adhd kicked in about halfway michael. cliff notes next time, k? thanks. your friend, the dickhead.
hahahahahahahah On 1/2/07, Mike Tangorre <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > From: Zaphod Beeblebrox [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Okay, I really, really think that I need a degree. I've got umpteen > > hours of general studies, but due to circumstances (called the real > > world) I've never completed my degree. I know that there's a couple of > > you out there that have been doing online college. I'm curious as to > > your experiences and if it's been practical to do between work and > > family life. > > Also, what college are you using? > > > I earned my Masters degree in Computer Information Systems from Strayer > University (they offer online programs, traditional on-campus programs, and > various combinations of both) - I took all my classes online. I did go to > the local campus for my thesis presentation but could have done it online as > well. It took me about two and a half years, but I was in no rush. > > I earned my Bachelors degree in Computer Science from Alfred University and > found the on-campus experience more rewarding (on various levels) compared > to the online experience at Strayer. If I could do it over again, I would > have went to the University of Maryland for my Masters degree if for no > other reason than the human interaction -be it with professors or > classmates. Physically being around people provides the opportunity to learn > more than "the days lesson"... you can pick up so much from small talk > before and after class, seminars, special presentations, etc. > > Strayer offered two formats for distance learning: synchronous (you are > online "live", where you may or may not be part of an on-campus class) and > asynchronous (you are not "live" but have access to the lesson audio, > slides, handouts, etc). I chose the latter so I was not tied down and > committed to a specific time every week. If I wanted the former I would have > just attended the on-campus classes. I logged on to get the reading > assignments, homework, slides and partake in the discussions (via the > forums). You were required to login "x" times per week (time was tracked) > and partake in the discussions and any questions that were posted. The > discussions were good in that you could be as thorough as you wanted to be - > providing links to resources and even posting examples when appropriate. > Compared to in-class discussions this was a plus because you weren't > consuming an entire class period with your own responses or questions. I was > also commuting to work on the metro, an hour each way, which was perfect for > reading/responding to the discussions so that part worked out great. > > I found the time commitment and balance of work and family to be very > manageable as long as I scheduled "school time" every week. I usually spent > an hour or so M-F doing the reading and partaking in the discussions. On the > weekend I spent 4 or 5 hours doing the assignments, usually in the early > morning so I could still have the day for other things. > > A couple things... > > 1. It is very easy to "get by" with the online classes because you can > Google just about anything. If you are really dedicated to learning and not > into wasting your money this isn't an issue and you do the work and accept > the grades you earn. A lot of people cheat themselves by doing the least > work possible - sometimes copying work, etc which I never understood but > that's another conversation. > > 2. Do not buy your text books from the school you attend. They will try and > force this (at least Strayer did) by having their own books bound which were > nothing more than the text book you could buy online with a different cover! > I saved HUNDREDS buying the books on my own. Even some of the professors > will tell you what the differences are and if you really need the "school > version" of the book. The only time I did not buy the book elsewhere was > when it was bundled with lab books (Simulation and Modeling classes were two > big ones). > > 3. If you already have a degree and are working on another one, be sure you > don't take any classes you already took. Look at the class descriptions very > carefully and compare them to classes you have taken. I was told I had to > take a bunch of programming classes which I knew I didn't need... nor did I > feel like I should have to test out of them. I went in and spoke with the > Dean who finally excused me from 4 classes! That could have been a lot of > wasted money. > > 4. If your employer offers tuition assistance, use it. I made the mistake of > not taking advantage of this because I did not want to come up with the > money to repay them if I left - not realizing that I could have banked the > loan money and been fine if that situation presented itself. If you are > paying out of pocket, pay as you go - loans are always available, especially > for graduate students. My biggest regret is not taking longer to earn my > Masters degree, instead choosing to take out loans to pay the tuition. I > won't see the benefits for a long time because the pay increase for having > another degree is not enough to offset what you pay in the end with loans. I > will say this though, as a graduate student you are able to borrow > ridiculous amounts of money that can be used for other school related > expenses such as: transportation, housing, food, books, etc... and at the > time the interest rates were so low that I felt like I shouldn't pass it up! > I borrowed quite a bit of money that I didn't really need but where else are > you going to get a loan at 2% interest? :-) > > Let me know if you have any specific questions... sorry for the long post, I > thought the information may be useful to you. > > Tango. > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Create robust enterprise, web RIAs. 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