Im going to try to be as succinct as possible.

I am currently a freshman computer science student.

I am attending a regionally accredited, public/state not for profit school. (UMUC if you want to dig around)

Attending UMUC has proven to have many advantages,

1) I have ~20 credits paid in full via my fathers benefits (he is an employee)

2) I save ALOT of money and time because of non commute, the university also provides textbooks at no cost through the eLibrary

3) Because of the way the semesters/sessions are structured I could theoretically graduate in 3 years total

Disadvantages

1) The required core for the major seems a bit light, however there are alot of CS related classed that can be taken as electives.

2) The classes are 8 weeks in length, this causes me some worry that the curriculum may be watered down and that I may not receive as good of an education in relation to my B&M peers.

3) This is the biggest concern, I question the marketability of an online degree. Though UMUC is a legit and state university I fear online schools have a stigma about them.


maybe im just over analyzing the whole thing and am too caught up in the idea of college?

Please advise!

Many thanks!

In Silicon Valley at least, school doesn't matter THAAAT much. Just have good work experience coming out and you'll be fine.

You learn a ton more from a good job than school anyway.

I work with a lot of people who do CS recruiting btw.

Is this online school associated with a B&M? If so, is the diploma the same? Most B&M online programs give their students the same diploma as the offline students.

The school is associated with the university system of maryland. while they DO offer classes in a B&M setting, the school is notoriously known for its distance learning programs. It originally started as the distance learning program of university of maryland, college park, mostly for military, but has since become its own entity.

Basically, the school is strongly associated with online learning. Some are even unaware they do B&M or hybrid classes.

If it is a state university and a non-profit, then i think you'll be fine. The stigma about online schools is mostly due to the for-profit institutions like Phoenix, Walden, Capella, etc. Schools like SNHU have a good reputation. Liberty University also has a huge online presence, and no one questions their degrees.

To be fair, we have even hired faculty with degrees from Walden and Capella, so they are also rising in the standings. It's a lot different than the stigma from 10 years ago. People are recognizing that online schools are the future.

Thanks guys, appreciate the feedback.

Private online schools are mostly still complete ****. Whatever degree you have it matters more what you know and can do, unless the degree says Stanford or something similar.