Mature student wants to study psychology

ANNIEHAHA

Hi I am 30 and my kids are now in school I want to take the time to learn about psychology. It has always been a interest and having looked at various courses I seem to end up confused .
The only one that ticks the box is O.U starting psychology ,as I am aware this is a broad subject I would like to start on the basics to get a feel for it before pursuing it further.
I left school with 2 x c in english 1 x d in maths and a b in drama
I would appreciate your comments and would like to add that I am more up for going to a class then studying at home

fabwitch_2

The OU Psychology Degree is very good. I would suggest starting with K100, Understanding Health and Social Care which is a 60 point level 1 course which can count towards your degree. This will not only help you to adjust to OU study but also give you a good grounding in health/social care before starting the more advanced topics.

Noctu

Where are you located?

continentalgal

If you haven't done any academic work in some time, I'd really recommend you enrol in an Access course (to HE) first to get a feel of what's lying ahead at university. Also (I don't know about OU), if previous grades weren't satisfactory, some unis want you to have at least a C in Maths (even for psychology!, as one of my access buddies despaired over about) which you get when doing an access course.

I attended the Social Sciences pathway which included modules in sociology, psychology, plus optionally social policy or politics, thus would give you already a good introduction to the subject.

Gingernutmeg

Psychology at university is pretty mathematical (lots of statistics lol!) so it might be worthwhile looking to see if you can retake your GSCE to get it up to a C, as this is a minimum for entry to most courses. However, if you did go down the access route you might be able to bypass this, as long as the uni felt confident about your abilities - entry criteria for mature students tend to be a bit more generous and a little less rigid at a lot of unis.

student_advisor

It sounds like you need to investigate the options for careers advice in your area and then follow that up with some funding advice (either from your local college or here!)

Access sounds like a good plan, also look out for courses called Introductory Years, these are a foundation year to a degree course and have the added bonus of HE funding right from the start.

postgradtash

well i think the OU is a great idea. That is what i am starting. my mum has a degree with them and also my twin is doing her post grad with them. it is very maths involved but u can learn that. u can always do a free maths course local. being a mum is hard too so the OU will suit. My mum did the OU over 5 years whilst bringing up 2 sets of twins under 6 on her own!!! so you can do it!! Your also get some financial support. and with the class thing, well with the OU there are group lectures close to where you live like once every couple months, and forums like this where u can talk about ur topic, and once u meet ppl on ur course u can keep in touch via msn, email or text. hope this helps good luck

melancholly

continentalgal wrote: »

some unis want you to have at least a C in Maths (even for psychology!, as one of my access buddies despaired over about)

a good understanding of basic maths is really important for psychology.... everything about studying differences between groups of people requires statistical testing.... although most people who do it are happy to learn and accept what test to do when, rather than get to grips with the mathematical reason as to why it works (including me!)

to the OP - what kind of psychology things are you interested in? i only ask this because 'academic' psychology and 'popular' psychology are very different and i think a lot of students have a shock as it's not what they expected! the most well known parts of psychology are part of the social psychology field, but that will only be a small part of any coures. just as an example, i was never taught about personality types, body language, freud or anything like that!

if you haven't read it, have a look at the 'Very short introduction' book on psychology. it's pitched really well for beginners and takes you through lots of different areas. should be a good starting point!

melancholly

and i forgot - a lot of universities have courses that are open to the public, which are a basic intro to lots of topics (e.g. languages, creative writing etc) and some offer talks that are about psychology. where are you based? i'll see if i can find something relevant in your area!

ANNIEHAHA

I live in Norfolk and am more interested in what makes us the way we are and how things shape and mould us.
I always watch programmes on how our brains work and child of our time etc
The books I have tended to read are 'why men dont listen and women cant read maps ' I have enjoyed the lighter side of reading as you can see from that book I also read the mag psychologies

ANNIEHAHA

I am not sure where I will go with this new education but I want to go for a course in this field and see where it leads
thanks for all your replies Im very grateful