Opportunity cost attending college

• Describe the opportunity cost of attending a four-year college (assuming a full-time schedule, living on-campus). Given these opportunity costs, why do people choose a four-year college experience?

• In your own life, what are the trade-offs you face when choosing online classes versus traditional face-to-face classes?

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.”Response to corey My name is Cory Devore and I am attending SNHU to obtain a business degree in Management Information Systems. My wife and I live just north of Atlanta, GA. and are young empty-nesters, excluding two very needy cats. I work in information technology for a large communications company and have been told it will be difficult to advance into higher levels of the company without having a degree. I do not have any exciting career goals at this time but am excited that I will have a degree at the point when I do! If I were to graph out a Production Possibility Frontier for a face-to-face four-year degree program, my axis outputs would be the brick and mortar campus experience on one end, with career and personal life on the other. There is absolutely a bit of scarcity as it relates to a student’s resources, with time and money most likely being the primary two. Living on campus and attending classes in-person would make it very difficult for students to also have a serious career and/or family life. The opportunity cost for maximum output on a degree program (highest passing grades possible) would result in diminished output in the marriage/career areas, and vice versa. I think students choose the physical campus experience over an online experience for the following reasons: 1. Students who receive academic or athletic scholarships might find it easier to live on campus than those without. 2. Students without families or who’s parents foot the bill for tuition are probably more likely to find the traditional class room experience more appealing than the online one. 3. Students with access to unlimited resources or who are comfortable taking out large student loans might opt for brick and mortar. Given that not all students have a career and/or family, one could argue that the opportunity costs will vary from student to student. The trade-offs between classroom and online experience in my own life are quite simple. Given my lengthy work commute, demanding work schedule, and how important my wife is to me- a classroom environment simply isn’t in the cards. The SNHU online program offers flexibility that allows me to effectively manage the opportunity cost and possibly provide a comparative advantage over others attending courses on campus with similar work/life balance challenges. Another contributing factor was that my employer provides a tuition reimbursement benefit. The funds are limited so I wanted to maximize the benefit by steering clear of dorm costs, parking, and other costs associated with an oncampus experience. Response to zachary Hello All, My name is Zac Garza and I currently reside in the small town of Belgium, Wisconsin. I am attending SNHU in order to obtain a sport management degree. Soccer is a huge part of my life and I would love to be able to turn my passion into a career. I currently coach as well as work full time with a company that integrates persons with developmental disabilities into the community. When we look at evaluating opportunity cost of attending a four-year collage, we have to consider the opportunities that students do and do not miss out on. This could include areas such as experiences and income. Spending four years on a campus, focusing on studies, makes it difficult for the students to obtain valuable work experience in their respective fields. It also makes earning money very difficult when your time is either being consumed by studies or your friends. These are two major factors that students could be working on more if they attended school online or maybe attended a two-year college. I will also say that attending these four-year colleges allows students to experience social events and develop certain social skills that people may not get to experience outside of a dorm. This, partnered with the immersive learning experience of attending classes daily, allows for a unique growing experience. I also believe that there is more of a sense of pride that comes with attending four-year colleges. I believe that the desire to experience the college lifestyle is what is most appealing to people. The social aspect outweighs the financial aspect as students are willing to put themselves through a lot of debt in order to get away from home and experience the college life.