Dropped out of Uni. OU opporunities?

mr.brightside87

I dropped out of uni this week (2nd year) as I was not enjoying the course and thought that it would be better if I started a fresh on another course. I had been thinking about it since before Christmas so it wasn't a knee-jerk reaction. If I was struggling now as I had been throughout the year even with the help of my tutors, there was no guarantee that I wouldn't struggle in my third year and so would have failed the degree which would have meant a lot of money wasted since I would have had to go round again.

So I am looking at the OU. I was wondering how funding works since I have already had some study but obviously didn't finish my degree. I may also be moving back in with my mother *shudder* while I do this and get some work back there.

Any help would be appreciated.

dizzyrascal

I take it that you passed year one?
If so then you can take the 120 credits from your original university to the OU and use them towards your degree. It is called credit transfer
You will need to talk to your regional OU centre about where you stand with fees. I think if you can get on a course before this September then you can be on the old fee structure
After September the 2012 fees will apply so you will be able to get a loan as you would at a traditional university.
About 25% of OU students are under 25 years old at the moment, that number will probably increase with the new fees. Many study at the same rate as traditional students, so you could get your degree at about the same time as you would have graduated.
You should get some tutorials, usually about 2 hours per month. In general the tutors are very good. You should also be able to use the reciprocal agreement with the OU and university libraries. This means that you should be able to use the library facilities at your local university.

mr.brightside87

Thank you.

I did pass year one so I'm glad you mentioned that. I'm glad that I'll be able to transfer those credits.

Its only a consideration at the moment as the aim is to get back into a brick-uni but the OU is looking like a better alternative since I can work while doing it.

Dunroamin

Have you worked out why you struggled and how this could be improved when studying elsewhere?

dizzyrascal

Dunroamin is right
You need to look at why you struggled. Have you looked into your own studying style? It can help enormously to know how to do this the right way for you.
I often use the voice recorder on my phone because it helps me to retain information by speaking it (to myself). There are lots of different techniques to use once you find your style.
You can also probably still use the Careers Service at your first university for a few years. They should have some different ways for contacting you if you are no longer on campus. They can help with all types of things including helping you look at your strengths and how you can apply them to help you make the best of yourself.
If you want to do a totally different subject you might want to talk through your motivation with them. Or you might want to discuss other options too.
You need a lot of self determination and motivation to get through an OU degree but you may find that this suits you or that you can adapt to it. They do some taster courses so you can try before you buy (so to speak)
Like you say, it will be possible to work more whilst you study this way and you will develop some good skills on the way.

Dunroamin

dizzyrascal wrote: »

Dunroamin is right
You need to look at why you struggled. Have you looked into your own studying style? It can help enormously to know how to do this the right way for you.
I often use the voice recorder on my phone because it helps me to retain information by speaking it (to myself). There are lots of different techniques to use once you find your style.
You can also probably still use the Careers Service at your first university for a few years. They should have some different ways for contacting you if you are no longer on campus. They can help with all types of things including helping you look at your strengths and how you can apply them to help you make the best of yourself.
If you want to do a totally different subject you might want to talk through your motivation with them. Or you might want to discuss other options too.
You need a lot of self determination and motivation to get through an OU degree but you may find that this suits you or that you can adapt to it. They do some taster courses so you can try before you buy (so to speak)
Like you say, it will be possible to work more whilst you study this way and you will develop some good skills on the way.

They will also have reciprocal arrangements with local universities.

bestpud

dizzyrascal wrote: »

I take it that you passed year one?
If so then you can take the 120 credits from your original university to the OU and use them towards your degree. It is called credit transfer
You will need to talk to your regional OU centre about where you stand with fees. I think if you can get on a course before this September then you can be on the old fee structure
After September the 2012 fees will apply so you will be able to get a loan as you would at a traditional university.
About 25% of OU students are under 25 years old at the moment, that number will probably increase with the new fees. Many study at the same rate as traditional students, so you could get your degree at about the same time as you would have graduated.
You should get some tutorials, usually about 2 hours per month. In general the tutors are very good. You should also be able to use the reciprocal agreement with the OU and university libraries. This means that you should be able to use the library facilities at your local university.

Just want to say, depending on the degree, they may not be able to transfer 120 credits but should get 60 open choice ones.

dizzyrascal

Dunroamin wrote: »

They will also have reciprocal arrangements with local universities.

Sadly this used to be the case but the funding has disappeared for this. Also be aware that some universities may charge a small fee to use their services, or they may limit what you can do. However, it is still cheaper than using a service where you pay.
But - you can usually use a Careers Service if you enrol on part time courses at universities and some universities do offer a lifelong membership.

dizzyrascal

bestpud wrote: »

Just want to say, depending on the degree, they may not be able to transfer 120 credits but should get 60 open choice ones.

Yes, depending on what you want to do then you may not get the whole 120 credits but as they are a year 1 it is theoretically possible.
(as these are not counted towards you final degree grade)

It gets a bit complicated if you want to transfer with year 2 courses as they would have to be almost identical to the course you want to do.
eg. for history the OU have 2 qualifying modules to make it a named history degree, effectively 1/2 of year 2 and 1/2 of year 3. If you had done a similar history module at a traditional university then you could get a straight transfer.
If not then you might be offered less credits then the ones you have already studied.
In the op's case it might be worth submitting all his study so far (including the last term's work, assuming that they passed). As they effectively have 180 credits

All this does really depend on what subject they want to study next and how similar it is to their previous study.

bestpud

dizzyrascal wrote: »

Yes, depending on what you want to do then you may not get the whole 120 credits but as they are a year 1 it is theoretically possible.
(as these are not counted towards you final degree grade)

It gets a bit complicated if you want to transfer with year 2 courses as they would have to be almost identical to the course you want to do.
eg. for history the OU have 2 qualifying modules to make it a named history degree, effectively 1/2 of year 2 and 1/2 of year 3. If you had done a similar history module at a traditional university then you could get a straight transfer.
If not then you might be offered less credits then the ones you have already studied.
In the op's case it might be worth submitting all his study so far (including the last term's work, assuming that they passed). As they effectively have 180 credits

All this does really depend on what subject they want to study next and how similar it is to their previous study.

They seem to be pretty tight with credit transfers for named degrees tbh.

Open degrees are no problem but I've yet to meet anybody who has been offered more than 60 free choice credits for other study because the modules have to be so alike, as you say.

Just don't want the OP to get their hopes up as they are pretty likely to have to redo a level one module.

dizzyrascal

Well all you can do is apply and see what they offer.
It does depend on what subject the op wants to study.
It might be a good thing to study some further year one modules anyway so that the op can get a back into studying.