• W.E. Manning Memorial Scholarship Recipient •

When Your Goal is to Succeed, Don’t Be Afraid—Go Big

Nicole Price doesn’t believe in doing things halfway. She knows what she wants and is willing to put in long hours and much effort to reach that goal. To do this, she is enrolled in five online programs at the same time—a BSBA in Accounting, a BSBA in Finance, Financial Management / Investment Concentration, and minors in Agriculture Business, and Hospitality and Event Management, offered through the Sam M. Walton College of Business and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas.

“I am actually doing five of the online programs,” Price said. “I am projected to graduate in May of 2027.”

A resident of Mount Ida, a town located between Mena and Hot Springs, Price plans to earn her degrees with enough college credits to sit for her certified public accountant examination, with hopes of being awarded an internship that could lead to either a public or private accounting position.

Price, 19, chose to attend online for several reasons. Chief among them were nearness to family, convenience and flexibility.

“I knew staying in a dorm just really wasn't for me, honestly,” Price admitted. “I like the ability to just stay home and be able to do the online program. Studying online works really well. I have an office set up in my home. My family is really understanding of my work, and they really motivate me to do well. And then my fiancé is going to a local college around here. We plan to stay here this year; then, when he graduates with his associate’s (degree), we’ll move up to Fayetteville together.”

Price arrived at the U of A already ahead in credit hours, having transferred 44 hours of advanced placement courses while still in high school. For Price, the transcript transfer process happened without issues.

“My advisor was April McDowell,” Price said. “We pretty much just went over my degree plan, and she's like, ‘OK, this transfers in’ and all of that. I took finite math during the summer, and I was just on track. It all transferred, and it went pretty smooth.”

An overfull schedule might have crushed other teens, but Price worked almost full-time and took a full load of classes (both regular high school and AP), yet still found time to participate in sports and volunteer in her community.

“I would say the biggest thing that helped me in my senior year of high school was the HUB program,” she said. “It's like a work-study program. As long as my classes were done and finished up, I could work or volunteer, and they kind of really worked around my schedule.”

One key to her success is an effective time management system.

“I am very big into using a planner,” she said. “I just write down everything I have to do that week and that helps me stay on track. That skill transfers in to work the same way here at the university.”

The one thing she changed between high school and university was to concentrate completely on her schoolwork, with a bit of self-care and exercise to change her routine.

“I’m taking a really hard full-time load of classes,” she reported. “I decided to just focus on school this semester. It's still been a very busy semester, just without working. All my professors are super good to help and, you know, bring up tutoring. Any questions I have they always e-mail me back super quickly. I love that they do online lectures so I can learn the information well.”

Price advises anyone who might be interested in pursuing an online degree to stay flexible and motivated.

“My advice is to have really good time management skills and to have good self-motivation,” she said. “Stay focused and always try and work ahead and, you know, don't miss any due dates. I would recommend having a planner too.”

Price is a recipient of the W.E. Manning Memorial Scholarship for online U of A students for the 2024-2025 academic year. The scholarship began with small gifts from many people who passionately believe in the transformative power of education. It was created in 2018 to financially assist students who are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate online degree programs.

“I am honored that I was able to receive that scholarship, and I feel relieved that I don't have to pay for that part of school,” Price said. “It helped me to cover part of my tuition and living expenses because I can't really work full time with a full-time course load right now.”