OPPORTUNITY COST

In your response posts to your peers, comment on the trade-offs made by your peers, and contribute other costs and trade-offs that might be possible. Additionally, discuss why trade-offs differ among individuals, giving concrete explanation.” Opportunity Cost is defined as “the highest-valued alternative that must be given up to engage in an activity.”

POST # 1

The opportunity cost of attending a 4-year university would include lack of time, income, inability to set ones schedule, and tuition payments. In order to attend you have a few different expenses that are required to be paid to attend, such as a parking pass, housing, or cafeteria. With some programs, there are certain classes that are only at a specific time and day. If you are not able to make that, then it will effect your degree. Having these set schedules requires you to have a job that allows you flexibility to work around or you would have to work less. After putting all of these examples together, you end of loosing time. Time for family, friends, or even cleaning. I enjoy online learning above in class campus style learning more because I have to work full-time in order to support myself and to pay for said schooling. It gives me the opportunity to check in on my classes a little each day and finish the week on my schedule. It also helps me to be able to do school work mainly on my days off. I know myself well and they ways in which I learn best. Some courses where I have taken on a campus made me more confused because of the fact the teacher had a way of describing things that baffled me. When I would go home and try to research and relearn it myself, it made much more sense.

POST # 2

I feel that attending a four-year college and staying on campus is not as efficient as doing it online. My wife attended a four year campus and truly enjoyed it but the time and money spent staying on campus has come at a price. My wife just recent finished her Rank 1 in Education Administration her student loans came in and my heart sank. If she decided to pay them off with her full check and not take any pay she would have to work 3 years straight with no pay to pay them off. It has been a big topic of out conversations through the years. I took a skilled trade with online classes and no debt and she has a college degree. I made and currently make more annually than she does and I don’t have any debt. The time issue with her attending universities was very strenuous on her at times with such a strict classroom schedule. The perks of her being on campus was the face to face resources she had and links to job opportunities that may be available. I know that a lot of people enjoy the college life and when you think about it most are straight out of high school and want the freedom and experience to become an adult. I have chose to do online courses and it has been such a great experience to set my own schedule as to when I get on and when I complete my work. Like I said we have three children and I am not able to get any work completed while they are in the room. I do think that a downfall to online courses is the face to face interactions and social help you can obtain. Plus some are more visual and hands on learners than they are from reading online. The flexibility for those who have full-time jobs and lives are the benefits to online learning hands down but if you can’t push yourself to get your work completed then you may not want to do it that way.