Student Life

What it’s like to be an O’Neill Online student

The flexibility and convenience that make online courses perfect for working professionals also make them a little different than residential courses. Here you’ll learn what it’s like to be an O’Neill Online student, from the time commitment to what’s expected of you in courses. 

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Description of the video:

I'd really love to work for a nonprofit that is human rights-based, social services something like that, so I thought it prudent to expand my knowledge. When I was looking at going to grad school, I really wanted to find a program where I would have good work-life balance. Really O'Neill was the only one I wanted to go to. I didn't even apply anywhere else. I am a single mom of three-year-old twins and they are in preschool. I think that my kids find it kind of fun that I'm in school too, because I started grad school at the same time that they started preschool. So it's nice, I can sit at the table and do my work and they'll be you know reading a book. Then we're sort of like doing our homework together. I knew I wanted to do the program online because the flexibility is really key to my lifestyle. Working, a single mother of two three-year-olds, in-person classes on a regular basis is just not something that was possible. So honestly the online program is what made grad school possible for me. One of the great things is the classes are asynchronous. I don't necessarily have to be online two days a week at 1 pm to see the lecture. I can watch after my kids go to bed. You fix it to your schedule. Whether it's you get up early and do homework or you do it at night. It is what you make of it. With the program being online and asynchronous and as flexible as it is, it makes it easier for me to spend more time with my kids like after school. At this point with them being so small, that's so important to me. I think showing them that Mommy was able to do this while you were little - I hope will make them realize that absolutely anything is possible for them.

Start your MPA with an optional on-campus experience

MPA students can meet classmates and professors in person—and get a head start on their degree—by participating in an optional, weeklong program held on our Bloomington, Indiana, campus. It’s a great way to earn a quick three credits.

Learn more about O'Neill Online week