To start a part time degree at 25?

[Ladybird202]

I finished the first year of my degree in 2017, had DC at the end of the academic year, and planned to take a year off and go back part time. But in the year I took off, my university stopped offering part time study.

Full time study isn’t an option due to work commitments, childcare, and finances. I’m completely gutted the university doesn’t offer part time anymore.

I applied for a credit transfer to the open university as they do the same degree, and they will only transfer 60 credits out of the 300 which I completed! I thought this would be a great alternative so I’m feeling really low that the transfer amount would be so low & I’d basically be starting from scratch.

I’m considering applying to a new university, to study a similar subject, on a part time basis. (Assuming they wouldn’t accept credit transfer) I’d have to start from scratch. PT takes six years, so I’d be studying until I’m 31 - which feels too late to finish an undergrad degree..

WWYD?

I teach in a college and my oldest student was 66. He did an access course and started an archaeology degree last year. It’s never too late, 31 is young.

If you didn't do it, you'd still turn 31 but not have a degree. If you can afford it and have the time, then why not?

It's not the same, but I did a postgraduate degree while having children and working part-time. It took me 7 years. I graduated when I was 36. I have no regrets. I have a job I love now and that degree has opened doors for me that would not have been possible without it.

I don’t think 31 is too late to finish at all, but it does seem like a long time off - so I suppose you need to consider if it’s worth sticking with it for so long. Can you tell us what you’re studying? What are the job prospects at the end?

I'm starting my BA in October. I will be studying part time. I am 33.

Get some perspective OP. You either want to learn, or you don't. Age is not a factor.

I started part time when I was 38 with a 1 and 3 year old. And I was a single parent. Its never too late! Good luck.

I started last year and will graduate at 41.

It seems a long way off but as another poster pointed out, I will still turn 41 but I can choose to turn 41 with a degree rather than without.

My DH is 42 and halfway through a Foundation degree

You are never too old, especially as the retirement age is only going up

I'm 42 and just finished 1st year. I'll be 45 when I graduate and I'm not the oldest in my class!

Well I've just finished my part-time undergraduate degree at the grand old age of 33 OP, so I hope I'm not already classed as past my sell-by date. I certainly don't feel it, anyway. My course lasted for 5 years altogether, and I would advise you that the last year is a brutal uphill struggle. However, it's definitely worth it once you emerge on the other side and your options open up completely.

I started a professional qualification at 36/37 (which I could and should have started a decade ago).

still worth it now though - better late than never!

I started my OU degree 5 years ago aged 40. Go for it!

Go for it, providing the practicalities work out.

I started back part time at 38, and am 2 years through 4. It's damn hard work, but rewarding. I've potentially got 30 years of working life left so I want to do something I love.

I

31 is much younger than it seems to you ATM.

Of course it's not too late, and a part time degree can take as little as four years depending on the course.

Can't understand how you gained 300 credits in one year though, is that a typo?

The oldest person in our part time degree was 60. She aced it

Go for it! I got my bachelors degree through OU at 27 and I'm currently in the middle (having a break for maternity) of my masters degree. I'll complete it when I'm 32. Then I'll probably do a PhD at some point but not while my baby is still young!

I haven't had a bad experience at all of being an older student. If anything it's quite the opposite because it really does mean something to you. I definitely think I've got more out of studying later than I ever would have doing it straight out of school.

I completed my degree over 4 years around full-time employment, I'm 30 and have just got my results today, I got a First! I studied in the evenings at Birkbeck in London, and there were plenty of students older than me, so you definitely aren't too old.

If you only did a year of your first degree, that would be 120 credits (not 300 - 300 is a BSc, 360 is a BSc Honours). It might be worth asking the OU if they will count the full 120 credits towards any other degrees as it varies from course to course.

It's also worth checking other distance learning courses - many, many unis offer them now, not just OU. I'm pretty sure you can search by course name and then filter by distance learning only on the UCAS course finder website.

Ostensibly I’d say go for it OP. As a pp said, if you don’t then you’ll turn 31 and won’t have it. May as well start and crack on with it.
What is the degree in though? Will it make a big difference to your earning potential?

I'm half way through my first ever degree and I'm 58. Go for it.

Go for it!
Look on the bright side - if the new university doesn't agree to transfer the credits from the other university - you'll have done a lot of the work before, so it will be easier at least some of the time.

I started a FT degree at 26, had a baby at the end of my second year and changed university to one nearest to my parents with a part transfer of credits. I graduated 5 years later at the age of 33. In my view, completing a course of study looks better all round than a lengthy period of intercalculation or just not completing it, but that's my view. Have you considered distance learning (not OU)?

I didn't even start my first degree until I was 32.

Thank you for the replies!

PixieLumos - the degree I was studying is psychology.

I still annoyingly don’t know exactly what I want to do after (if) I graduate. I don’t want to be a psychologist, but I am interested in being a therapist/counsellor. I know you don’t necessarily need a degree for all therapist or counsellor jobs but I feel it’s a huge bonus.

I’m working self employed at the moment in something completely unrelated - selling handmade items, on Etsy etc - and it’s going well, it has potential to earn a good amount, but I really want a professional qualification/career long term.

I suppose I’m worried about not being in any ‘proper’ professional job until I’m in my 30’s and having much less time to establish my career.

@AwkwardPaws27 - thank you for this! For some reason I thought it was 300 credits per year the OU did offer 120 credit transfer to their Open degree and Open Science degree, I do love the idea of studying lots of different topics but I’m not sure if the Open degree is as ‘valued’ as a subject degree.

Actually reconsidering Open Uni now they’re allowing a transfer of 50% rather then 25% of my previous study and would mean I’d graduate at 29 rather than 31.

Do it, learning enriches life. Starting my MA with the OU in the Autumn, can't wait 😊