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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Open University

88 replies

reallymate · 13/12/2018 00:17

Posting on here for traffic please ignore if you're not interested it takes much more effort to post a rude response. Has anyone done a law degree (or any degree I guess) with the open university and if so how hard was it? Would you recommend it? And what are you doing now having done it (if you've finished it)? Thanks Smile

OP posts:
KayM2 · 13/12/2018 18:45

I attended , over what is now a wearyingly long life, 7 post 18 or higher education colleges/ unis, not counting the OU. I enjoyed some, not others. I flunked 2.

But the teaching content with the OU was easily the best.

Cleo18 · 13/12/2018 18:45

Yes did a law degree with the OU. Teaching and materials were excellent. Needed to take a break as life/kids/bereavement meant an impossible year - they were fine with it.

It was quite hard but I enjoyed it so didn't find it too bad. Key was to schedule in time, (no work, kids in childcare or out for the day with DH) to get an uniterupted run at the assignments. DH took them away to his family for a few days around exam time too.

I hit a couple of serious problems later, (break-up, illness etc) so didn't do my solicitor's qualifications. I did use the degree in my own job - and it led to better paid work. This was all nearly fifteen - twenty years ago though.

ReadWriteDraw · 13/12/2018 18:59

You don’t do hands on work/people skills in an LLB at any Uni - That’s nonsense. You do that during your professional practise certificate - which you do whether your degree is from the ou or from Cambridge !

Tangarine · 13/12/2018 19:01

I did a masters with the OU related to my work. I really enjoyed it and as others have said, it helped in all sorts of ways - self organisation, resilience, structured thinking as well as the academic learning. And I like to think that I set a good example to (then pre-teen) DCs about life long learning.

Because I found the OU so addictive I then did a psychology degree . Completely unrelated to my field of work, but something I always found interesting.

By the end I was OU'd-out. I recently had to write a 2000 word assignment for a work-based qualification and I couldn't believe I used to sit down with my books and my laptop for hours on end when I was studying.

Can you tell I highly recommend the OU?

brizzledrizzle · 13/12/2018 19:14

I found the OU to be far better organised and more supportive than the brick university I subsequently went to.

Original poster
reallymate · 13/12/2018 20:54

Thank you so much everyone who's taken the time out to tell me of their experiences. Slight disclaimer- I wouldn't be a mature student as I am a teen parent but it would be much more accessible to me and I'm pretty dead set on doing it now based on all of the fab responses in this thread. I'm also signed up to do a free access module (the one I'm doing is related to law but other things as well and sounds really interesting) which is 30 credits they add onto your degree and is starting this February which I signed up to hoping to get an idea of what it's like and if it suits me. My hypothetical plan is to do my llb with them the year after next after I've completed my access course and then do a masters at a brick uni and then possibly do a PhD or go on to do further training to become either a barrister or solicitor although I think I'm leaning more towards solicitor and then possibly do a PhD sometime after that. I have always wanted to do law because there is so much injustice in the world and the system itself and I feel like that's the best way I have of being able to do anything about it and feeling like I have a purpose in the world and I find it all really interesting. Thanks

OP posts:
VanGoghsDog · 13/12/2018 21:19

It's really really hard to get jobs in law.

Gwenhwyfar · 14/12/2018 07:15

"My hypothetical plan is to do my llb with them the year after next after I've completed my access course "

You don't need an access course. The OU's first year is suitable for people with no A-levels. Don't waste your time with it.

Satsumaeater · 14/12/2018 08:06

The thing that bugs me a bit about the OU is the cost of their courses. They don't have the overheads of the face to face universities yet charge the same tuition fees. I did a few Futurelearn courses which is their MOOC platform (online learning courses) and they are great and started off being free (and you paid if you wanted the certificate). I thought that this was their way of giving back as I assumed they had money spare after increasing tuition fees, but then they changed the model so you now need to pay if you want to extend your access to the course, and the prices have also gone up considerably, I was paying about £30 for a certificate and some courses now charge well over £100.

Sorry a bit off topic but I do wonder about their charges.

OP - law is a good course to do for the love of it, but becoming a solicitor is not easy so I would make sure I had a plan B career wise.

brizzledrizzle · 14/12/2018 08:10

The thing that bugs me a bit about the OU is the cost of their courses. They don't have the overheads of the face to face universities yet charge the same tuition fees.

I'd expect them to be less as well but now I think about it, they have a large campus to maintain and I expect they rely on the fees to pay that.

Original poster
reallymate · 14/12/2018 09:56

@Gwenhwyfar I don't think it would be a waste of time for me. And yes I do have a backup plan!

OP posts:
VanGoghsDog · 14/12/2018 10:39

I did a small course before I launched into the full on stuff. It was really useful to get a feel for the level and build my confidence ready to do the full course.

Banana8080 · 14/12/2018 10:43

I worked there for years so speak from a place of knowledge - it’s v supportive, it’s hard (as you’d expect) but they’ll want you to thrive and will support you to do so. You don’t need prior experience or to have worked in law sector before.

misspopsicle · 14/12/2018 10:46

I finished my degree this summer. It isn't a vocational degree (classical studies) but I really loved it. Don't get me wrong, bringing up 4 children, 2 of whom have additional needs, it was tough but I don't regret it for a minute!

elaine26 · 14/12/2018 11:01

I'm currently in year 3 of a psychology degree and I'm enjoying it, yes it's difficult as I'm doing 2 modules at the moment but my first 2 years were not too bad. Student support are really helpful and the forums and fb groups are a good support too. Give them a call

ihatehoney · 16/12/2018 13:07

@Gwenhwyfar Lectures involve speaking up in class and presenting your evidence (as you may well do in court) , it involves potential traineeships for a year which are very valuable in Law. As opposed to being alone at home.

I'm only reiterating what my uni advisor said :)

Gwenhwyfar · 16/12/2018 13:22

ihate - the traineeship isn't part of the brick uni degree though is it? Couldn't an OU student also do a traineeship?
I get the point about doing presentations in lectures. I didn't do law and there were no presentations in my course or any speaking out in big lecture halls either.

Gwenhwyfar · 16/12/2018 13:23

" I don't think it would be a waste of time for me."

Really - OU courses are designed to be suitable for people with no A-levels.

Gwenhwyfar · 16/12/2018 13:24

"but now I think about it, they have a large campus to maintain and I expect they rely on the fees to pay that."

It's not large in comparison to the number of students they have.

Polarbearflavour · 16/12/2018 13:26

I’ve studied with them on and off. I find it better than attending brick universities and having to go to seminars and do group work with other students - blurgh!

Some modules do have optional seminars if you feel starved of student company.

Therealjudgejudy · 16/12/2018 13:35

I have a law degree with the OU. I don't use it exclusively in my field but do use some of my knowledge from it. Law is very hard to get into and also very time consuming

MereDintofPandiculation · 16/12/2018 13:42

*" I don't think it would be a waste of time for me."

Really - OU courses are designed to be suitable for people with no A-levels.

... which is why they start off with a foundation course, and then a very steep increase in difficulty. I found the mathematics courses compared well with my maths courses at a conventional university.

Bombardier25966 · 16/12/2018 13:43

OU fees are less than those of other universities, less than £6,000 a year compared to over £9,000 elsewhere.

RedSkyLastNight · 16/12/2018 13:46

If OP does not have A levels (or equivalent) and/or it's been more than a year or so since she was studying it would would beneficial for her to take an Access course rather than starting straight into a degree. Studies show much better outcomes for students who start with Access in these cases.

Gwenhwyfar · 16/12/2018 13:46

"OU fees are less than those of other universities, less than £6,000 a year compared to over £9,000 elsewhere."

9k in England, not all of the UK.
The main thing, of course, is that you can work while doing the OU so you save a huge amount.

Having said that, I'm not the only person I know who might have life savings if they hadn't done the OU.

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