open university

vincent1989 · 3 Jul 2009 at 17:42

i've been out of education for 2 years now, i was at college studying classical civilizations (among other things) and it was the only one i continued and completed at A level with a C grade (should have been an A according to my teacher were it not for other distractions) and i've been feeling really mopey and bored recently which has made me want to revisit my education.

I can't afford to live on my own and study (i wont have the time) so that rules out moving to a uni and the 2 unis near me (brighton and sussex) are absolutely crap when it comes to anything other than contemporary history (which, sans WWII, i'm really not interested in). so i'm turning to the learning at home alternative. i'm really interested in using the open uni to acquire a degree in classics.

having looked at the course and point structure it seems it's going to take a while to progress to anything like a degree but i think it'll be worth it in the end.

have any of you lot studied with the open university? how did you find it, were the costs comparative to the level of education and the teaching material?

i'm thinking about starting in October, i'm really looking forward to studying again

(something i wouldn't have said 2 years ago) and having something to occupy my copious amounts of free time instead of spending most of it refreshing threads and playing team fortress 2.

sorry if anyone finds this disinteresting but i feel i've been in a rut with my life for most of the last 4 years and i just wanted to express how pleased i am that i might have finally found something to help get myself out of it.

Burnsy2023 · 3 Jul 2009 at 18:16

Remind me why you can't go to a normal uni? Surely the loan + grant would be enough?

4T5 · 3 Jul 2009 at 18:18

Burnsy2023 said:
Remind me why you can't go to a normal uni? Surely the loan + grant would be enough?

Reminds me of the Young Ones & the theme tune, I now have it in my head. :mad:

vincent1989 · 3 Jul 2009 at 18:24

Burnsy2023 said:
Remind me why you can't go to a normal uni? Surely the loan + grant would be enough?

i don't want to start my adult life in debt on a degree that potentially wont lead to a well paying job with the added possibility i wont pass and have burnt a ton of money for naff all.

i also doubt i'll be accepted on any course where there are minimal places and hundreds of applicants with my limited qualifications.

etom · 3 Jul 2009 at 18:27

vincent1989 said:
i don't want to start my adult life in debt on a degree that potentially wont lead to a well paying job with the added possibility i wont pass and have burnt a ton of money for naff all.

i also doubt i'll be accepted on any course where there are minimal places and hundreds of applicants with my limited qualifications.

won't know til you try though? you don't lose much by applying

neil3k · 3 Jul 2009 at 18:29

how old are you vincent

vincent1989 · 3 Jul 2009 at 18:30

etom said:
[/B]

won't know til you try though? you don't lose much by applying

i've got 1 C at A level, considering that the universities that offer the course i want are after BBC + and often 200+ applicants for a 30 place course i don't think i'd have much of a chances

i also don't really want to move away from where i am now if that helps.

neil3k said:
how old are you vincent

20

Brian Stuart · 3 Jul 2009 at 19:00

I got my degree though the OU and it is hard work ! The costs can be fairy expensive circa £700 per unit if IRC. Try this site and it should answer all your questions

Mr Jack · 3 Jul 2009 at 19:05

I'm doing an Open University degree at the moment, I think they're thoroughly excellent. However, I second the view that you might be better seeking a place at an ordinary university.

As to occupying your free time, oh it will. It will, and then some.

Enjoy.

vincent1989 · 3 Jul 2009 at 19:11

Brian Stuart said:
I got my degree though the OU and it is hard work ! The costs can be fairy expensive circa £700 per unit if IRC. Try this site and it should answer all your questions

that's where i've been looking

, it's £630 (not including books) for the course i initially want to study and then i'd just build up the points from there, i've been looking at their financial help and it seems they'd pay the lot for me. is this a loan or is it genuinely all paid for me (bar set books)?

i want something that's going to take up a lot of time, i've got 4 or 5 days off a week depending on whether or not i work overtime and aside from going out with friends of an evening moday and sometimes tuesday and wednesday i've very little to occupy myself, i just feel i'm ready to stick at something unlike in college where i just wanted to finish the year, regardless of results, and get out of there.

Manlove is my forte · 3 Jul 2009 at 19:14

I tied down a full time (40+ hour per week) job and a Full time Distance learning Degree.

Its possible if you are self-motivated, stubborn and refuse to quit.

You just have to remember that no matter how rough a day you have had at work or in your social/family life you will still have Uni work that needs doing

HangTime · 3 Jul 2009 at 19:17

I study with the OU.
It's expensive and will take quite a while to get a full qualification if you work fulltime (unless you are very committed to burning the candle at both ends). I'm currently paying just under a grand per 15pt unit (Postgrad level) and there's no way the study materials are worth that, although they are quite good and up to date.

The good news is there is very little wasted time when studying with the OU, you choose what you want to do and when; by and large the only things you have to submit are TMAs and of course your exam paper. No faffing about submitting homework or taking tests that doesn't count towards your qualification, I'm certainly finding it a lot easier than my degree.

One word of warning is the the estimates of how long it takes to complete a TMA, it says 6hrs (at least for my units) which is absolute poppycock, I'd say 15hrs is more like it. OK so if I did more study in prep I might shave a couple of hours off but there's no way I would be scoring as highly if I tried to rush it all through in under 10 hours.

nate247 · 3 Jul 2009 at 19:19

Im watching this thread with great interest as I would like to do some sort of OU module in Graphic Design... Not meaning to hijack the thread but if by chance anyone on the forum has done similar, it would be great to hear...

Best of luck in whatever you choose to do vincent1989... You sound like you are ready to really apply yourself and I hope it takes you on the career path you desire

Brian Stuart · 3 Jul 2009 at 19:19

You certainly have the time to do the course but bear in mind it will take 6 years to get your degree doing 1 60 credit course a year. I tried doing 1x60 and 1x30 credit courses one year and that was hard

vincent1989 · 3 Jul 2009 at 19:20

Manlove is my forte said:
I tied down a full time (40+ hour per week) job and a Full time Distance learning Degree.

Its possible if you are self-motivated, stubborn and refuse to quit.

You just have to remember that no matter how rough a day you have had at work or in your social/family life you will still have Uni work that needs doing

i'm not sure i would be able to stick it, full time work and full time studying, i'm not hugely well motivated so i have to keep a balance of work and play

. this is another reason i'm considering OU, if i decide it's not for me i can finish the year and not worry about it, it's only £600 (and that's if they don't pay it for me). again, i'm not really keen to move at the moment, believe me brick and mortar unis were my first option but the local ones, as i've mentioned, are pants for classical history

Brian Stuart · 3 Jul 2009 at 19:20

HangTime said:
One word of warning is the the estimates of how long it takes to complete a TMA, it says 6hrs (at least for my units) which is absolute poppycock, I'd say 15hrs is more like it. OK so if I did more study in prep I might shave a couple of hours off but there's no way I would be scoring as highly if I tried to rush it all through in under 10 hours.

Swot

I agree though. Some of the time required estimates are well out.

SoSolid · 3 Jul 2009 at 19:22

vincent1989 said:
i've got 1 C at A level, considering that the universities that offer the course i want are after BBC + and often 200+ applicants for a 30 place course i don't think i'd have much of a chances

i also don't really want to move away from where i am now if that helps.

20

Access course or foundation year?

Brian Stuart · 3 Jul 2009 at 19:22

Does the OU offer the courses you need in Classical History? Make sure there are enough to finish your degree with the course profile you want.

vincent1989 · 3 Jul 2009 at 19:27

Brian Stuart said:
You certainly have the time to do the course but bear in mind it will take 6 years to get your degree doing 1 60 credit course a year. I tried doing 1x60 and 1x30 credit courses one year and that was hard

read my mind, after the first year i was wondering whether doubling up might be a good idea, i'm willing to do the 6 years if i enjoy it enough but i'd rather cut it down to about 4 if i were able to.

nate247 said:
Im watching this thread with great interest as I would like to do some sort of OU module in Graphic Design... Not meaning to hijack the thread but if by chance anyone on the forum has done similar, it would be great to hear...

Best of luck in whatever you choose to do vincent1989... You sound like you are ready to really apply yourself and I hope it takes you on the career path you desire

no worries and thanks, i hope you make a good decision as well

HangTime said:
I study with the OU.
It's expensive and will take quite a while to get a full qualification if you work fulltime (unless you are very committed to burning the candle at both ends). I'm currently paying just under a grand per 15pt unit (Postgrad level) and there's no way the study materials are worth that, although they are quite good and up to date.

The good news is there is very little wasted time when studying with the OU, you choose what you want to do and when; by and large the only things you have to submit are TMAs and of course your exam paper. No faffing about submitting homework or taking tests that doesn't count towards your qualification, I'm certainly finding it a lot easier than my degree.

One word of warning is the the estimates of how long it takes to complete a TMA, it says 6hrs (at least for my units) which is absolute poppycock, I'd say 15hrs is more like it. OK so if I did more study in prep I might shave a couple of hours off but there's no way I would be scoring as highly if I tried to rush it all through in under 10 hours.

thankyou, that's some really useful information, it sounds much more akin to how i wanted to study in college, i hated pointless homework and i hated the 3 hours travelling time a day and the fixed lesson times and having to study the extra subjects that i wasn't really interested (i'm convinced that the travel time coupled with the additional pointless subjects affected my classics grade quite a bit).

and i don't work full time which is a bonus.

vincent1989 · 3 Jul 2009 at 19:32

Brian Stuart said:
Does the OU offer the courses you need in Classical History? Make sure there are enough to finish your degree with the course profile you want.

hadn't given a lot of thought to this. i'm looking at going down the humanities with classics route (possibly) as humanities was another interest at GCSE which should give me plenty of subjects to chose from

but we'll see, i'll be taking the first year as it comes really and going from there

anyway, the nightshift awaits, pity i only got 4 hours sleep

, thanks for any additional replies while i'm at work