DLC or OU?

[SplitPea]

Hello, I want to go back to uni in a couple of years time but I no longer have the minimum entry requirements. I need to do an Access course or OU. All the Access courses locally start in September which feels forever away at the moment. I have been told about the Distance Learning Centre which offers Access courses but I'm also considering OU.

www.distancelearningcentre.com/reception.php

I am attracted to the OU because I can just study the courses that appeal to me. There are chunks of the DLC course that don't look much fun. But OU seems quite expensive compared to the DLC and I'd need 150 points to get on the course I want to do.

The DLC Access course can be completed in a year and can be paid for on a monthly basis (£50 per month) for the whole course.

Does anyone have any experience of the OU and the DLC and which would you recommend?

Thank you!

Hi splitpea I have no knowledge of the DLC but am currently studying with OU and love it. I live in Scotland and get help with the cost of courses through the ILA, if you live in Scotland it's worth looking into, but I don't think they do it in England, but I could be wrong.
Good luck

Thanks for your reply VJay

I'm glad you're enjoying OU. Unfortunately I'm not in Scotland but I've heard so many good reports about the OU I'm still quite tempted to go for it. I'm just worried I don't have the self discipline to complete the courses. I did sign up for an Openings course once a few years back. I signed up for a course I wasn't particularly interested in (on a stupid whim - long story) and didn't even do the first TMA I didn't even look through all the materials properly as my heart was never really in it. Obviously I don't want to go down that route again!

There is an Openings course in a subject I am interested in so maybe I'll test the water with that course before signing up to anything more challenging.

Thanks again.

Another vote for the OU here, although I've never heard of the DLC so can't comment on that. What subject area are you interested in studying splitpea?

Another vote for OU. I suspect that since very few of us have heard of DLC that they won't have been heard of by potential employers too. The OU is highly regarded and highly rated as a university for teaching by the body which monitors universities.

It is expensive but they do have various ways of getting financial help. I don't know your circumstances obviously but you can look at their website.

Plus if you do the OU you will eventually get a degree. Sounds like the DLC will prepare you to do a degree. You will still have to fork out at some point for the degree course. I doubt the cost will be much different in the end.

Hi Molesworth, I'm interested in the Health and Social Care courses.

Hello Niecie, that's what I'm worried about, that the DLC course wont be favoured/recognised by the uni I am hoping to go to.

I think I've decided to do a short OU course (openings) starting in March and then go to an actual college to do an Access course two evengs a week in September. Hopefully the OU course will help prepare me for the Access course and if I find it suits me I can just continue with OU.

Thanks for your help

If you have your eye on a particular degree course, I'd contact that university's admissions office by phone or email and ask them which route would give you the best chance of getting a place. The university may also hold open days where you can talk to an adviser, so this is also worth looking into.

My feeling is that an Access course would probably give you better all-round preparation for studying full-time at a traditional university, whereas the OU will give you good academic preparation but not necessarily prepare you for the other aspects of university life. That's not to say that the OU wouldn't be a good route to take, just that there'd be a bigger adjustment to make when the time comes. This is a bit of a worry for me because I'm nearing the end of my OU degree now and I'm wondering how I'll cope with life at a traditional university if I want to go on to postgrad study, because I'm now so used to the joys of distance learning!

Anyway, good luck with it and happy new year

Thanks Molesworth - you've given me some food for thought there. I'll contact the uni in the new year.

Happy new year to you too!

Good luck splitpea - sounds like you have a plan.

I have heard of the DLC. Quite a few of the people I know of who are taking courses with them are doing the course to become nurses or midwives. The course is an approved access course i.e the same qualification as you would do if you did an access course at a local college.
By the way I only know about the DLC as I was looking to do an access course last year and I considered doing it with them....ended up not doing a course at all though.