Most everyone can agree that online classes will never equal up to living on campus and walking to classes. You won't get to pass your friends on the way to class or even see your professors face to face most of the time, but I have some reasons the online classes may not be all that bad in the time of the national pandemic.
The professors are being thrown into this also; they should be accommodating
https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2020/03/11/practical-advice-instructors-faced-abrupt-move-online-teaching-opinion
Most of the time if the semester is not interrupted, then the professors don't change their expectations and operate on their policies you got at the beginning of the year. I personally have seen through this pandemic and being thrown into online classes that our professors feel the same as us on the stress level and are being super accommodating. They may even give some leeway for the rest of the semester.
You can work at your own pace
https://www.collegeraptor.com/getting-in/articles/online-colleges/tips-for-surviving-your-online-classes/
Most of the time with traditional classes there are certain things that have to be done at a certain time of the day after sitting in a classroom for at least an hour. Now we don't have to sit in a classroom, just do our assignments and tests and then we're done for the day. So far for me, I have gotten everything done by 4 pm and I have been sleeping in. This is much different than when I was going to class every day.
Your Professors are learning how to do this also
https://www.govtech.com/education/higher-ed/Professors-at-Maryland-Universities-Must-Teach-Online.html
All of my professors, probably like yours, have never taught a distance education course so they weren't sure how to do this or how to change the syllabus. It took them a while to figure out how they were going to proceed with class, and what exactly they were going to change, which is understandable. Since they are learning how to do this, they are expecting us to have questions and concerns and are being super nice and accommodating. They will pretty much change it to your liking and ask for your opinion.
You get to move home
life-hacks-make-move-in-day-easier
For me, this is a good/ bad thing. I decided to move home because it made sense. My family and friends are here, my parents make dinner and pay for things which I won't have to do now living at home again. This also means I go back to rules and curfews. So this is a big decision that you'll have to make.
you still have the relationship with classmates since you started off with them
https://spunout.ie/opinion/article/tips-making-friends-college-shy
This isn't like normal online classes. We met and spent time with our classmates before being thrown into online classes, so most of us already have that helpful relationship with our classmates and have a way to stay in contact and help each other with the schedule and assignments. Sometimes, the professors are even in the group chats.
You can now add more things to your schedule
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/383509724503168044/
I know it's hard to say right now that, hey, now you can work and go to school because everything is closed. But now you can do things and pretty much do school work on your time whenever you choose to do so. It allows for people to work if they can find a job, and also allows for exercise and getting enough sleep. You choose what you want your schedule to be (other than the scheduled web conferences for class).
It will be easier to know what's due and when
https://www.unigo.com/in-college/college-experience/creating-a-workschool-balance-a-college-student-perspective
Everything is explicitly listed on the platform with due dates. They can't surprise assignments on you and most of them will even release a weekly schedule every week so you know exactly what you need to have done and when it is due. This is very helpful if you were one of those people that forgot when things were due.
I know we have all been thrown into an awful situation, and have a lot of added stress on our plates. We can get through this, though, and with the universities trying pretty much everything they can do to help people pass, it will not be that bad. I honestly can't wait to see how this situation plays out. I hope that your professors are as accomodating as mine have been.
