Online Students: 6 Common Mistakes You Should Avoid

    Monday, July 19, 2021



    If you want to study online or are already doing so and want to succeed, avoiding these mistakes and studying hard is the way to go.

    During the last few years, online learning has been on the rise. Last year, it became the only possible way to study because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused many students to go through the online learning experience first hand. Many students found the experience dissatisfactory, while many others found out studying online brings about many benefits, including:

    • Studying from the comfort of their homes - or wherever they prefer to study.
    • Being able to choose the time of the day they prefer to study.
    • Not having to move to another city or commute, which would be a waste of time. They can spend that time studying or doing something they like to do.
    • Being able to work, either part or full-time, because they can schedule their days as they see fit.

    These benefits, and many more, convinced many students to keep on studying online once classes go back to normal.
    If you are one of these students, you should be careful and avoid making the following mistakes, because they can cause you to fall behind, feel lost, among other things.
    Avoid these 6 huge mistakes

    1. Underrating the difficulty of the online program


    Thinking that online degrees are easier than on-campus degrees is a common mistake, but the truth is that both of them require the same effort. In fact, it may be more difficult to study online than on-campus, because many online students typically work or have family commitments at the same time.

    2. Being disorganized


    Studying online requires discipline, responsibility, time management and self-accountability. If you are disorganized, and tend to procrastinate, then studying online is definitely not the way to go for you. Since students who study online programs are on their own and have no one to remind them of what they have to do or study, they need to be organized in order to keep up with everything and avoid falling behind.

    3. Not being careful about nonaccredited programs


    If you are interested in studying online, then you should make sure the program you choose is fully accredited. Otherwise, even though you will have learned, you will end up with a useless degree. Digging deep into the programs and universities you are interested in is a must in order to make sure you pursue a fully accredited program.

    4. Studying on your own


    Even though studying online means you won’t have physical contact with your classmates, this by no means implies that you have to study on your own. Thanks to technology, there are plenty of ways students can communicate with their classmates and form study groups so that they benefit from each other.

    5. Not listening to your own study preferences


    Since you will be on your own most of the time, making sure you don’t ignore your study preferences is essential to avoid getting distracted or discouraged. If you force yourself to study at night to save time when you know you are better in the morning would not help you, it may end up making you hate your degree. Listen to your preferences: This goes for the time of the day, the place, among other things.

    6. Not asking for help


    If you feel you aren’t learning, you should go to counselors and instructors for help. They are there to help you go through any crisis you may have and learn. You can contact your professors during their office hours if you need help with a topic, and you can also get in touch with your classmates.