If you’re wondering whether to become an online student, now’s the best time! Courses from world-renowned universities abound, and it’s easy to structure school around work or other activities you’ve got going on.

Pursuing a degree online comes with its own challenges. Here are seven simple tips to help you overcome them.

1.   Take Your Studies Seriously

Online classes aren’t harder than physical ones, but the different circumstances can make them trickier. It’s easier to get the urge to skip a lecture if you can just watch it later. There’s a slippery slope from there to skipping study time and even losing interest altogether.

Approach your online education the same way you did in-person classes. That means:

• Showing up
• Being present and involved in class activities
• Studying from the get-go, so material doesn’t pile up
• Handing in assignments and meeting other class requirements on time

Consistency makes studying for finals and passing classes much easier.

2.   Create a Study Nook

Studying goes much more smoothly if you have a calm, distraction-free place for it. This can be a corner table at your favorite café or a dedicated desk in your room. Either way, find a place where you can study whenever you need to without interruption. Ideally, it should also have access to plenty of natural light.

3.   Optimize Your Learning Style

Many students who coast through high school hit a wall in college. You’re suddenly asked to understand and memorize a lot of higher-level stuff and might not have built up the chops to do so. There’s no need to panic — all you have to do is figure out and develop an effective learning style.

Maybe you absorb the most from taking thorough notes, or maybe explaining things to others solidifies your knowledge the fastest. There’s no single right answer; all that matters is that you find a learning style you’re comfortable with and that brings results.

4.   Take Advantage of Available Resources

Not being near a physical university library to pop into doesn’t mean you don’t have other resources to draw on. Universities, especially ones with good remote study programs, will offer research databases and virtual library access. You can also likely take in recordings of past lectures or even supplemental materials.

Don’t neglect the interactive and community aspect, either. Your learning platform may offer class-specific discussion groups. If it doesn’t, other students might have already created an informal Slack or Discord server for group study and discussion. Don’t forget to also take advantage of your instructor’s virtual office hours. This is the best way to tackle any questions or concepts you might be struggling with, as well as build up rapport with someone who might become a future colleague.

5.   Keep Cybersecurity in Mind

Students in general are a favorite target for cybercrooks. They use the internet extensively but are still inexperienced enough to fall for all kinds of fraud through phishing and social media scams. Some also have bad habits, like using old or weak passwords for school accounts. If someone ever hacks into other accounts that share these, your personal and school info could be at risk.

There’s danger even if you’re smart enough to recognize scams and use unique passwords for everything. Since you’re remote, you’re also more likely to access learning platforms, school email, etc., through public Wi-Fi. The connection might look safe, but it’s actually easy for hackers to fake or snoop through.

Downloading a VPN before connecting to any public Wi-Fi will help keep you safe. VPNs encrypt the connection, so no one gets to see which websites you visit or what you do online. This also means they can’t send you to fake websites or steal your passwords or student credentials.

6.   Make Time for Life Outside of School

Just because studies are demanding doesn’t mean they should be miserable. You’re entitled to breaks, spending time with friends and family, and enjoying everything else student life has to offer. Within reason, of course. A strong work ethic is important for success, but overdoing it will only lead to burnout.

7.   Don’t Neglect Your Health

How well you treat your body and mind directly impacts both academic performance and overall well-being. It’s tempting to live on junk food and cereal, and you might not be worried since you’re young and healthy. However, bad decisions add up.

Try to maintain a healthy diet with plenty of variety and brain foods. Regularly rest your eyes if studying involves spending a lot of time in front of a screen. Be sure to also get up and stretch to maintain focus and prevent fatigue. Set aside time for relaxing and rewarding activities.

Meditation will help center your mind, and you shouldn’t be afraid of confiding in a friend or professional if you feel like things are tough to handle mentally.