SoFi Blog

You’ve seen the commercials. The ads pop up on websites when you’re online. Maybe your friends and family are doing it. As more Americans pursue degrees in higher education, more Americans are turning to online classes. But what are the benefits of online learning?

According to a 2017 federal report for the National Center for Education Statistics , the number of people enrolled in postsecondary education is expected to climb by 15% from 2014 to 2025. But, thanks to technology, the education of the future may look very different than it does now—and it may impact more than high school seniors.

Web-based distance learning is becoming commonplace at universities around the country, further enabling people in remote areas to gain access to educations like those obtainable in more urban areas.

The Digital Learning Compass organization reported in its annual Distance Education Enrollment Report that more than six million higher education students had taken at least one online class in 2015.

But is learning online really best? Here are some benefits of online education, and a few pitfalls to avoid if you’re looking to brush up on your skills with an online class—or a complete online degree, cap and gown and all.

The Rise of the Activist Investor

If you’ve been keeping up on the news, you may have heard about SoFi’s latest hands-on way to put your money to work through Active Investing. But are you familiar with the class of investors bearing a similar-sounding title, who are driving dramatic change in the market?

For the uninitiated, activist investors are individuals who buy shares at a public company with the intent of gaining a seat on the board and affecting major change.

When was the last time you spoke to a teller at your local bank? Actually stood there in person at that little window—or even pulled up outside at the drive-through – and deposited or cashed a check, or asked a question about your account?

If you just closed your eyes to think about it—or if the answer still eludes you — you may be ready to move on to a bank without branches. It’s a growing club.

Though plenty of bank branches still sit on city and suburban street corners, consumers are relying less and less on in-person transactions. According to a 2018 Citibank survey , almost half of consumers – including nearly two-thirds of millennials —have increased their mobile banking usage in the last year.

What is it about money and the heart? We try to make rational decisions about buying houses, investing for retirement, even something as simple as deciding on a household product. We think we can take emotion out of the equation.

The truth is, we can’t. There’s no such thing as a completely logical decision. Every choice we make is a mix of rational thinking and emotional desire. And that can be a dangerous cocktail when your personal finances are at stake.

What’s more, most people are largely unaware of their subconscious desires and motivations and fail to take them into consideration when making decisions. You can help to make sound financial decisions every day if you follow some simple guidelines. Even better, you can improve your decision making by taking the steps to uncover the emotion behind the money.

Earlier today, we invited a small group of reporters to chat with our CEO Anthony Noto about what we accomplished in 2018 and what we have in store for 2019. We thought you might be interested to hear what he had to say, too!