Completing A Bachelor's Degree Early

With college students so often graduating later they anticipated, graduating early or even just on time is a bit of a challenge. If saving time and money is your priority, however, it may be possible for you to graduate a semester or even a year early. Not only is graduating early a possibility if you plan it right, but there are many benefits to shaving a semester or two off the length of your Bachelor's degree.

If you are a high school student thinking about your college plans, now is the time to consider the steps you can take for an early graduation. Most colleges accept your AP course credits from high school as legitimate college credits.

Of course, you will have to get a high score on the AP exam for each class you take in order to get credit for your work. If you are an ambitious student who is willing to work hard, it is possible to take as much as a semester's worth of college credit during high school, saving you thousands of dollars.

You may even be able to take community college courses during high school and during the summer between high school and college. Community college courses are even a great choice for summers in between the years of your Bachelor's degree program, if your college is willing to accept these credits.

The cost per credit will likely be considerably cheaper at a community college, and getting some general education classes out of the way in the summer months or during the holiday break may allow you to graduate early.

You stand a better chance of graduating early if you combine AP and summer college credits with a full course load during the regular academic year. Regularly taking only 12 credits in a semester is not enough to graduate early or even on time. If you can handle the rigors of an 18 credit course load, do so. You'll save time as well as money.

Why graduate early? If reducing the amount of time it takes you to complete a Bachelor's degree is even a remote possibility, it is worth your efforts because of the financial savings. After all, AP classes and community college credits are a free or relatively inexpensive way to earn credits outside of your four-year degree program, saving you a semester's worth of tuition dollars.

You'll also get a jump on the competition for finding employment. Graduating a semester earlier means you'll likely be graduating in the winter rather than the spring. This gives you months of extra time to find a job before the rest of your class leaves college.

Graduating early does not work out for everyone. Dropping classes, changing majors, or taking on a second major or a minor can all hinder your plan to shave a semester off of college. Your Bachelor's degree is not something that can be rushed, so only plan to graduate early if you are comfortable with the pace of your degree.

Educational Instruction With on-line Schooling

The advancement in technology is currently permitting students to earn associate education on-line. Students have many options to think about when deciding on a degree program and college to attend for online schooling. Another important decision that students should consider is the instructional style of a program or course. Educational instruction can make or break the knowledge gained.

The factor of instruction is something to think about because every one has different learning styles. A course that is centered on one particular style may be the best choice for a student, but for another student it could make the learning process extremely difficult.

Online education is evolving to be collaborative and active. Online schools are striving to serve students in the best way possible by integrating interactive and functional technology to make learning easier, fun, and obtainable.

This fact has played a major role in how online instruction is handled. As the popularity of online courses has risen professors are paying closer attention to the way they design their online courses. With this added effort the success rate for students attending school online has soared.

Attending a lecture is one of the most common instructional methods used for the education of adults. Students can attend a lecture online in different ways according to the professor's preference.

For example, students can view or download lectures through note form on the schools' web page. A benefit to attending a lecture online is that other related resources are included and lectures in this form are short and to the point. Online students also benefit from not having to write the lecture down as the professor is talking. Students will find lectures in this format useful in completing the course.

Discussion is another commonly used teaching method. This allows students be active and participate in class. Online courses utilize discussion boards because students may not have daily interaction with a professor.

The best scenario for this type of instruction is conducted through video chat rooms. Other forms like basic chat rooms can have students typing back and forth. This aspect of communicating with classmates is important for students because they can ask the professor and other students for help if they need it.

Small group work and project assignments provide another way for students to interact with each other. Students can all interact at the same time using a video chat room or a discussion over the telephone to work through a project.

They may also interact at different times, which is the case often times due to time zone differences. In this case students are still working together on a project through e-mail and posting on the courses' discussion board. Both interactions tend to make students more comfortable and make their online learning experience feel more traditional.

Most professors use these common instructional forms and more in their educational instruction. Online courses frequently are presented as a combination of multiple types of instruction. A mixture of teaching styles helps individuals stay on track and feel connected to their professor and other classmates.

If you're considering taking online courses don't let the non-traditional format scare you. Online schooling today is becoming more interactive and acceptable. Accredited online education is continually getting better and easier for students.

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