want to do degree - is OU the best option or are there other good places. Want a degree from a reputable & recongised/recongisable institution

[dreamsofsea]

Mind you, I found the OU website incomprehensible, so think my brain has turned to mush, so having 2nd thoughts! Is the application process generally more complicated than the degree itself or have my pregnancies destroyed alll remnants of brain?

Do you normally attend the occasional weekend? If so, I'd need something close to London. Anyone got experience of distance learning places. Am considering theology. Thanks.

ps is it generally referred to as online learning, distance learning, coreespondance course.... You can see I'm new to this

I'm on my 2nd and 3rd OU courses now and so far have found them absolutely excellant. The course materials are well laid out and explained very clearly and you're eased into anything difficult very gradually. So far I've found them far more accessable than most of my previous attempts at further education.

Go to the Undergraduate prospectus and see what courses interest you and try and determine what degree you want to aim for. Then pick a level one course and click register... it's quite easy... so easyin fact i registered for my first without really realising what I was doing and didn't even tell dp til after the fact!

You've just missed the Winter start dates so you'll probably have to wait til Novemebr, or even next Jan/Feb depending on course, to start.

Generally distance learning seems to be used most frequently

sorry for typos... ds1 was harassing me and i forgot to spell check!

what courses have you done so far if you don't mind me asking? Have you attended lots of stuff, or just been alone at home? Is it mostly online, or 2 am tv shows or buying a gazillion books? WOw, I think my brain has disappeared. Are these normal Q or am I showing myself up

I did S104; 'Exploring science' last year which was heavy going. Eight huge course books, 9 online assessments (iCMAs), 7 tutor marked assessments (TMAs) and an end of course assessment (ECA). I got a Certificate in Natural Sciences out of it though. You'll be allocated a tutor and a tutor group based in your locality, the tutor will usually hold several face to face tutorials, a few online ones and is always available via the tutor group forum, email or phone if you're having problems.

I started U116; 'Environment, journeys through a changing world' in November and am just about to officially start S250; 'Science in context', which will be my first level 2. I've had the books for a few weeks though so I'm already a bit into it.

All my books have been supplied but I think for a couple of courses they have 'recommended reading material' which you buy yourself. No TV shows but lots of DVD-Roms with additional curse material on them. Most interaction is online but Is no more complicated than MN so you'll manage that fine

I'm studying third year psychology, second degree, OU is brilliant but the tutors mark hard. Plenty of support, tutorials, day schools and summer schools. Just sign up, it's easy.

I have just started my first module with the OU. The website can take a bit of getting used to but it's worth making an effort to concentrate and find your way around, find what you need and register.

I will have monthly tutorials during this module, some other modules have week long residentials as part of (or all of it) and each module is between 10 and 60 credits, you need 360 credits for the degree.

Books are mostly supplied with your course materials but they may be the odd one you need to get yourself. Once your course starts you can access the studenthome area where there are regional and tutor group forums, and loads of resources and guidance available.

I strongly recommend it!

SummerRain I am doing S104 at the moment >waves

will put my thinking cap on then thanks for encouragement

The ones I've done have been fab. S250 my tutor wasn't great but all materials were online - never went to a tutorial, nor did most people. E303 the TMAs had to be posted, the set book wasn't available electronically and the tutorials were more important but I still didn't go. The one I'm currently doing I forget the code for but it's mostly online - tutorials, eTMAs, etc. - although some of the materials are paper only or DVD.

They send you course books, occasionally you've got to buy an additional set book.

It's easypeasy. The course materials are in general very thorough and explain things well. IMO the OU is best for distance learning because they're so geared up to it. Other places might have distance courses but the OU really know what they're doing, it's very flexible (no minimum credit requirement in a year, you can have time off, often no entry requirements to courses) and there's a lot of additional support material on the site.

I call it distance learning but any of the terms you mention are acceptable!

lubeybooby... good luck with it, it's a brilliant course. Give yourself loads of time for the ECA though, it's pretty full on!

GFM... how did you find the TMAs for S"%)? I've just seen the first one and I'm quaking, it seems realy tough!

Did OU over a decade ago.

Was a great experience and found lots of support when I needed it. Was given extra time to complete assignment when DD was rushed into hospital etc.

Highly recommended.

Sorry to jump on but I'd love to do a degree and the OU is my best opportunity. How do I go about it? How much does it cost etc?

I thought they were okay when you unpicked them, but getting to the bottom of what the wuestion wanted wasn't always easy. I remember not liking asteroid calculations! TMA2 I really liked - medicinal plants and arsenic? The ECA was quite tough though as I didn't like the nanotechnology topic. I wasn't a fan of the way TMAs were so tied to topics as noone will 'get' every topic so they vary in difficulty for everyone, however I did really enjoy the breadth and interdisciplinary nature of it!

I am doing a 60 credit course at £80 a month - £600 in all. Prices vary - some cost £200 some £1000+

This includes books, tutorials, revision days, tutor support, online forums and support. Tutors are from local university and are active in their field.

I think i'll cope better with the calculations than the stuff on BSE/vCJD tbh.... and that's a sentance i'd never have imagined myself saying before doing S104! I'm looking forward to nanotechnology so hopefully that'll help with the ECA [wishful thinking]. I'm just finding the thought that all our scores count towards my degree so intimidating.... it's much less stressful with the level 1's knowing you just have to pass!

Thanks NT if they will accept fees monthly then it's something I'm def going to look into. Thanks.

There's loads of funding available, apply even if you think you won't get anything, I'm self emplyed and get a tiny amount of housing benfit and because of that I qualified for full funding. I think a lot is available if you get any amount of tax credits too.

There is a way to pay monthly, I can't remember how but it's all on the website somewhere.

Good luck!

And thanks for the tip SummerRain :)

When you register you have the option of 'pay now' or 'charge to OUSBA'

OUSBA is the OU credit agency, they pay your fees and you pay them back monthly from the month after your course starts. Interest is fairly resonable, 5% APR or thereabouts which doesn't work out as too much on most courses.

You can also do a mix of the two... with my last one I had some money to put towards it and soe tesco vouchers too so I paid of a chunk and charged the rest to OUSBA which was fairly simple.

On that note, if you have a clubcard you can get OU vouchers as deals but they have to be used for Level 1 courses

SummerRain, I would like to do an open degree, level 1 modules would be business studies. Do I have to do both modules at the same time to get my 60 credits or do them one at a time?

Yes I have a clubcard so will investigate that too thanks :)

No idea darciesmum.... I'm doing science courses so am well versed in requirements for most of those but haven't even looked at the Business courses. If you email them they're usually very quick to respond and quite helpful though. If it's listed as two 30 credit modules it will probably be two seperate courses altogether.... can't see why they'd be listed as seperate otherwise.

Yeah its two 30 credit modules. Will def email on monday and go from there. Its something i've wanted to do for a while but kept putting it off, but I really want to do it now :)

If you are near London and want a more traditional student experience, you should look at Birkbeck - part of the University of London, all evening study, 2 or 3 evenings a week.

I'm not in uk, so can't do an evening course. So having missed January start, would I really have to wait till towards of 2111 to begin or have I misunderstood?

Quite like the sound of the open degree.

No some start in sept, you have to look.