Got myself a desmond. What's the cheapest way of doing a second undergraduate degree?

Really ?

You think a FTSE 100 company will look at a 2.1 from a top 30 U in the same light as a UOL ex 2.1 ?

A fair comparison would be between someone who got a 2:1 from LSE via the usual route and someone who got a 2:1 from LSE via UoL International.

Its not exactly equivalent, no, because the UoLI graduate won't have completed an undergraduate dissertation. Other than than the exams are identical. It's hard to say which they would find more impressive, it depends what they are looking for. A kid's gotta be pretty smart and motivated to get a 2:1 from LSE working entirely on his own without attending a single lecture or seminar, or even once communicating with a lecturer, surely?

Plus something like only 1 in 10 UoLI LSE graduates receive a 2:1 or higher, whereas something like 60% of straight LSE graduates do. Talk about standing out from the crowd.

well it'll often be someone coming up via a non conventional route making comparison difficult... But tbh a lot of ftse companies hire massive numbers of grads and apparently don't even give much of a monkeys about the subject. Grad scheme fodder they might want naieve applicants to indoctrinate.
Ultimately they're trying to get people who will be good employees and make them money, not giving prizes for most prestigious degree certificate.

Sure, I agree but in my experience big employers tend to look down a bit at UOL ex.

No good reason why as you have mentioned.

but are you sure the course and the exams are identical to LSE, in that case a lot of people would chance it and take the external route, you'd be saving tens of thousands and could work at the same time .

Yup, syllabus, contents, exams, grading criteria are all absolutely identical, I just looked at the two websites to make sure.

The reason most people don't do it is because its not easy to self-teach an entire degree, especially if you work simultaneously. Not many people have that kind of motivation, in fact over 50% of people drop out.

Having just flunked an exam I needed to score highly on to get a 2:1 I am now just waiting for confirmation of my 2:2 in chemistry.

Sure but with the costs and all these days, surely UOL ext would become much more appealing.

You could enroll in external colleges who conduct tuition and work PT if you wanted, and still save a lot of money compared to some guy who's opted for Hull or whatever.

In short are LSE not worried that their degrees will be short cut by this route ?

Who knows? It costs them next to nothing to run, all they have to do is send you a syllabus and then mark your exams each year along with all the regular undergrads.

You can save a lot of money in the long run, you're right. But for your average 18 year old, finding £4k up front is probably less attractive than repaying £27k over the course of 30 years when they have a well paid job and it won't seem such a big deal. Plus, what happens when you drop out as half the people do, thats a load of money wasted right there.

and of course, going away to university teaches you a lot more things than just what you learn in lectures.

Ah yes, the University of London. What a sorry excuse for a university that is, one of its principal constituents is only ranked 2nd in the country ahead of Oxford.

the University of London International Programmes are the degrees with which graduates from the New College of the Humanities will end up, and that after paying 54 grand (up front) in tuition. They're real degrees.

The University of London programme they are referring to is the basis of the London Colleges like....UCL. University of London has always been an examining board first and foremost, and what they do is issue degrees to the colleges.

And yes, you can read a BA or BSc for something in the region of £4000 total.

You're not buying it. The syllabus and exams are from one of the colleges (eg LSE for Economics, Heythrop for Theology, RHUL for History), you sit those exams with thousands of other students, and if you pass your finals, you get a bona fide degree from LSE or wherever.

Not making it up. It's gospel.

you've got a surreal sense of humour... I hope.

Who knows? It costs them next to nothing to run, all they have to do is send you a syllabus and then mark your exams each year along with all the regular undergrads.

You can save a lot of money in the long run, you're right. But for your average 18 year old, finding £4k up front is probably less attractive than repaying £27k over the course of 30 years when they have a well paid job and it won't seem such a big deal. Plus, what happens when you drop out as half the people do, thats a load of money wasted right there.

and of course, going away to university teaches you a lot more things than just what you learn in lectures.

Yep gotcha.

Incidentally what happens if you are on a regular FT course at uni and then quit say after 1 year, I suppose the loan has to be paid back prorata ?

But when, immediately after you quit of when you get a good job ?

i got myself an Ezio...he kicks desmonds butt

Might want to aim for a Connors... Honors... get it? Aw man I crack myself up.

Ah yes, the University of London. What a sorry excuse for a university that is, one of its principal constituents is only ranked 2nd in the country ahead of Oxford.