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Online Learner Profiles: Jennifer D.R.

Profiles of Real Online Learners

Guide to Online Education > Online Education In-Depth > Meet Real Online Students > Jennifer D.R., Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences

As a regionally accredited school, a degree from TESC will allow Jennifer to apply to her grad school of choice without barriers.

She also found that although the cost of tuition there does not run much less than that of a traditional program, she saved money by using CLEP exams to test out of a total of 30 credits, which she is applying directly to her degree.

Combined with a Pell grant and a student loan, TESC thus ended up being her best choice dollar for dollar for a total cost of about $6000.

"The student loan exceeds my cost slightly, and that is refunded to me and used to pay for my CLEP/DSST exams and books," says Jennifer, who buys her books through eBay. Jennifer is actually surprised that she's had to buy so many print textbooks.

"I would expect to see much more mixed media," she says.

Like many distance learners, she's had to navigate through course listings to find classes which utilize technologies agreeable to her. For instance, many TESC classes use videotaped lectures, and Jennifer hasn't had a TV in her house for ten years, much less a VCR.

After this semester, she decided, Jennifer is only going to enroll in courses that require one text book. As she puts it herself, "There are excellent resources available beyond a few text books. Even MIT has open course ware on iTunes. As a homeschool teacher, I have used audio and pdf books for years—for free!"

With her dream MEd program with Pennsylvania State on the horizon, Jennifer hopes to go even further in the field she first chose as a teenager.

"With good grades and a great GRE score, I hope to be accepted and start Spring 2009," she says. She knows that her eventual MEd, which will also be online, will be of good use at her community college and for her future in teaching.

"For someone who enjoys teaching and culinary arts, it provides a nice quality of life with good hours." And if there's anything to say about Jennifer, it's that she's not the type to waste an hour.

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