Anyone else regretting picking an online university course?
Anyone else hate their distance learning course but feel trapped in it?
I'm currently studying full time for a distance learning master's course and I hate it. I really regret picking it. I also feeling like I'm letting myself, my family, and even my work colleagues (I had to beg to be allowed to reduce my hours at work to be able to fit in with my studies) down because I'm struggling to motivate myself to do any work.
Some context:
- I have no other major responsibilities/commitments other than the aforementioned now weekend-only job (which I'm currently furloughed from)
- This was my second choice of course. I was accepted into my first choice but unfortunately it was only going to be running part-time which didn't fit into my plans and I decided to switch to a course I knew was going to be running full-time. (this was a big mistake and I'm far less interested in this course!)
- I never wanted to do a fully online course. The first course I applied for had an option for blended learning (online/in-person mix) with a chance to live near campus and use the libraries, join clubs etc. This one is only fully online distance learning.
- It's been 2 years since my undergrad and in that time I've been working near-fulltime
- After undergrad I moved back to my family home where I still live
- The focus of the course is a topic I've not studied before and don't have much background knowledge of
- This course has assessments scattered throughout the teaching weeks of the semester whereas my undergrad had the vast majority due the week after holidays or reading weeks. Not a complaint per se but very jarring and different compared to my undergrad.
So yeah, I am really struggling to enjoy it and stay motivated to do the work, as well as balance a large amount of required weekly reading (the weekly forum post discussions of this reading are assessed) with simultaneously working on essays. There are two live lectures/seminars during the week but everything else is essentially self-taught with varying levels of guidance from tutors. This means that essentially my whole Mon-Fri are completely up to me to schedule, organise and structure. This may suit some but absolutely does not suit me. I personally work far better with more external anchor points to my week (daily classes, for example) and/or an imposed schedule, like at a job.
The course is also fairly content heavy with a lot of topics that I have never studied or only briefly touched upon previously. Some of the subjects are introduced by lectures (pre-recorded or live) but I am primarily having to familiarise myself with new themes and teach myself a lot of new information via reading alone. Again, I know some people thrive this way, but I learn far better from lectures and in-person or live web discussions, followed up by extra reading for assessments.
I've also never been good at wfh. I don't find home a productive place to be and I don't have space to dedicate as 'an office' away from anywhere that is supposed to be relaxing space. If it weren't for covid I'd likely be utilizing local libraries, friends houses, etc. but obviously that's not possible atm.
Overall I find the course very lonely as I don't really know my classmates or feel any sense of community. I also just frankly find it repetitive and a chore to wake up everyday to be faced with sitting at my computer reading and making notes off of my laptop, when that isn't something I'm very good at.
So yeah, I made a big mistake in picking this course (or any fully online distance learning course of this type) just because I knew it was going to be full-time. I should have either chosen to do the original course part-time, tried applying late for another course/for January entry, or taken another year off of education. I'm strongly debating whether to drop out at the end of the semester. The only thing keeping me in is the fact that I'm cautiously excited about next semester's modules (although I know they have no live lectures) and my dissertation idea.
Tldr:
I hate my online course. It doesn't suit my style of learning and I'm bad at having to organise all my own time and self motivate.
Just wondering if any other non-reader focused learners / bad at self-scheduling people had had similar regrets and experiences?
I'm currently studying full time for a distance learning master's course and I hate it. I really regret picking it. I also feeling like I'm letting myself, my family, and even my work colleagues (I had to beg to be allowed to reduce my hours at work to be able to fit in with my studies) down because I'm struggling to motivate myself to do any work.
Some context:
- I have no other major responsibilities/commitments other than the aforementioned now weekend-only job (which I'm currently furloughed from)
- This was my second choice of course. I was accepted into my first choice but unfortunately it was only going to be running part-time which didn't fit into my plans and I decided to switch to a course I knew was going to be running full-time. (this was a big mistake and I'm far less interested in this course!)
- I never wanted to do a fully online course. The first course I applied for had an option for blended learning (online/in-person mix) with a chance to live near campus and use the libraries, join clubs etc. This one is only fully online distance learning.
- It's been 2 years since my undergrad and in that time I've been working near-fulltime
- After undergrad I moved back to my family home where I still live
- The focus of the course is a topic I've not studied before and don't have much background knowledge of
- This course has assessments scattered throughout the teaching weeks of the semester whereas my undergrad had the vast majority due the week after holidays or reading weeks. Not a complaint per se but very jarring and different compared to my undergrad.
So yeah, I am really struggling to enjoy it and stay motivated to do the work, as well as balance a large amount of required weekly reading (the weekly forum post discussions of this reading are assessed) with simultaneously working on essays. There are two live lectures/seminars during the week but everything else is essentially self-taught with varying levels of guidance from tutors. This means that essentially my whole Mon-Fri are completely up to me to schedule, organise and structure. This may suit some but absolutely does not suit me. I personally work far better with more external anchor points to my week (daily classes, for example) and/or an imposed schedule, like at a job.
The course is also fairly content heavy with a lot of topics that I have never studied or only briefly touched upon previously. Some of the subjects are introduced by lectures (pre-recorded or live) but I am primarily having to familiarise myself with new themes and teach myself a lot of new information via reading alone. Again, I know some people thrive this way, but I learn far better from lectures and in-person or live web discussions, followed up by extra reading for assessments.
I've also never been good at wfh. I don't find home a productive place to be and I don't have space to dedicate as 'an office' away from anywhere that is supposed to be relaxing space. If it weren't for covid I'd likely be utilizing local libraries, friends houses, etc. but obviously that's not possible atm.
Overall I find the course very lonely as I don't really know my classmates or feel any sense of community. I also just frankly find it repetitive and a chore to wake up everyday to be faced with sitting at my computer reading and making notes off of my laptop, when that isn't something I'm very good at.
So yeah, I made a big mistake in picking this course (or any fully online distance learning course of this type) just because I knew it was going to be full-time. I should have either chosen to do the original course part-time, tried applying late for another course/for January entry, or taken another year off of education. I'm strongly debating whether to drop out at the end of the semester. The only thing keeping me in is the fact that I'm cautiously excited about next semester's modules (although I know they have no live lectures) and my dissertation idea.
Tldr:
I hate my online course. It doesn't suit my style of learning and I'm bad at having to organise all my own time and self motivate.
Just wondering if any other non-reader focused learners / bad at self-scheduling people had had similar regrets and experiences?
Hey,
I am a distance learner on a part time Masters course and I love it. I am part of a university specialising in online learning and actually feel more connected than I did being on campus during my undergrad degree, during my first module I made it my mission to connect with the others on my course to help reduce any loneliness. Having just changed jobs from retail to working a term time only job it has been quite an adjustment to fit it all in and I don't manage to attend all the live lectures, however during the first lockdown I was furloughed so I doubled up on modules and literally spent all day every day at my laptop and although I didn't miss anything it was tough going. I was glad to come out the other side after 10 weeks having completed both and passing them but would not do it again.
Is it possible for you to take a study break for a few months to consider if it is really what you want to do? Online learning is not for everyone however and that is ok, we are in such a tough situation currently with the job market that it adds another level of stress to everything. Speak to your student support for some advice too :-)
Abigail
Arden University Student Ambassador
I am a distance learner on a part time Masters course and I love it. I am part of a university specialising in online learning and actually feel more connected than I did being on campus during my undergrad degree, during my first module I made it my mission to connect with the others on my course to help reduce any loneliness. Having just changed jobs from retail to working a term time only job it has been quite an adjustment to fit it all in and I don't manage to attend all the live lectures, however during the first lockdown I was furloughed so I doubled up on modules and literally spent all day every day at my laptop and although I didn't miss anything it was tough going. I was glad to come out the other side after 10 weeks having completed both and passing them but would not do it again.
Is it possible for you to take a study break for a few months to consider if it is really what you want to do? Online learning is not for everyone however and that is ok, we are in such a tough situation currently with the job market that it adds another level of stress to everything. Speak to your student support for some advice too :-)
Abigail
Arden University Student Ambassador
Original post by Arden University
Hey,
I am a distance learner on a part time Masters course and I love it. I am part of a university specialising in online learning and actually feel more connected than I did being on campus during my undergrad degree, during my first module I made it my mission to connect with the others on my course to help reduce any loneliness. Having just changed jobs from retail to working a term time only job it has been quite an adjustment to fit it all in and I don't manage to attend all the live lectures, however during the first lockdown I was furloughed so I doubled up on modules and literally spent all day every day at my laptop and although I didn't miss anything it was tough going. I was glad to come out the other side after 10 weeks having completed both and passing them but would not do it again.
Is it possible for you to take a study break for a few months to consider if it is really what you want to do? Online learning is not for everyone however and that is ok, we are in such a tough situation currently with the job market that it adds another level of stress to everything. Speak to your student support for some advice too :-)
Abigail
Arden University Student Ambassador
I am a distance learner on a part time Masters course and I love it. I am part of a university specialising in online learning and actually feel more connected than I did being on campus during my undergrad degree, during my first module I made it my mission to connect with the others on my course to help reduce any loneliness. Having just changed jobs from retail to working a term time only job it has been quite an adjustment to fit it all in and I don't manage to attend all the live lectures, however during the first lockdown I was furloughed so I doubled up on modules and literally spent all day every day at my laptop and although I didn't miss anything it was tough going. I was glad to come out the other side after 10 weeks having completed both and passing them but would not do it again.
Is it possible for you to take a study break for a few months to consider if it is really what you want to do? Online learning is not for everyone however and that is ok, we are in such a tough situation currently with the job market that it adds another level of stress to everything. Speak to your student support for some advice too :-)
Abigail
Arden University Student Ambassador
Hey thanks for replying!
Next semester I'm going to be doing completely different subjects with different students (it's effectively a joint honours degree and i accidentally ended up splitting both sides up by semester) and I'm going to make much for an effort to reach out and be part of a student community early on the semester. I think a lot of the time currently I fundamentally don't feel like a student and that's a massive part of why I'm so demotivated.
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