Has anyone undertaken an OU degree as a mature student?

[KittyMcKitty]

And if so how did you find it?

Clearly the stress of having dc in years 11 & 13 isn’t enough for me as I’m very seriously thinking of embarking in an OU degree (Art History and Visual Culture).

I’ve looked at the cost and would get a P/T student loan. I work part time and am also the secretary of a busy sports club. I think time wise I will be fine (will do 60 credits a year).

I will be doing it for purely selfish reasons- something for me which I feel I will enjoy and find enriching.

I’ve not told anyone irl (other then my eldest who thought it was a good idea) as I’m worried people will think I’m silly to want to do this at my age (early 50’s).

So tell me honestly am I daft or could this be the best thing ever?

Honestly...unless you are going to increase job opportunities from the studies and actually get a full time job and earn more... I don't think there is any point in get a student loan to finance what is a pointless course. If you are wanting to study and do something enriching then I would find smaller, part time free courses.

I'm currently doing an OU degree, with a student loan. I'm 32, and on level 2 so third year of doing it. I really enjoy it! I'm not really planning for a career as such, I just want to have a degree. You can withdraw at any time, so I'd say go for it OP!

I am 49 and started a part time OU degree in October. I'm really enjoying it, studying something completely new to me (social sciences). I find so far that it doesn't take up as much time as they say, but I think they do ease you in quite gently in the first year. I work p-t, volunteer and have DC in Y10 and Y12, and tbh it's great to have something to think about that's new.

I'd recommend it and you only have to commit to one year at a time so not much to lose. It is definitely enriching my life and who knows where it might lead?

OU degree courses are hard going time wise, please don’t underestimate 60 credits and it gets harder as you go up the levels...60 credits a year will take you 6 years to complete...that’s also a lot of money in the long term. However, if you have the time, can afford to do it and more importantly want to to do it then go for it! You could look at doing a diploma first that can be turned into a degree so if you find it’s too much, at least you will have a qualification? Good luck! 🍀

I have - well, an overseas equivalent as I was overseas at the time. Degree recognised here in the UK though. Do it! Education is not all about a return on investment...

If you’ve been thinking about it for ages and carefully considered the time required AND if it’s a real passion, go for it!!!
I’ve been teaching mature students returning to education (largely mothers) for nearly 20 years, and the transformation they experience from studying and gaining qualifications cannot be underestimated. It creates such great opportunities for increased self esteem, a different sense of identity, and presents an excellent role modelling example for your DC.
Do it and ENJOY!

@freakyfairy

Honestly...unless you are going to increase job opportunities from the studies and actually get a full time job and earn more... I don't think there is any point in get a student loan to finance what is a pointless course. If you are wanting to study and do something enriching then I would find smaller, part time free courses.

If the OP works part-time, the likelihood is that she won’t even need to start paying the loan back. If she does want to work full time, art history is no more pointless than any other humanities degree. You can enter all the careers that other humanities graduates can, plus there is a range of other avenues specific to the art world.

Smaller free courses such as MOOCs are not an alternative to a degree if you are looking for depth and challenge. Most of them involve watching a few videos and answering a multiple choice quiz.

If the OP works part-time, the likelihood is that she won’t even need to start paying the loan back.

Oh well then by all means the OP should take from the SLC if she had no intention of paying it back...Jesus Christ as if the U.K. hasn't got enough to pay for!! it's all take, take, take!

@freakyfairy

If the OP works part-time, the likelihood is that she won’t even need to start paying the loan back.

Oh well then by all means the OP should take from the SLC if she had no intention of paying it back...Jesus Christ as if the U.K. hasn't got enough to pay for!! it's all take, take, take!

Wow you sound nice but I guess I did ask for opinions

To clarify I have no plan to work full time as it stands but I don’t think your “take, take, take” comments are justified- I have always volunteered my time (currently with sports club and other areas - if I didn’t give my time then several hundred young people would not have access to sport). Anyway I have not said anything about my plans to repay the loan so not sure where the vitriol comes from?

I strongly believe education should be for its own sake not just for earning more money and don’t see that a humanities degree is worthless - following your logic we should only have vocational degrees?

Great to hear so many positive experiences people have through the OU - thank you for sharing them.

I’m worried people will think I’m silly to want to do this at my age (early 50’s).

Ah, that's what you meant by "as an adult"!

You must know some weirdly low-grade people if even a single one of them could find fault with such a harmless plan.

No, nobody with a brain in their head believes that a person of 50 shouldn't take an OU course.

Amongst the people I know it's perfectly normal to be taking full time undergrad or postgrad degrees at the OU or concrete universities at any stage until you stop breathing.

Poule haha yes maybe the use of the word adult was a poor choice as obv everyone who goes to Uni is an adult (although my nearly 18 year olds will always be my baby - note this is a lighthearted comment). Maybe there were better ways of phrasing but adult is a short word and I was being lazy.

I was thinking of people asking why I was doing it at my age, what I was hoping to gain from doing it, would I earn money from it etc etc. My only reasons for doing it are that I think it would be enjoyable/ enriching and that it would be something for me.

I started mine when my DD was in year 10. It's great for setting a good example (re studying) for your child and also helps to keep your brain active. If it's something you've always wanted to do, then go for it. As a PP said, you can take it a year at a time and see how it goes.

My only reasons for doing it are that I think it would be enjoyable/ enriching and that it would be something for me.

I think that's a great reason for doing it. But more importantly, you only need to justify your decision to yourself.

I'm in my 30s, in my 2nd year of an OU degree (60 credits per year). I work part time and have a 2 year old. I find it fairly manageable and the juggling is also balanced by the downtime over the summer (no study June - September inclusive). My motivation was wanting to do something enriching but also wanting to further (well, change) my career.

I was thinking of people asking why I was doing it at my age, what I was hoping to gain from doing it, would I earn money from it etc etc.

May be just as important to examine why, after half a century on Earth, you don't feel free to make up your own mind about how you live your life. Why would it matter if someone else thought it "silly"? That would only indicate the narrowness of their mind and understanding of the world, surely.

Obviously it's nice if the people we care about approve and encourage our choices, but honestly, in the end - we're a long time dead!

Hi there, @KittyMcKitty - we've now edited your thread title to include the words 'mature student' as you requested.

Hope that helps.

@LouMumsnet thank you 😊

@PoulePouletteEternellement I think this is partly why I want to do it - I have low self esteem and have spent many years putting others first. Pre kids I had a “big” job but my work now whilst v important and at times stressful is not valued in the same way. That said I don’t want the old job back. I admire your self belief etc and would love to be that way. Too many years at the bottom of the pile. Anyway my problem not anyone else’s and I think this would be good

It was a game changer for me. I needed a degree to access my professional qualification route (no longer the case) and it opened that door.

It also convinced me that I wanted a different life to the one I was living at that time.

However, don’t underestimate the slog involved. I ended up spending a lot more time on it than suggested as the years progressed. At times I found it tough to remain motivated especially in the 3rd and 4th years when the end was so far away, but I have never regretted doing it !!

I'm in my third year (so half way through) of studying with the OU.
I understand the justification concerns - when we still had face-to-face tutorials (pre-covid) there was a lot more interaction with other students than this year where everything is online. We discussed our reasons for doing the degree etc in tutorials and I did feel a bit embarrassed to admit mine to the other students - they were all studying for their first degree with job opportunities and earning potential in mind etc. Whereas this is my second undergraduate degree, my first was in a 'hard' subject and has led to a very good job. It is the total opposite of the subject I'm now studying with the OU.
However, I never followed my passion the first time around and only chose my first degree for the job opportunities. I got to my thirties and realised I didn't want to miss out on what I truly loved and have really enjoyed the OU degree so far. I don't regret my decision at all.
If I could change one thing it would be to do 120 credits in the first year as the workload was nowhere near as much as I was expecting, and then drop down to 60 credits for L2 onwards. I work full time (45 hours/week) and have family/hobby commitments etc and find this manageable

I started doing a part time OU degree this year, also in a "pointless" subject, for personal rather than career reasons. I'm really enjoying it, and recommend it. It feels a little odd to know that this is the next 6 years of my life, but I feel better in myself for finally starting it.

One of the things I used to love about the OU courses I did in my 30s and 40s was that I was always the youngest person in the room! The courses used to be incredibly popular with retired people so if you were asking this question 10 years ago I would have laughed and told you to look forward to being the class baby

Things have changed though with the new (not really new but new to me) fee structure which means OU in England costs the same as any other uni - so if you're in England I expect you'll see fewer people studying for pleasure, which is a real shame. I found it totally inspirational to be surrounded by older people who wanted to learn. One of my friends started OU after retirement and now has a masters and a flourishing career as a poet!

That all said - if you can afford it, do it. The first course you'll study is an introduction to all the humanities subject and it's brilliant. You may well want to change direction after that - I went in planning Eng Lit but ended up falling in love with history.

Don't underestimate the time involved. You have to be brutal about ringfencing your time and the no 1 tip I'd give is to keep up. Once you start to fall behind it all feels like it's going to shit really fast. So plan ruthlessly and meet all your early deadlines.

Thank you again everyone who has shared their experiences and great to hear how positive they have been.

Of course everyone is different but how do / did you manage your time? Set number of hours each day? Get up early to study? How long each day? Etc etc

I did a degree in my 40s but not at the OU. I believe in education for its own sake even if you are not looking at career based qualifications. I missed the opportunity to go to uni when I was younger and always wanted to find out if I had the ability. I went on to do my masters and doctorate at a RG university so I found out I was capable of going as far as I wanted.

If you are prepared to put in the work and think you will enjoy the experience then go for it!

@KittyMckitty set out with the best if intentions to manage my time (something I am OK at) but it really didn’t work out like that.

I studied around my DD needs, often very late into the night.

In my days the units came neatly packaged but inevitably some topics were more difficult than others, needed more research etc.

The most important thing I found was to start assignments early and recognise they will take longer than expected.

Absolutely go for it!!

Having listened to Boris’ announcement and tried to reassure my year 11 & year 13 children I’ve decided that life is definitely too short to put things off so have sent off my registration form to the OU - exciting!