When I was a student, I was also a mother, wife, and employee.  As such, I often felt as if I were burning the proverbial candle at both ends.  I would typically factor in at least a half-hour drive-time (each way), and an additional half-hour to find parking and walk to my class.  When this time was added to my already hectic schedule, I frequently felt overwhelmed and stressed out.

Once I discovered online classes, however, much of that stress went away.  Below are some of the pros and cons to this fairly new method of learning:

You can learn from the comforts of your family room.

This was especially helpful for me, as it meant that I didn’t have to send my kids to the sitter’s as often, and was able to save on gas and wear and tear on my car.  However, I recommend that you have strong time management skills and orderly surroundings, as it is easy to become distracted and not stay on-task.

You can learn at your own pace.

There are still syllabi to follow and deadlines to meet, but you can choose when and where you study, and can usually choose testing dates that are convenient for you.  For example, if you are not a morning person, you don’t have to worry about those dreaded 9 am classes.  However, you must be strict with yourself, as it is easy to fall behind when you don’t have a professor supervising your progress in the class.

You can’t get away with skipping reading assignments.

This can be viewed as either a pro or a con, depending on your love of reading.  Whereas a lecture-based class can allow a little leeway with reading assignments, you don’t have that luxury with online classes.  For example, I took a two-part Art History class online, and ended up reading all 1,264 pages of the textbook.

You have a more impersonal relationship with your professor and classmates.

Because you rarely, if ever, meet face-to-face, it is difficult to have the same kind of relationship with your professors and classmates that you have probably come to expect.  True, you can exchange e-mails and telephone calls, but this does not provide the intimacy that comes with interacting with each other in the classroom.  During my last semester at the community college I attended, I was pregnant, and my professor was unaware of it until I requested an extension on an assignment due to complications with my pregnancy.

It is more difficult to resolve problems that you may be experiencing.

If you are having trouble understanding an assignment or meeting a deadline, your only recourse is to e-mail your professor and await a response.  Because your professor has many students inundating them with e-mails, delays are to be expected, so be prepared to be patient.

Internet classes offer more flexibility than the traditional classroom setting, but I wouldn’t recommend them until you are confident in yourself as a student.  Once you have laid solid groundwork, however, there’s no reason to not take advantage of this option, especially if it makes your college experience easier.  College is stressful enough as it is; why not simplify things whenever possible?