Freshman Year Online: Scary or Exciting?

Posted by Jen Zeman on January 23rd, 2009

It would be less than honest if I did not say that being a freshman online student was a little scary. I knew that the course requirements at the bachelor level would be more stringent than at the community college level, but I wasn’t sure just how much. It was a lot more. However, I had prepped myself enough before classes so that it wasn’t overwhelming. In fact, it was quite exciting!

Some words of encouragement to those “freshmen” just starting out:

• Take the time to get organized. Being organized reduces the chances of missing course requirements and helps you to stay on top of assignments.
• Don’t overload your schedule. If you work full-time I would recommend taking no more than two courses a semester. I was taking three and while it worked for me, it meant that my life was work and school – nothing more. I would also recommend reducing the number of extra-curricular activities you participate in. If you start to have too many things competing for your attention, your school work will suffer. Make school your priority!
• Check in with the online classroom at least once a day. Most programs require participation in weekly discussion questions. There is also usually a place to post online questions to the instructor so it’s good to check that out regularly (if you have a question on something, most likely someone else will have the same question).
• Allot plenty of time to get the course required assignments and readings completed on time. Remember that even though you are not physically sitting in a classroom three hours a week, the required readings will more than make up for it (i.e. the readings take the place of the lecture).
• If you work full-time, schedule strategic days off during the semester. Use these days to complete term papers or additional assignments. This will reduce the stress of trying to beat a deadline at the eleventh hour.
• Schedule time for yourself! Even if it’s just an hour a week, use it doing something fun and refocus your mind.

Above all else, stay positive and focus on your end goal – a college degree. By maintaining a positive focus, all things are possible.

Tags: advice to freshman online, Freshmen, online learning

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 23rd, 2009 at 5:00 am and is filed under Life as a Freshman Online Learner, Student Voices. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.