Study Buddies

In general, have you found that you have been able to make friends with people locally who are studying the same subject as you, and has that made life easier?

Northern Ireland is a small place with a population equivalent of the larger UK cities but distributed across a vast geographical area, and I am really hoping I am able to meet with others who are studying the same courses or perhaps even planning on following the same degree and timeline.

I think it will help overcome the feeling of isolation that I expect might come from home learning at one stage or another and I would be interested in other peoples thoughts...

Reply 1

int_applicant

14

c-masters

In general, have you found that you have been able to make friends with people locally who are studying the same subject as you, and has that made life easier?

Northern Ireland is a small place with a population equivalent of the larger UK cities but distributed across a vast geographical area, and I am really hoping I am able to meet with others who are studying the same courses or perhaps even planning on following the same degree and timeline.

I think it will help overcome the feeling of isolation that I expect might come from home learning at one stage or another and I would be interested in other peoples thoughts...

study buddies is a great way to meet people... I am sure you will find people you can study with and start making friends......

my ex was a study buddy turned girlfriend :p:

...

Reply 2

username227498

16

I met a great group of college mates in chemistry, so yeah, definitely.

But it's perfectly possible outside of college. There'll always be someone out there.

Reply 3

mart2306

12

My wife met up with a few when attending local seminars arranged by the OU. The local seminar was at the nearby uni campus and she went a few times to other peoples houses to study for a few hours.
Worthwhile sometimes to chuck ideas around in a group or discuss something hard between students.

If nothing else however there's always email and phone. And have to say support from tutors was great.

Reply 4

inksplodge

17

I have met a few people via TSR but nobody that lives near me & doing the same course :frown:

hopefully soon!

Reply 5

SunburnedCactus

11

Afraid to say I've not met anyone, the only time I tend to see them is at exams and the one tutorial I went to. Scotland, like N. Ireland, is all in one "region" so the tutor groups are usually made up of people spread across the country and it's possible to end up with nobody from your area in yours. Admittedly it does depend on what you are studying, some courses are much more popular than others, but as you get towards level 3 there are just less people doing them in general.

Bit of a bleak picture I know, but then that's distance learning. If there is a brick uni local to you they may have a society specific to your subject that you could join, which would at least mean conversation on the same academic topic. Also there is an OU app on facebook which was meant to help connect people studying the same courses, if it still exists.

Reply 6

lupinpooter

4

Agree with SBC that as you go up the levels, the size of the cohort tends to be small and therefore you're somewhat less likely to find people in your area and doing the same course and on the same wavelength. However I have got a bunch of study buddies (some of whom have become proper mates), most of whom I met when I was doing my first, level 1 course (the high number of students on the level 1 courses increases the chance of finding people you click with). If you're following a named degree path, you'll find that you keep coming across the same people as the years go by, so there is a kind of camaraderie that builds up, despite the barriers of distance learning.

Facebook is a good way to make contact with other OU students via course or faculty related study groups (if there isn't one for your course, it's easy to set one up). If face to face contact is what you're looking for, be sure to attend tutorials and find out about local events organised by OUSA, plus you can always use the internet (via course forums or facebook or the OUSA forums) to organise meetups with others. It certainly takes more effort for us than it would at a conventional university, but it can be done :smile:

Reply 7

xChellex

I've found it hard to find others locally or even in my region doing the same subjects - or indeed just located in the south west! But with perserverance on the forums for each course I'm signed up to, and joining any relevant Facebook groups or forum discussions, I've been able to at least talk to some people who are doing or have done the same subjects.

I think there's a lot more opportunity to find study buddies when the OU residential courses are undertaken? I've not yet taken any, but a colleague has taken a science OU course residential course and made a few good friends who she still talks to and shares help and ideas with regards to their courses. Because they'd all done the same residential course, they all had similar paths and interests with regards to their study.

Reply 8

LW5x01

11

So my degree won't be "really" fully covered with financial support, I'll still have to pay 70 quid ontop every two courses, lol.

Damn expensive 60pointers.

Reply 9

linux geek

4

its funny but one of the positives for me is that with the OU you study solo

my reason for doing the degree is very personal and have not even told my family or employer