I want to go to college but I will not be permanently living where I am now. I will not be here in 2 years and probably not even one year. I do not have time to attend colleges down here beyond the fall semester.
I will be moving to a place in Alabama where the nearest schools are all almost an hour away and only one has the major I am interested in pursuing. There is also a college nearby that has what I'm interested in, but it's an online one called with a mix of good and bad reviews. Is there any way an online college can be taken seriously? Is it actually possible?
An online college can be a viable way to earn your degree, but it depends on whether the college is accredited and has a solid reputation. Overall, colleges that are solely online and have no physical campus are considered less reputable than those that have residential campuses but also offer online degrees.
I'd recommend reading this article for more information on choosing a good online college. The gist of it is that most employers won't care if you took online college classes to earn your degree provided they recognize the school as legitimate. If you choose a school that is widely respected as a traditional residential college, there shouldn't be any issues. Try to pick an online college that has a real campus located relatively close to you (less than 300 miles away) and is regionally accredited. You can check out this list of the best online bachelor's degree programs according to US News to research your options.
Earning an online degree is more convenient for many students for a variety of reasons, and it's become so common now that there is very little stigma attached. You could even leverage it to your advantage by pointing out the fact that you were in charge of managing your own time and had to navigate challenging assignments independently.