Online college classes have many advantages over traditional on-campus versions, but there are also some pitfalls that virtual students can fall prey to. College classes taken online in a virtual setting at for-profit schools often come with a flexible schedule, which working adults can use to attend school while still holding down a full-time job. This has opened up a world of new possibilities for people who previously could not find the time necessary to attend college, even at night, due to work schedules subject to change at any time or other reasons that might have hindered their pursuit of a better education.
While it is great that online colleges often offer a flexible schedule, the downside is that students or potential students fail to realize that the term "flexible" refers to which hour of the day the student chooses to log in for their class assignments. It does not mean the student can ignore deadlines for submitting assignments, nor should they expect any kind of extension period to be offered. If the assignment is late, it will not be counted, just as it would happen at an on-campus school. Online college courses are often accelerated so that students can obtain their degrees sooner than otherwise possible. This is a very attractive feature for potential students, but it quickly loses its appeal when put into practice. Students who fall behind are seldom able to catch up because, as the name suggests, accelerated courses do not wait for students having difficulties. Unlike traditional classrooms, the accelerated classroom does not have the teacher readily available to help a student through a particularly tough time.
However, the online student isn't completely alone and, in fact, has access to one of the best student resources available today: student forums. Classmates can log into them at any time and post questions or help answer questions they feel equipped to address. Interestingly, these discussions often benefit those answering questions as much as those asking them. Furthermore, these forums archive previous years' discussions, and nearly all the questions from this year's potential graduating class have been pondered by those who came before. Savvy students will use the search function to read old discussions and get their answers.
The college will provide extensive help in obtaining your student loans, but once the college has its money, the support dries up, and it is up to the student to either be capable of passing the courses or seek help from outside sources to keep up with the pace of the class. Students and former students have complained about teachers leaving classes in the middle of a semester. This simply means the college has a high turnover rate, and it should not affect the student. There have been complaints that the schools did not provide internships as promised. Many success stories include the fact that the student had to find their own internship, so you should expect the same. Graduates have complained that their college had promised to place ninety percent of their graduates into corresponding jobs but did nothing for them. Expect to be in the ten percent that does not get help from the college in finding a job.
To sum up, if you are an ambitious, aggressive person, you will probably do well with gaining your degree online. However, if you are one of those people who need to have their hand held through most processes, it might be wise to seek a more traditional means of gaining a better education.