OU for one year (120 credits/60 ects)

Ok so I have decided to do OU. I have completed IB in May 2013 from Switzerland, that's where i'm residing. My plan is to do a year at OU (BSc in economics and mathematical sciences) and then move onto an on-ground university in UK or Europe.

Are there any suggestions or a list of universities, which would be willing to accept me in their 2nd year? Also there are two types of starts, a gentle start and a standard one. If i am to take the gentle one, would that give me a disadvantage when trying to move to another university after a year of study?

Also, as you stop studying at OU, do they grant credits in ECTS? How does the european credit system work?

Any information/tip would be greatly appreciated.

Reply 1

RHCPfan

You're best to contact the universities you're interested in, tell them what course you want to take and see if you can get year 2 entry as they're the only ones that can give you the answer you're after. I'm going to say that you're best going for a standard start not a gentle one though.

Open University

Milton Keynes

Reply 2

shad0wboss

I agree but i mean, rules change all the time and i can't really focus on a specific university. Generally, i wanted to get some information about OU and ECTS credits. How they work and whether you can use OU credits in universities in Europe/US/canada/Asia in order to get admission into 2nd year...I was referring to a general situation, not university specific.

Any other information that might help me, whether to avoid OU for certain reasons? or maybe some help as a new student?

Reply 3

Snufkin

Universities Forum Helper

I applied to various universities after having done 120 OU credits, they all accepted me but only Aberdeen offered me entry into the second year. I doubt many British universities would let you transfer into the second year. I have no idea whether US or Canadian universities would accept OU transfer students - you're going to have to email each university and ask. If you have done the IB why do you want to do a year of OU anyway? Why not just apply directly to university?

I don't know if the gentle start is less regarded than the standard start. Take the quiz (click here) - if it says you're ready to do the standard start then don't do the gentle start.

The OU issues you with a 'statement of academic record' which lists the modules you've done/are doing. It says how many OU credits and how many ECTS each module is worth. Presumably you would use that as proof of attainment if you wanted to transfer.

Spoiler

Reply 4

shad0wboss

My problem is that i cannot leave my country for reasons and the local private universities are demanding 40000$ a year which i cannot afford. So my plan was to do a year of bachelors online and then join an on-ground cours from the 2nd year.

Reply 5

Persipan

Original post by shad0wboss

I think the point, though, is that there is no general response to that question; it's inevitably university-specific. Yes, OU credits can theoretically be transferred elsewhere, but the extent to which universities will allow that in practice will vary a lot, and the only real way to know how they'll respond is to ask them.

Reply 6

shad0wboss

It's confusing than I thought it would be or maybe i'm making it harder. Today I had a meeting with the director of a private business school here in Geneva (Switzerland) and what she told me was that the credit transfer would be possible if 60% of the modules that I have studied, match with the modules taught by the uni. So I was wondering whether I should go for an "Open Degree" and select modules same as the ones taught by the uni that i'm thinking of moving to? Or can I simply take the Major in BSc Economics & Mathematical Studies and then apply to the university that does accept entry into 2nd year? How does it normally work for students who have gotten entry into the second year? Did they have to go through all this trouble?

Can you give me a suggestion regarding this?

(edited 9 years ago)