Hello readers!

I’m MissDegreed, a member of our online education community. Recently, I’ve noticed an abundance of articles emphasizing the importance of having a college degree and the time-, money- and sanity-saving value of obtaining one online. I could submit another “top ten” list of reasons that online college is an excellent option and clog up the internet with regurgitated information, but instead I’d like to delve into some of the more interesting reasons that traditional brick-and-mortar colleges are not so great. I hold a degree from a traditional university, and if I had to do it all over again I would (without hesitation) do it online.

Here’s a collection of experiences you won’t be missing out on:

Overpriced Everything
I used to enjoy starting my morning with a cup of coffee and a low-fat cranberry muffin, as I’m sure many others also take pleasure in. My brain wasn’t fully developed at the time (I recently read that it isn’t finished developing till you’re age 25!) and the idea of shopping for many muffins and lots of coffee at once hadn’t occurred to me yet. Therefore, I used to spend $7.00 each and every day for one muffin and a cup of coffee at the campus breakfast spot. If I had walked off-campus just three blocks I could have gotten a bucket of muffins for that price!

The “New Edition” Book Conspiracy
Before the start of each quarter I had to make the dreaded trip to the school bookstore. It always left me absolutely penniless I lost count of how many times I had to buy “The New Edition” of the same three-hundred dollar book. I eventually came to realize that “new edition” did not actually mean it contained new and potentially necessary information. It simply meant that the topics were shuffled (seemingly at random) to different chapters and thus, if I did not buy the new edition I would have no idea where to look when a professor assigned readings by page number.

They also somehow perfectly timed the publishing of “New Editions” to moments after I’d spent my last three-hundred dollars, thinking there cannot possibly be any more editions for this book!

College Roommates
Roommates in college change like the wind. Majors, jobs and significant others vary on an almost daily basis. There’s always at least one person in crisis-mode about something. It’s stressful, hectic and exhausting. At least three times a week I would wake up to the buzzer ringing wildly because someone in the building drank too much, lost their keys and rang every single apartment at 3:00am until someone let them in.

One roommate I had decided to drop out and move to Mexico on a whim after she met a Mexican millionaire on spring break in Cancun. Another roommate threw a printer at me one morning. For no reason. Well, actually, I had brought home a new dog without exactly seeking out his consent, but still, who throws a printer across the kitchen?

Also, I still have that dog. And he doesn’t have that printer.

Professor Praise-Me
There is a saying in the world of traditional academia: Publish or perish. Unfortunately, this leads to many poorly written and uninspiring books flooding school bookstores and required reading lists.

If I had to write a book to ensure the security of my job, would I?

Well, yes. But I would not:

1. Make each of my coworkers buy a copy
2. Assign them a weekly reading
3. Force them to talk to me about how wonderful/inspiring my writing was:
   1. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11:00 – 2:00pm
   2. For sixteen weeks
   3. While I was holding their performance reviews hostage

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the next er…edition… of what you’re not missing out on at a traditional college!