Finding The Right College Program For You finding the right college program for you

1. Finding The Right College Program For You
There are all kinds of college programs that are available today for those seeking higher
education and degrees in a wide variety of fields. The problem often lies in finding the
type of education that is appropriate for your specific needs. We all learn best through
different methods and identifying your learning method is a great way to understand
what learning environment will work best for you.
The common learning environments for college level studies are the following:
community colleges, universities, and online or distance learning opportunities.
Community colleges tend to offer smaller classrooms with more discussion-oriented
styles of learning and discourse. Universities tend to be more lecture oriented while
distance and online learning opportunities are quite often self-directed learning
opportunities that require a great deal of discipline in order to be successful.
When trying to identify the college that will work best for you, you should keep in mind
your personal learning style. Beyond that you should also consider the type of
environment you expect from your college education and the amount of time you wish
to devote to the pursuit of your education and degree. Some people find that university
life is far too distracting while others find that the solitude of online and distance
learning is a distraction in and of itself.
You will find all kinds of cultural opportunities at a university that you will not find
through home studies or on the community college level. For some students, these
opportunities are icing on the cake and an important part of the learning experience as
you delve into other cultures, art, music, and history. Others find these opportunities to
be far too plentiful and far too distracting for their study needs. Whichever student you
tend to be will make a huge difference in the best situation for your learning needs.
Another important consideration is housing. Most universities have ample on campus
housing for their students while a few campuses experience on campus housing
shortages and rely on housing that is located in and around the college area in order to
fill in the gaps. Some universities will even offer limiting housing opportunities to
students who have spouses and children. While housing on community college is seen,
particularly in rural areas where there is limited housing available in and around the
schools, these are more often the exception rather than the rule. Most community
colleges are largely commuter campuses with very limited if any housing opportunities.
Online and distance learning programs offer no housing to students.
Another concern that most also be considered carefully is the distance between classes

2. and any special needs you may have. Universities tend to be large and spread out. It is
quite possible to need to get from one end of campus to another (a mile or more in
some cases) with a 10-minute window in which to get it done. For students with special
needs or physical disabilities this can be quite problematic, especially on days of
inclimate weather. Community colleges tend to have smaller campuses, which mean
less real estate to cover in between classes. Online and distance learning classes go
with you wherever you have access to a computer. This means that they are as
portable as you need them to be if you have your own laptop and wireless Internet
access.
You must consider all these things and so much more when narrowing down your
college choices. Do you really want to take the personal responsibility required in order
to succeed in online and distant learning courses? Do you want to be limited by the
meager offerings of coursework available at the community college level? Is it worth it
to you to pay the high price involved in a university education? These are all questions
that you need to consider carefully before making the decision as to which college
environment is the most desirable for you.