Originally Posted by
SwtBadger
I have a daughter graduating HS this year off to either UW or UM next year per the plan. I do really wonder if it makes sense for Freshmen to attend college remotely and may be better off waiting a year. I just don't see how the value of a prestigious or big name university gets translated through online learning. Relationships with others will be limited, figuring out how to navigate university won't truly happen. Hate to delay growth and graduating, but it would seem that there would be some argument to do a different approach. On the otherhand depending on the major, many of those first year classes are just getting pre-reqs and fillers out of the way.
Excellent points. I think you're right about freshman year. IIRC, most classes were large with little or no interaction with the profs. What you did get was separation from home and getting to live independently in a fairly sheltered environment, and you met a bunch of people. The ones whose education will be taking a real hit are the upperclassmen who would be taking upper level courses with much smaller classes and more interaction with the profs. And for those in the Sciences, no labs!