Is Long Distance Learning For You?

flame [Editor's Note: The author of this article is former owner of this site. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree through distance learning and then was accepted into Syracuse for her graduate program.]

The college web sites I've seen are all chock full of self-tests cribbed from other college web sites. When I read them I find myself wondering if any of those people who wrote the tests ever really took a distance learning course. Well, I have taken the courses. I earned my entire BA via distance learning. I guess I feel like that makes me qualified to write my own "what makes a good DL student" list. So, here goes:

Are you easily distracted? Most of the college sites say that easily distracted students don't make good DL students. I have to disagree. In high school I was distracted all of the time - by other students. So, because my distraction was a facet of the classroom, I would've suffered more trying to do on campus courses than I did doing DL, where I thrived. So think about your distractions. Where are they? Are they in the classroom, or in your home? Go from there.

Organization skills? I am not organized. My desk is a mess. My bedroom's a dump. I had to be organized when I was in DL. It wasn't an organization of things, though, it was an organization of time. A good DL student has to set aside a part of their life for their course work and not deviate from it. I liked weekday mornings when I was home alone. I pulled out my homework, turned on Rugrats (I need noise when I work, something to ignore) and went to town.

Shy? I am a shy person, not the type to speak out, but with DL you really have to. If you don't see your professors every day then you can be in trouble if you've got a question. A good DL student needs to make sure they aren't shy about asking questions, via email, the phone, any method available.

A Self-Starter? If you're not able to motivate yourself than DL probably isn't the best method for you to learn with. No one will be there to remind you to do that paper. It's all got to be you. Make sure you'll be able to make yourself do the work.

Good at Research and Writing? Most of DL is about doing research on your own and writing papers. Make sure that you're good at doing research (either in the library or online, but preferably both) and good at expressing yourself in the written word before you hook up with a DL program.

Looking for the Easy Way Out? Think DL is easier than sitting in a classroom? Think again. As I said, it's a lot of research and a lot of writing and a lot of studying. My BA earned via DL got me in to graduate school (yup, just like an on campus BA) and a good one too, Syracuse University. While I was in grad school I got straight A's. No easy way out would get me that! So just know that you'll have to work, same as traditional classes would require.

Down on DL? Do you have a hang up that DL is "less than" regular college? If you do than you're probably not a good candidate for DL. Taking a course this way wouldn't do anyone any favors.

Got Technology Skills? Sure, only online classes really require computer skills and they play down the requirements for them, but I wouldn't have wanted to do DL without them. I did almost all of my research online. Made things go a lot smoother. Plus, a lot of times email is the easiest way to get ahold of profs.

Family responsibilities, or other reasons why classrooms aren't your thing? If you're a parent of small children or someone else who would have hard time fitting college into your schedule most people would say DL is for you. I caution you to evaluate how you will structure DL into your life before signing up. Make sure you have a time (and place) to work on your studies without your responsiblities. DL takes time. Don't wait until after you've paid your tuition to find out you still don't have time, even at home.

Are you young? A lot of places push DL on their "non-traditional" (read, older) students and discourage fresh out of highschool grads from pursuing a DL degree. Don't let them discourage you just because you're young. I entered my DL BA program at 19 (after working for a year) and completed the BA in three years. DL was great for me! If you're young and want to give it a shot, don't listen to them, go for it :-)