POTS and College

Disclaimer: I am not a medical or a legal professional, please consult them if you need them. I am just going to clarify that I am a teacher so I am speaking from both a teaching perspective and a student perspective who has gone through this.

When I was looking at colleges online schooling was not really a thing or the ones that were available did not have a good reputation. By the time I was going to grad school it seemed like every college was offering at least some online classes.

With online classes I think it’s much easier to manage POTS symptoms but online can be hard for people. Online programs there are generally two options: synchronous and asynchronous.

Synchronous

Synchronous means that you’re going at the pace of the class, probably having a weekly zoom meeting where class time would be. This would allow you to take your classes from home but you would be on schedule, which could help you stay on track but could interfere with times you need to rest or have doctor’s appointment.

Asynchronous

Asynchronous means you’re going at your own pace, this could be pre recorded lectures or mostly reading based. This would also allow you to work around your schedule and do work when you feel your best. You need to be very self-disciplined for this though, there is no timeline and most of the time professors only grade assignments, not giving too much feedback.

Suggestion for Online College

Make sure when picking an online course you pick the one that works best for your learning. If you’re thinking about doing one or the other but have no experience, I would suggest trying a cheaper one at a junior college or community college to see if it’s a style you like before signing up for 4 years of it.

In Person

In person college can be wonderful but challenging. I did in person schooling for both my undergrad and graduate programs because that is how I learn best and what was available at the time. While I loved my undergrad experience in person and living on campus but it was challenging.

I have since done some online classes and found that they can be hit or miss in terms of content and work expected. I loved my in person undergrad schooling because of the social interactions I had. For grad school I would have loved to do online schooling but it wasn’t an option at the time. It would have saved me a 3 hour commute every weekend and once a week.

Conclusion

There are so many personal choices that go into choosing a college. What I tell my students and most parents will tell their students is that if you make the wrong choice you can always transfer. There are really no wrong choices when furthering your education unless it is something you really don’t want to do or something you will not see through.