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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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Anyone got any experience of OU? Wanna get some qualifications because I was shit in school and didn’t fancy college etc when I was younger. Now I can’t really afford to give up work to do a course |
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"Anyone got any experience of OU? Wanna get some qualifications because I was shit in school and didn’t fancy college etc when I was younger. Now I can’t really afford to give up work to do a course"
Yep. but the deadlines keep coming. Make sure you have the time to put in. It may limit your time here! |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"Anyone got any experience of OU? Wanna get some qualifications because I was shit in school and didn’t fancy college etc when I was younger. Now I can’t really afford to give up work to do a course
Yep. but the deadlines keep coming. Make sure you have the time to put in. It may limit your time here! "
 well if it does it does. Thanks for the info though. |
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There are so many options out there, it's worth taking the time to choose what best suits you. Besides distance learning like the Open University, there's probably an university close to you. Almost all of them offer part-time and evening courses, and you may prefer the structure and the actual contact to remote learning.
Also important to understand your goals in doing this. It will be hard work, take a significant amount of your time and cost money. If you've gotten along fine without the qualifications, why do you feel you need them now? Will it improve your job prospects or are you doing it for personal satisfaction? And does it have to be an university course? There are plenty of short intensive things you can do that can be very useful and come with a certificate e.g. learning first aid or wine tasting ... Linking it to a hobby rather than seeing it as education makes the workload easier. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"There are so many options out there, it's worth taking the time to choose what best suits you. Besides distance learning like the Open University, there's probably an university close to you. Almost all of them offer part-time and evening courses, and you may prefer the structure and the actual contact to remote learning.
Also important to understand your goals in doing this. It will be hard work, take a significant amount of your time and cost money. If you've gotten along fine without the qualifications, why do you feel you need them now? Will it improve your job prospects or are you doing it for personal satisfaction? And does it have to be an university course? There are plenty of short intensive things you can do that can be very useful and come with a certificate e.g. learning first aid or wine tasting ... Linking it to a hobby rather than seeing it as education makes the workload easier."
All very good advice OP. Also, think about build up to a degree if you've been out of education for a long time.
Perhaps do a short course first to see if you like it? Perhaps sign up for a WEA course nearby in a topic that interests you and that's delivered by a university lecturer? |
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OU offer an 8 month Access Course, which is a lower workload and an introduction to the general area you may wish to study. It's very accessible and many qualify to study it for free.
I would highly recommend it to anyone. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I did a degree with the Open University. I was forced to leave university due to ill health and for quite a while studying from home was easiest for me.
I liked it because of the flexibility. If I was having a bad day, I didn't have to study... or I could do an hour here and an hour there. The courses I did required about 15-20 hours of study a week, so there's room to work around there.
I'd say the biggest downside is that it's all on you. You have to plan and manage your time efficiently, you have to be willing to commit to sitting down and working for at least a couple of hours every night. For people who aren't used to studying alone or people who procrastinate a lot, it's going to be very tough. |
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I completed an OU degree in 2016. It suited me as I could study while working. I got an OU loan and paid each course off as I studied.
I would definitely recommend it but if you are doing a degree, it will take around 6 years so you do have to be in it for the long run. That said, you can take a break once a module is completed.
Met some great people along the way. |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"OU offer an 8 month Access Course, which is a lower workload and an introduction to the general area you may wish to study. It's very accessible and many qualify to study it for free.
I would highly recommend it to anyone."
Exactly the kind of thing I had in mind. |
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I've done a few courses with the OU, but I found it difficult to juggle around work and family. I ended up going to uni as a full time mature student and loved it. Hard work but when you've got other students around all the time and easy access to lecturers it felt like I wasn't alone and had much more support. The financial side of things was rough though. |
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