

Ask HN: I quit my job to finish school. Is it OK to get an online degree? - kitro

I'm 21 and I just quit my job to finish school. So far I have completed 80 semester hour credits with an online school, but was accepted into a reputable college.<p>If I accept the offer, I will surely end up with a better education but also with a loan of $10-25K on top of what I have already earned from work. (The school's total cost is of $30K per year.) Depending on how much credits are transferable, I may be required to continue one additional year before graduating with a BS in Computer Science--the school will not tell me how much credits are transferable UNTIL I accept the offer and attend orientation.<p>However, if I don't accept, thus decide to continue pursuing the online degree, I will save $30K and earn a (cheap?) degree by next summer.<p>I applied for the FAFSA and a dozen of scholarships, but none helped much. Could you please give me an advice? Should I take on loans to go to a better school? Is it all worth the pain?<p>Thank you.
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andymoe
Take the loans. Get the education at the better school. You need to be near
your peers. There is no substitute for this. I went to what was a "commuter
school" and lived off campus and I deeply regretted that distance and lack of
community.

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jolie
In my opinion, you get what you pay for -- payment meaning time, money, and
other sacrifices.

Online degrees are ok if you're already established in your field and simply
need a piece of paper for upward mobility. If you actually need to _learn
shit_ , I don't recommend online universities.

~~~
kls
Right I was one of those "need a piece of paper" guys and I still opted for in
campus instead of on-line even at a school that offered both (University of
Phoenix) and I do not regret opting for on campus.

Before I went, I could not publicly speak or give a lecture and now I speak at
industry events and trade shows all of the time, in front of thousands of
people. That contact and connection of having to speak in front of the class
almost weekly taught me how to let go of the note cards and be natural, I
would not have had that opportunity online.

Now as for tuition fees for these online schools that is another story. I went
back when we had the dot-com bust in 2000 out of fear that I would not be
competitive. Let me say this very clear, if you are considering going back to
be competitive don't, it is a waste of money and that is what the education
trap preys on.

The only thing I got out of my experience was the ability to speak well
publicly, was it worth $40,000, for me yes because my speaking engagements
have returned that ten fold, but that is the fringe case not the norm. Most do
not see a significant return on that debt if they are already established.

Here is a steal my idea, someone should set up a foundation to open an online
university (and then campuses later) using open-courseware and other free
online courseware and offer degrees for free, the school could be funded out
of donations and percentile ownership in technology it incubates with groups
of students.

you could segment the education levels by giving them a grading such as people
that could have went to Harvard or MIT are in the Alpha grade and will receive
and -Alpha degree, state school -Beta, 4 year community -Gamma that way it is
inclusive but reflects the realities of the world, some of us just are not
that smart and degrees should reflect at least on a group level who is where,
yet everyone deserves the opportunity as well as the opportunity to transcend
from one level to another.

