Is Open University worth it?

Basher7089

Hi all!

This is my first post, so let me give you a bit of background on me. I’ve just turned 35. Single, no kids. I currently work in a supermarket, stacking shelves. It’s fine, but can’t see myself doing it forever and have no desire to progress to management. 

I went to university at 18 but dropped out after a few months due to various reasons. I’ve always felt ashamed of the fact that I dropped out and never got a degree 

I’ve been feeling very strongly recently that I need to move my life forward in some way and stop drifting aimlessly through. So this is why I thought Open University may be a good option. 

The thing is I have no specific career goal in mind and would just be doing it for my own personal satisfaction and to (hopefully) one day be able to say I have a degree. I also thought it may be a good way to perhaps meet new people (I know most of it is distance learning, but surely you come into contact with other students at some point), improve my confidence and that it may open doors for me that I hadn’t considered before. BUT it’s a lot of debt to get myself into and I don’t know that if it would be worth it 

Any advice appreciated - I’m giving myself a headache!!

Manxman_in_exile

Basher7089 said:

...

The thing is I have no specific career goal in mind and would just be doing it for my own personal satisfaction and to (hopefully) one day be able to say I have a degree. I also thought it may be a good way to perhaps meet new people (I know most of it is distance learning, but surely you come into contact with other students at some point), improve my confidence and that it may open doors for me that I hadn’t considered before. BUT it’s a lot of debt to get myself into and I don’t know that if it would be worth it 

Any advice appreciated - I’m giving myself a headache!!

In my view the three things I've highlighted in bold are three of the very best reasons to do a degree - I'm not at all convinced that doing a degree purely for job or career reasons is a good idea.  Much better to do it for personal satisfaction and to study a subject you enjoy and are interested in - and if it improves your job prospects as well that's an added bonus.

I've no experience of the OU but I understand it has a pretty good academic reputation and that courses and staff are generally considered to be of a high standard.  That's very important these days because standards across higher education institutions in the UK are very variable these days and some degrees are "better" than other degrees.  There'll be nothing wrong with an OU degree.

You won't have a lot of contact with other students - which may not be what you want - and you will need to be disciplined and committed to your study.  It's not easy working on your own.  The OU did used to run summer schools on university campuses during the summer vacations and that allowed you to meet fellow students.  I was doing a course for work at Warwick university back in the 1980s when the OU had a summer school there.  So far as I could tell they were having a very good time(!).  Whether the OU still do this I don't know.

I don't want to comment on costs and expense.  I was fortunate enough to benefit from two "free" degrees courtesy of the state and I'm opposed to university fees on principle.  I can well understand many people who would benefit from a degree being put off by the perceived cost and debt.  (That's regardless of any discussion as to whether it's a "real" debt or not.)

You'll have to decide for your self if it's worth it for what you want out of it.  University fees do look like a lot of money and if you go the OU route you may not meet many other students

(Have you considered any alternatives?  Like a part-time degree at a local university - if your local university is any good that is? You'll still have to pay but you will have more contact with other students - if that's important for you in terms of meeting different people).

Dakta

I found the OU really good, you don't get much student interaction as mentioned above but the organisation itself was really good.

That said I didn't complete my degree, it is a very slow route towards getting qualified and I wish i'd focused on getting IT certs as I am now as opposed to wracking up a lot of debt before the switch.

Hey ho can't win them all. On that note I'd advise trying to figure out what you want to do beforehand, or even considering something that could lead to a degree i.e a certificate or diploma so you get the chance to adjust course if necessary. (pun intended)

In a nutshell, if I was working and wanted a degree the OU for me is a no brainer. However, there might be other ways to get to where one wants to be cheaper and quicker depending on the end goal.

MalMonroe

I think it's a great idea. I enrolled at Uni when I was 48 to study for a full time undergraduate degree. For no other reason than I wanted to. Best thing I ever did! I graduated with a 2.1 BA Honours degree. And made friends who I'm still in touch with today. Don't forget that at the Open Uni you have summer schools, where you meet up with other students (coronavirus notwithstanding) and also you have online meetings and tutorials sometimes. You can also link up online with others on your course at other times for a bit of a chat if you like.

Open Uni allows you to study at your own pace and is really flexible. You're only 35, with no ties except your job. The world is your oyster! Go for it.

I'd also like to say that my daughter had to drop out of uni when she was 20 because of ill health. Please do not feel ashamed about dropping out. 20 years later my daughter is half way through an MA - without having an undergrad degre. She managed to get on the course by virtue of the fact that even though she's been ill for a long time, she has worked part time from home in a freelance capacity and has proved herself to be worthy of studying the course she's on. For the cousework she's done to date, she's received distinctions.

So in our family, we don't think it's ever too late, or too silly to study!

If you really want to get a degree, you will do well. You won't get into a lot of debt because you can get government funding which you don't have to pay back unless you're earning a certain salary and also, you can spread out the study to suit your own financial circumstances. You should be able to carry on working, as well. Many students work in supermarkets while they study - you don't even have to apply for a job as you already have one.

Do some more research, both with the OU site and the government site about the money you can apply for. And then do it!

Lots of luck, I think it's a great thing to do. 

JGB1955

I can thoroughly recommend it!  I started my OU degree in the early 1980's.  I was bored at work, and my department of the Civil Service were offering to pay my fees and give me extra paid 'study' leave.  They also paid my expenses for attending tutorials.  It seemed a no-brainer.  In the end, it took me 10 years to get there - once baby#1 came along I switched to half-credits, hence the length of my studies!  The mix-and-match aspects of course choices meant that I could indulge myself in a mix of human geography and industrial history.  Having to do a second foundation course (in Science) was a bit of a challenge - but I managed it.  My favourite course was a third level one, all about statistics - it was fascinating!

I was inspired by my father who, knowing he was going to leave the RAF in a couple of years, signed up for a Maths degree, all funded by his employer.  He ended up getting a PhD and became head of department in his local Polytechnic (later becoming a University).  

My reasons for undertaking the degree were boredom and a wish to carry on learning.  My father's reasons were to start a new career.  I think both are equally acceptable.

When it comes to funding - you probably won't have to pay anything at all - student funding seems to be readily available.....Fees | Funding | Bursaries | The Open University

Would I do it again?  Absolutely..... and, I might even sign up again for a second degree now that I'm retired.

Go for it!

Sandtree

It sounds like you have plenty of reasons to do it outside of a career and so if you can afford it for non-career reasons then go ahead.

If you want it for job prospects though you do need to really have more of an idea of the job you are aiming at to be able to assess if an OU degree is worth it. In the UK we don't count academic qualifications with anywhere near the same weight as many other countries... many of my USA based colleagues are surprised I dont have an MBA and shocked that I dont have a MSc/MPhil (as in I can get the job without one, not a comment on my intellect).  We do put a lot of weight on experience which creates the natural chicken and egg issue.

My experience when talking to others is that the OU is considered an above average degree in itself... OxBridge etc would be considered higher in many subjects... but the OU does hold a special feature of the self motivation/getting things done etc and where the degree itself is irrelevant this can outweigh the fact the course itself isnt the most advanced out there.

Basher7089

Thanks everyone. Very encouraging replies! 

It would cost just over £19000 to complete the full degree. I am sure I could get a student loan, but it’s still a big debt, especially as I already owe about £3000 from the first time around.

I enjoyed learning at school and part of me misses that. The other part worries that I’m not intelligent enough to complete degree work and I’d be out of my depth. I’d hate to be a dropout twice 

Anyway, I’ll have to think it through some more 

[Deleted User]

Why don't you do something part time at an Adult college to see how you feel? before making a bigger leap.

I'm going to enquire about AAT bookkeeping (personal interest) - doing level 1 starting in September, only a 5 week course in the evening to start with, a much cheaper option and not the full whammy as the course is broken down in level chunks.

p00hsticks

Deleted User said:

Why don't you do something part time at an Adult college to see how you feel? before making a bigger leap.

I was gonig to suggest something similar - try an A level evening class or something at a local college before going for a degree.

The Open university also have a number of free online courses (including a Money Management one in association with MSE!) You won't get the one-to-one tutorials or personal interaction, but doing one may give you a taster to see if you really want to take things further

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/free-courses/full-catalogue

Basher7089

I’ve looked at part time courses at my local college, but there’s nothing much of interest. I don’t think my local college is very good really. Also, I work most evenings which is when these courses tend to run.

I will look at the free OU courses though, that might be a good idea 

SadieO

I did a part time masters age 36/7 just for my own interest and as a personal challenge and something new to focus on after a serious illness. As others have suggested, I did a couple of "lifelong learning" classes at university level first, as a low-risk "taster" to get my head back into studying mode 25 years after my first degree. I loved doing it and felt so proud of myself. Also, a couple of years later, a job came up where my masters was a definite plus point in my (successful) application. My job (I'm still doing it) isn't related to the subject matter of my masters, but it does involve things like report writing and statistical analysis that I did cover in the masters, albeit in a different context. So even if you are doing purely for personal fulfilment (a brilliant reason in and of itself) it may benefit you in the future in ways you don't yet know. Especially these days when lots of jobs seem to want a degree even if it's not related to the job. 

The OU is a perfectly good university but if it's just the flexible aspect of it that appeals to you then don't rule out other universities too (as Maxman_in_exile says). Many now offer all kinds of flexible, part-time and online/distance-learning options, and this is getting more prevalent as the past year forced many courses to go online and uni's are now facing demands from some students for this to continue, and for more flexibility in general. If you want to meet people "in real life" then a traditional course that you attend in person might be the simplest way to go about this (especially if you all go for a coffee/beer after class!). But many of the online options will have designated meet-ups too. 

Good luck with whatever you decide!