have Facebook and a plethora of video applications.

If your working a day time job, online classes can be helpful but try to refrain from doing those as an undergrad because you should try to get as much experience interacting with your peers and instructors. The interpersonal communication will translate to your job interviews and between your co-workers once you land a career position.

Hope this feedback helps!

Hi Vera,
In my personal opinion, a college education is the content you are studying (which can be done online), but it is mostly a life lesson, preparing you to be a better professional.
I have a few examples to illustrate my thoughts:
- Human Interactions, Cultural exchanges, people management, These qualities are priceless in a work environment, can not be taught as a subject in class and must be developed via your personal experience.
- getting used to an environment: being able to study from home has its advantages, but it will rarely be the case in your professional life. Getting up, getting dressed, having specific timings, imperatives and obligations is what will shape you to be a better professional.
Some of my best memories so far, both academically and professionally are from interacting with my peers, learning new cultures, new ways of working and collaborating and I hope you can experience the same!
Cheers!

Online classes will not give you enough experiences when compare to live classes where you will get practicals & you have an option to clear you doubts effectively.

I think for your freshman year you should try to be there in person. A lot of times people think they will get better grades online but going from High School to college is a big change and you can get help, ask questions, and form study groups with peers when you go to class in person whereas online it's a bit harder. If you have a class you think will be easy and it is cheaper to take online or the in person class doesn't work with your schedule then online classes can be really helpful!

Simple ... be there, be present, be in the environment, it will be much more rewarding. Remote / internet is easier, but you lose the peer engagement and lecturer engagement, and probably a lot of the opportunity to discuss / ask questions etc

And its a great way to build a professional network for the future (and maybe some friends)

But put away your smartphone!

When I start going to my college, I use to take my bag which will have all my equipment which I need for all my classes like, pencils, erasers ,geometrical items, fountain pens & etc with my lunch bag. Which helped me in finishing my daily class projects in an effective way & helped me in getting good scores.