The majority of the time, we are encouraged to go to college after we complete high school. However, the truth is that some of us are not made for the college lifestyle and may prefer to pursue Online School, rather than actually attend the university. As you may know, there are major differences between the two and knowing the differences can help you decide which path you want to pursue. Either way, you come out with a degree but, depending on which path you choose, you will come out with two different experiences.

Living on campus

When I began my college career, I was living on campus and taking all of my classes on site.

Where I went to school, freshman were not allowed to take online classes. Therefore, three days a week, I was forced to be in a class by 9 a.m. I usually failed to wake up on time and ended up dragging myself out of bed in the morning. Needless to say, I'm not a morning person at all and having early classes didn't change that. The first semester, I dropped two classes, which meant that I would have to make up the credits second semester. In other words, I would spend almost every second in class.

I spent very little time outside of a classroom, usually only leaving my dorm to eat or if I was forced to for any reason. The school had events going on basically every week, but I never had the energy to go, and I had barely any friends to go anywhere with.

Life on campus was lonely and secluded, mainly focussed on classes and nothing else. For lack of a better term, I hated it. It was not my idea of the college experience that we hear so much about in high school. There were parties and things, but I was never invited to any of them. If you're not popular, then college is really not as fun as they make it seem.

Online school

After a year of living on campus, I got married and moved to Germany. This basically forced me to pursue school online, but I can proudly say that it was the best decision for me to make. I no longer have to be awake at the crack of dawn to go to class. I'm able to do my work on my own schedule, and I have an entire week to complete my assignments.

Not to mention, I find it much easier, and it seems to be a more practical way to obtain a degree.

The best part of online school is that it is much cheaper than going to school and living on campus. On top of that, I only have two classes every couple of months, as opposed to having five or six classes a day. This leads to less stress and more time to actually enjoy life. I'm actually able to do more college-like things now than when I was actually living on a college campus.
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