Last week I made a post about CollegePlus, and that gave me the idea to do more posts doing college from home. One of the most common phrases writer’s hear is, “write what you know.” Well, this is something I know.
I love CollegePlus and being a distance learning student. I enjoy “living life on purpose” and knowing what I’m pursuing, the timeline I’m pursuing it on, and why I’m doing college the way I am.
So, why do I think staying home for college is a good thing? There are many reasons. Here’s a few.
- Staying Out Of Debt.
- This is a huge reason to do college from home. A little research told me that a popular, brick-and-mortar college in our area charges $5,621 per semester for tuition and tuition related costs. If you live on campus, total costs amount to approximately $13,281 per semester (
- ). Those numbers make my head spin. Getting a degree from a college like this will cost more than $100,000 dollars! In contrast, my degree will end up costing around $11,304. That’s only 11% the cost of a degree from a normal school! Doing college from home makes it a lot easier to graduate debt free. And graduating debt free is a very (very, very, very, very) good thing. 😉
- It Takes Less Time.
This one is very important to me. I love being homeschooled and am thrilled to do college from home, but I am looking forward to having college in my past. After I graduate, I’ll be able to focus on writing, serving, getting a part time job and who knows what else. You might have noticed that I said I’ve been doing college from home for five years and now you’re wondering why I’m saying it’s faster. You have to understand that, for three and a half of those years, I was still in high school. The first two years of college are devoted to “core courses”. These are fundamental classes like English, History, Literature, etc. Most of these classes are covered in high school and the college classes simply add a little bit more to what you learned in high school. To increase efficiency, it’s not that hard to study the “little bit more” after finishing a high school class and then take a CLEP test. When I graduated from high school, I had two years of college under my belt.
- Missing The College Experience.
Yes, I count this as a positive factor. I shudder when I hear about the long class hours necessary in “normal” college. My parents spent thirteen years homeschooling me in order to save me from peer pressure and the falsehoods taught in most schools. I sincerely appreciate that, and I know that my faith and character are stronger because of the way I was raised and taught. If the homeschool model worked so well for the past thirteen years, why would I want to abandon it just because I’m in college?
There’s a lot more to be said on this topic, but I’ve already written a much longer post than usual. I hope you’ll chime in with your thoughts.
I know there are distance learners among my readers. Is there anything you would add to what I’ve said? For those who have not experienced distance learning for themselves, what do you think of the idea? Any questions?
Leah E. Good 
Great post! 🙂 I am also a distance learner/CollegePlus-er, and I must completely echo what you have just said. For me, also, distance learning has been very flexible (I am a pre-professional ballet dancer). I haven’t been boxed into a one-size-fits-all-stereotypical college model that would not allow me to pursue my dreams — I have been able to do what I love (dancing and worshiping my King) while I continue to get a degree. In the ballet world, many dancers have to make a choice: dance or college? I don’t have to make that decision. 😀 Also, I enjoy setting my own pace, and that has helped me be accountable for my actions (if I don’t study, I’m not going to be ready for my deadlines). Distance learning has helped me set reasonable goals and meet them. Since speed is VERY important for me, I think traditional college would be frustrating, as I would be stuck slowly wading through classes I wasn’t really interested in and still not having the time to do what I love. 🙂 Instead, I have been able to take really, really fun classes (Astronomy, for instance — probably my favorite test of all time!), but not spend 5 months on them (I studied Astronomy for less than a week and still got a great score).
Thanks again for a wonderful post! 🙂
Ah, yes, the flexibility. I forgot to include that. Thanks for adding it to the list, Grace!
I love your time frame for Astronomy. The shortest study time I’ve pulled off was just under two weeks for Civil War and Reconstruction, but I love speeding through courses.
Thanks for commenting!
Thank you for your blog and post on this topic especially. I am a homeschool mom and we are already planning and planting seeds in the hearts of our children for this approach to college. We were brainwashed that one had to go to a “good” (translated: expensive) college to do well in life…and we have the debt to prove it (sadly!). Your points are very good and I look forward to returning to your blog for further discussion as well as book reviews. My daughter is a voracious reader…she has been reading and re-reading Little Women for the past 3 years. She is nine now and it is just hard to keep up with her and know what to offer.
Thanks so much for commenting, Steff. It’s great to know this post was helpful to you. I’m hoping to re-visit the topic in the future.
It’m also glad to hear you’ll be returning to find book suggestions for your daughter. I had homeschooled kids and their parents in mind when I started doing book reviews. My mom had the same difficulty keeping up with me when I was your daughters age! 🙂
Very interesting post! I’m a homeschool graduate myself, currently working various parttime jobs, as well as working for my dad’s business, and trying to save up for college. Lately, I’ve been putting a lot of prayer and thought into the possiblility of doing classes at home. Right now, I’m content where God has me, what He has me doing at home, and I don’t feel Him calling me to leave yet. Yes, debt is a huge factor. I’ve been saving for a while, but I have nowhere near enough to pay for even a semester yet! College at home has its pros and cons, but it’s definitely something to consider.
Thanks for posting!
Being able to stay at home was a huge factor for me. Our culture encourages us young women to get out and be independent, but until I get married I prefer to have my parents protection and guidance. I have thoroughly enjoyed doing college at home and would recommend it to anyone. If you have any questions, feel free to ask! I love talking about it.
Thanks for commenting. 😉
Great post. 🙂 I, too, am a fellow CPer. I begain in 2011 in 11th grade, and have since graduated highschool and become a senior in college, working towards a BA in Liberal Studies. Your heart for the home and family is something special. May God bless your work.
That’s awesome, Kaleigh! Thanks for your encouragement. It’s always awesome to connect with other CP students. 🙂