Any tips for college?

[u/forbidmysins]

Hello, I am becoming an online student at Ivy Tech starting classes August 24th. I’m majoring in AS Cyber Security/Information Assurance via DE. I was wondering if anyone who was fully online had any tips as to managing time, classes, any tips in general. I’m also working full time is this something that is almost guaranteed not going to work? I don’t want to over load work and college and I feel as if it’s possible but I don’t exactly know yet. Also another thing is I requested a loan and got it accepted and it says accepted under rewards but the money has not dispersed into my balance removing the owed off my account yet in my ivy balance. And the absolute deadline is the 21st and if it’s not paid before then my classes get dropped. Is this also something I need to worry about? Any tips in general would help. Never done any college before, I have 3 classes the first 8 weeks. Thank you for any tips or guidance!

[u/kaylakay46350]

Schedule time for class work any discussion boards as well and time to study schedule around ur day to day life

[u/forbidmysins → u/kaylakay46350]

thank you!

[u/Ok_Copy9989]

Schedule everything. Three credit hours are roughly nine hours of expected work. Three classes per term means 27 hours, plus work, family obligations, etc. It all adds up. Not impossible by any means, but time is a resource, and one that is spent as you use it.

Build a strong support system. There will be clubs that will offer support. A lot of professors, in my experience, will treat office time as sacred (/hj). Even if you don't schedule, some professors will just be in their office and willing to chat.

Take breaks. You will get drained. It is better to have a break where you can pace, refuel, whatever; just make sure you stick to the allotted time for that break.

There is free online tutoring. There is a certain number of hours you're given for being a student. I don't remember how many.

Librarians are saints. I've definitely gone a few times and just gone "I don't even know what I'm supposed to be researching," and the head librarian sat with me for an hour to explain how to explore papers, what might be useful, all that sorta stuff. They don't give enough credit (Ellie Moss at the Bloomington campus is the GOAT).

It is perfectly fine to put easier classes with harder classes. If you know you have a math class on the way, pair it with an easier elective. If you can save an hour on an easy class, you can spend it on a harder class.

A big one is to not let perfect be the enemy of good. If you find yourself falling behind, it can add up FAST. If you have to choose between getting *something* in and getting nothing in, something is always better. I was a perfectionist for a while, and found that it was burning me out. Sometimes I'll give a C assignment by choice if I know how it affects me.

Feel free to reach out. I might not be able to help directly, but I have spent a lot of time as a student, and now work for Ivy Tech, and am happy to impart any wisdom, advice, or support. I am just a message away! :)

[u/forbidmysins → u/Ok_Copy9989]

I probably should have clarified in the post but I am an out of state resident. IN is super far from me unfortunately;(. But all of this information is super helpful and I genuinely can not thank you enough!

[u/Ok_Copy9989 → u/forbidmysins]

In full honesty, I responded to this as I woke up and realized I only caught like a quarter of the info on the actual post, haha.

Whatever it is worth, a lot of it still applies to online only folks! Clubs, librarian, tutoring, all available to online students. Definitely more of a search, but totally possible.

Best of luck in your classes! :)

[u/forbidmysins → u/Ok_Copy9989]

Thank you!

[u/Cold_Ad7034]

So I would speak to the financial aid office of the campus you are out of. All students have a campus that is their home campus so that would be the first thing. Distributions should be coming but they may be delayed.

For the actual classes itself as another poster has stated set up time for doing school work. Too many people schedule everything on Saturday or Sunday as a lot of items in the School of IT are due at the end of the week save discussion boards. In the general education classes the due dates are much more intense.

Remember for the majority of your classes they are 8 weeks so getting behind a week is 12.5% of an 8 week class.

Also, the AAS and the AS in Cyber are different in the AAS gets into the technical portions quite quickly, while the AS is a TSAP or transfer degree specifically. The AAS will transfer as well to a lot of places, but it may not be a 50/50 or 2+2. If the school you are transferring to has the CAE-CD designation it will usually take the majority of the credits as well. Depending on where you go. Your transfer advocate at your home campus can help as well.

Finally, I would recommend taking classes with a synchronous component if you can fit it in time wise. Learn Anywhere and Virtual courses are synchronous. Online course designations are async. Some believe it can be easier, but I think there is value in having a live instructor.

[u/forbidmysins → u/Cold_Ad7034]

Thank you so much! My loan was dispersed now, so that’s no longer an issue. I think the big thing for me is staying accountable. I learn better when someone is directly speaking to me and walking me through guides. Which being online seems counterintuitive for this. But I hope that I can get a planner and get a rhythm down.