Is there a specific Mature Study & Retraining board?

[Edmontine]

I know there have been mature student threads. But I feel I’ve read countless, tentative Am I too old to - threads, with each OP believing they’re the first person ever to consider a degree or postgrad at 30 / 40 / 50 onwards - and almost talking themselves out of the idea before they’ve even posted.

It would be helpful to have a dedicated space - with a note at the top assuring people that they’re not freaks and would be welcomed by places of learning.

(If such a board already exists and I’ve failed to find it, consider me suitably embarrassed.)

I do wish we could have a proper discussion about the OU.

I can’t, because I don’t know enough about the financial side of what it offers. But there is a vast difference between applying to, being accepted for, and studying at a concrete university / art school / conservatoire / etc to undertaking a primarily remote / virtual / online qualification. And it sometimes frustrates me that the latter is offered as an accessible alternative to the former - when studying alone at home may be the exact opposite of the change a person needs in their life.

But, as I say, I’d have to investigate the relative costs to be able to engage in any sensible debate on this.

I'm in my last year of an Open University degree in Social Psychology at the age of 39. And am eyeing up a masters after that, in occupational psychology. I am happy to answer anything I can about the OU, and my experience. Overall its been amazing for me, but like most things, it's not perfect.

I think a thread/board like this would be very helpful. I know that for me, coming into academia at the age of 34, I had no idea what I was doing, how anything worked, or what options might be open to me. My parents both left school before 16, and while I had the ability to get the grades, university was such a world away to me at 17, I never considered it seriously as an option at that time.

Even now looking at Masters degrees, I have no idea what I'm doing, so will probably have a lot of questions on that, it would be nice to have a place to ask them with other people with similar experiences.

As far as I can work out the OU does work out cheaper for a degree, the one I'm about to start is approx £3k for a module and I will need to do 2 for a Certificate, 4 for a Diploma or 6 for a degree. This may well vary though depending on the subject and the modules chosen. So less then 3 x £9k for a degree. And designed to be flexible so much easier to work at the same time. My parents both did OU degrees when I was a child, at the same time as teaching full time.

Although it's mostly online and self paced there are opportunities to meet with other students. Local centres offer some class teaching and seminars, some courses involve a summer school and/or lab based work and there is an active student union with all sorts of events. Obviously this may all be limited at the moment due to covid.

Finally an OU degree is a degree like any other. The fact that I didn't have to go through an interview process to get my place doesn't detract from my experience or the value of my learning.

@blackheartsgirl I'm a bit like you in that I already have a degree (and an MA) from studying aged 18 to 22. However at that age I had very little idea of my strengths and very little understanding of the huge range of areas out there to be studied. This time round I'm doing something different that I'm really interested in, and not something that my parents think is the right choice!

I cant even afford 3k a year!

I'm a single parent now. I don't even have a dh to fall back on as he's no longer with us.

I'm on minimum wage bringing up two girls. I've no hope sadly

@blackheartsgirl

I know it's a lot of money, the OU do have loans so it might be worth looking into?

Honestly it's fine. I did think about a post grad bit I got my degree in a subject I'm not interested in and I don't want to teach.

I'm 44 in any case, I feel too old lol and I'm not that bright 😅

Finally an OU degree is a degree like any other. The fact that I didn't have to go through an interview process to get my place doesn't detract from my experience or the value of my learning.

Apologies! I was rushing when I posted and probably didn’t express myself well. I wasn’t intending to imply that the OU experience is less valuable, at all. But it is different.

@blackheartsgirl

Honestly it's fine. I did think about a post grad bit I got my degree in a subject I'm not interested in and I don't want to teach.

I'm 44 in any case, I feel too old lol and I'm not that bright 😅

What you’re saying is so frustrating …

(I took a first degree in the 80s and worked in the area of my subject for a while. But my postgrad degree was in something completely different. I was much older than you when I started that.)

I am certain that there are ways that can be found to enable sole parent, working mothers to pursue academic or vocational qualifications - whether for the first time or as returners to education.

I’m aware that universities run crèches and nurseries. (Certainly the university college I’m attached to does so.) I don’t know how much they cost to use.

Each of us will know whether our particular employment / self employment allows any flexibility for working hours that would accommodate full or part time study. (Some of us know we lack the headspace and energy to manage work and study at the same time.)

Location and mobility obviously are obviously a huge factor. A long commute doesn’t leave much time for anything else - but not everyone can move next door to their preferred institution.

It’s all incredibly difficult, I know.

Placemarking!

I just submitted my final assignment with the OU for a BEng - Engineering. Took 5 years; house purchase, two job changes working FT the whole time and two babies.

@blackheartsgirl you’re actually ‘young’ or ‘average’ in terms of OU students. There are (I think) 150000 students that ‘attend’ the university and each qualification will have info on whether it’s accredited or not. They’re checked by external examiners from ‘concrete’
Universities to check syllabus and the likes.

The whole thing is different, with brick unis starting to offer remote/distance learning since the pandemic they’ve cottoned onto the fact that not everyone wants to or needs to attend a multimillion pound campus to achieve. There are things that require campus attendance and they will always remain courses that cannot be done remotely. The skills you get from immersing yourself as an 18 year old in full time study and getting a first are different to the skills you’ll get as a mature student juggling 10 different things simultaneously and getting a first. Neither is better or worse, just different.

Any STEM second degree can be done using student finance.

Modules are 30 or 60 credits and (in England) cost £1500 or £3000 respectively (give or take a few £). The whole degree will cost roughly 2/3 of what a brick uni one would.

I mentioned this thread - in a generalised way - during a Zoom conference this morning. The topic was the historic erasure of women’s voices from a specific area of creative endeavour. (From which women still are shockingly discouraged.) Structural barriers to education and training are one of the ways this happens.

Absolutely @Edmontine , I was definitely not encouraged to pursue any significant education (I am now 50)

The general reasoning being that I was there as the secondary economic/intelligent adult and the primary caring/understanding adult. I say this as a woman who is with a man who was/is seen as a 'modern' man.

I did have other barriers to my studies but I am so proud that I am now in my second year of something .

@Edmontine I totally agree, access to education for women and girls is one of the best ways to push towards equality. I've been reading the book 'Difficult Women' by Helen Lewis, which describes the lengths Sophia Jex-Blake had to go to to train as a doctor in 1870. Well worth a read.

Because the OU degree is my first degree I qualified for a student loan to cover my course fees, worth bearing in mind for anyone who is thinking about the costs. In terms of other outlay, I've had to make sure I had a decent laptop and Internet, and have chosen to attend day schools, which we're about 40 mins away. I'm also going to a 2 night residential school this weekend, at Warwick Uni. None of that is compulsory though. I may have spent a small fortune on stationery but that's because I have something of a problem in that area!!

And yes I get that feeling of younger students (and colleagues) zipping past me at a speed I can't seem to match. But what they don't have is the perspective which comes with experience. They can learn and assimilate, and in many cases apply some critical thinking. But they simply don't have the depth of experience that some older students have, to allow them to apply the things they are learning to life in general. I try and look at it as these younger types and us older types when teamed up can cover a wide range of knowledge understanding and experience. It's not a negative, its an opportunity to learn with and from each other. (Sometimes I am less charitable but I do try and look at it that way)

Just here to add my vote for a Mature Study board. I did an Access course in 2014 and got my BSc in 2018 aged 50 after never considering myself academic. It was tough, more so the crap from the uni and other students than the actual studying part, and I was very close to making a formal complaint about one lecturer (as was another student). I seriously considered giving up on many ocassions, and having a support section on MN may have made life less stressful. So although I'm no longer a student I do think having a dedicated board on here would be great.

Congratulations on getting there and getting through, CandidaAlbicans2.

I agree about the board - of course!

I don’t think there’s any particular need to abandon this thread and start a new one immediately. Might as well wait for this one to fill up. I guess the next might go under - I don’t know … Would hesitant people find it under Higher Education? Possibly not.

I think as a mature student, especially one who has been working for years in a professional role, a lot of the admin side of university is very poor or unprofessional. So many things could have been done differently to be more efficient and avoid having 150 students all emailing with same query.

It's great to hear from those of you who are actively doing and have made it through to the other side. I'm reading my constitutional law handbook in preparation for starting classes at the weekend and absolutely nothing is going in. I'm so out of the habit of reading and assimilating information this dense. I do a lot of writing in my job, but there's a lot of discussion of issues and I only have to find relevant parts of relevant documents when I am researching and reading. This is very daunting.

I'm officially enrolled in my course and I'm feeling more and more anxious each day. We're still waiting on a timetable and I need to organise childcare based around it but the uni staff don't seem to realise some of us are grownups with commitments and responsibilities.
Anyone considering access to he o would reccomend it. It gives you such a brilliant foundation for university. The one I did was validated by the university of ulster and we had the advantage of learning how to reference properly which I think is a steep learning curve for those coming from an a level background.

I paid my masters fees today and so am enrolled, therefore I can do my council tax exemption again. 25% discount so happy days!

Thanks to @Pucarbuile for pointing me in the direction of this thread.

I'm 47, soon to be 48 and starting a Psychology degree with foundation year. I did A-levels 30 years ago, but in totally irrelevant subjects. The first year is classed as year 0, but forms part of the degree, and is aimed at people coming from non traditional routes.

I am changing careers completely after 25 years.

I had the opportunity to take redundancy, but initially declined as I have 3 dc in primary, and I started to chat to colleagues who were leaving, and saying I'd love to become a counselling psychologist, specialising in support for parents who have kids going through ASD/ADHD diagnosis, as there is just nothing at the minute, and it's often compared to a bereavement, as you grieve the life you had planned (My 3 dc all are Autistic and 2 ADHD). Then l started to look at how to make it happen....Next thing you know I turned down a perfectly good job, and I'm off to Uni!

I'm officially enrolled and a student.....Arrrgh what have I done.

Welcome, ChocolateCauldron!

You are going to have the best time, I’m certain of it. Though probably hard and terrifying also. But if you’ve been at work until recently, as well as running your household, you’re probably practised in getting things done.

(Descending to frivolity - I hope you’ll give yourself a really fantastic gift, in recognition of your brave new start.)

My brain has become remarkably slow over the past year and half - with the result that I’ve had to spend weeks and weeks running away from producing a really tiny number of written words. Really need to get back into gear.

I'm 48, I had a breakdown after I got divorced in 2016. In 2017 I decided to do an access course at a local college for confidence and I hated my job and there was no scope for promotion. The access course was challenging but very rewarding, I hadn't written an essay for about 25 years. For that I borrowed my teenage son's laptop for my assignments. I got great marks, and they assisted with personal statements and interviews at unis etc. I got accepted on a BA Hons social work degree course I bought my own laptop with my first student loan payment which was essential for my course. I completed the degree in May this year despite Covid. I found out a month ago that I got a 1st class honours degree and start my first job next week 😊. It was so hard and looking back I can't believe I did it, but so rewarding. I'm a lone parent and worked part time until mid 2020. I was always capable when I was younger but unfortunately more interested in partying. I would recommend it to anyone.

Wow!

@virginfannyornaments

I'm 48, I had a breakdown after I got divorced in 2016. In 2017 I decided to do an access course at a local college for confidence and I hated my job and there was no scope for promotion. The access course was challenging but very rewarding, I hadn't written an essay for about 25 years. For that I borrowed my teenage son's laptop for my assignments. I got great marks, and they assisted with personal statements and interviews at unis etc. I got accepted on a BA Hons social work degree course I bought my own laptop with my first student loan payment which was essential for my course. I completed the degree in May this year despite Covid. I found out a month ago that I got a 1st class honours degree and start my first job next week 😊. It was so hard and looking back I can't believe I did it, but so rewarding. I'm a lone parent and worked part time until mid 2020. I was always capable when I was younger but unfortunately more interested in partying. I would recommend it to anyone.

Amazing! Well done. I love hearing all these stories of success.

That's incredibly impressive, virginfannyornaments. Congratulations.