The Student Room Group
Student at the Open University
Open University
Milton Keynes

OU vs arden

hi,
im currently studying a levels from home and contemplating on whether to study from open uni or arden as i want to definitely study part time as im going to work as cabin crew for a while and study at the same time.
i know the OU is very flexible but i don’t know about the other uni. is it so flexible like OU???
i’m leaning towards either psychology, sociology or marketing and i have a long time to think about it really.
so what is better?
Reply 1
also for arden online, do u need to write a personal statement? and also have predicted grades?
Student at the Open University
Open University
Milton Keynes
Reply 2
bump
Original post by Anonymous
also for arden online, do u need to write a personal statement? and also have predicted grades?


I was thinking about Arden as an option but decided to go with the OU instead. But yes Arden requires a personal statement and some grade requirements depending on your course.
Reply 4
Original post by Anonymous
I was thinking about Arden as an option but decided to go with the OU instead. But yes Arden requires a personal statement and some grade requirements depending on your course.

oh okay! is arden flexible like the OU as im going to compare modules and see what i prefer . should i apply for both? does arden do part-time? im hoping to do part-time for two years and full-time for 3
Original post by Anonymous
oh okay! is arden flexible like the OU as im going to compare modules and see what i prefer . should i apply for both? does arden do part-time? im hoping to do part-time for two years and full-time for 3


Was it psychology you're thinking of doing?
Original post by Anonymous
oh okay! is arden flexible like the OU as im going to compare modules and see what i prefer . should i apply for both? does arden do part-time? im hoping to do part-time for two years and full-time for 3


Yes Arden offers part-time online degrees too. There's no harm applying to both but you'd need to make a decision when it comes to applying for student finance.
Reply 7
Original post by Anonymous
Was it psychology you're thinking of doing?





yes, psychology as i want to be a psychology teacher or sociology teacher or marketing but arden looks better for marketing/business as there are better options and modules. im not sure what i want to do yet . i will be working as cabin crew for Ryanair once i finish my a-levels and whilst i study part-time for the degree i choose. i study psychology, sociology and RS but may change one subject (RS) for business to see if i have a preference for the subjects.



Original post by Anonymous
Yes Arden offers part-time online degrees too. There's no harm applying to both but you'd need to make a decision when it comes to applying for student finance.

thank you!! that’s great! im just a bit worried for arden as ive just heard about it and dont know much about it.
Reply 8
Original post by Anonymous
Was it psychology you're thinking of doing?

or even travel & tourism but ill just have to do more research. OU dont do that but i guess ill just take business as an a-level and see if i like it. i dont know what i want to do as i like both options but i could see me working with travel
more as i absolutely love it
Original post by Anonymous
or even travel & tourism but ill just have to do more research. OU dont do that but i guess ill just take business as an a-level and see if i like it. i dont know what i want to do as i like both options but i could see me working with travel
more as i absolutely love it


For travel & tourism: https://www.openstudycollege.com/travel-tourism-courses
Hi

I've seen a few comments about Arden where I studied for 2 years so I thought I would nip in and say hi!

I did my MSc Psychology there and I have to say they have the best virtual learning environment I have come across - and I have worked in F.E/H.E for over 10 years.

For an objective review of any University check out their QAA report (a bit like Ofsted) and also their Teaching Excellence Framework report, both readily available online.

A big benefit about Arden is the flexibility in that there are usually both blended learning and online options for most of the courses. This flexibility extends to both funding and also the speed of which you progress through a course.

Some courses may require a personal statement; I think I did one, it was some time ago, I know I did have to pass a brief maths test online for Psychology

Marc
Arden University Student Ambassador
(edited 8 months ago)
I once assessed Arden vs OU for Computing by comparing the details of the module descriptions in Arden's PDF brochure vs the OU's website. That's admittedly limited info to base a decision on, but my conclusion was that the Arden course seemed quite basic. No maths, very little programming, etc. Lots of focus on the business side of things rather than theory or technical detail. Really not what I was looking for.

Psychology might well be different though. I'd encourage you to get the relevant Arden brochure (they want an email address, but you can use a throwaway one like 10minutemail) and compare the details to the corresponding OU course.
@Anonymous #3

I'll be totally honest i know nothing about the Computing program, but the Psychology units for a conversion Masters are very very similar wherever you go because the course is accredited by the British Psychological Society.

Marc
Arden University Student Ambassador
The lecturers of Computer Science on Arden have no idea about computing. Just to let you know, check carefully. I am a computer science student (in Arden) with a background on computing, at the end there’s just students helping other students in the class, plus the final grades are low because the lecturers do not know how to grade the assignments. And do not try to appeal because you will lose 8 months of your time. At the end you will need to pay for other academies to try to understand the subjects they are teaching, or (unfortunately as happened with other colleagues at class) leave the class because you cant follow the lessons. I would not recommend Arden for computing.
Reply 14
Original post by Arden University
Hi

I've seen a few comments about Arden where I studied for 2 years so I thought I would nip in and say hi!

I did my MSc Psychology there and I have to say they have the best virtual learning environment I have come across - and I have worked in F.E/H.E for over 10 years.

For an objective review of any University check out their QAA report (a bit like Ofsted) and also their Teaching Excellence Framework report, both readily available online.

A big benefit about Arden is the flexibility in that there are usually both blended learning and online options for most of the courses. This flexibility extends to both funding and also the speed of which you progress through a course.

Some courses may require a personal statement; I think I did one, it was some time ago, I know I did have to pass a brief maths test online for Psychology

Marc
Arden University Student Ambassador


Hellooo, I just wanted to ask if you knew if it's possible to obtain the degree in say, one year for undergraduate if you're doing it online?
Original post by lunashi
Hellooo, I just wanted to ask if you knew if it's possible to obtain the degree in say, one year for undergraduate if you're doing it online?


@lunashi

There is a lot of useful information in the School of Computing section of the Arden website https://arden.ac.uk/about-us/faculties/schools/school-of-computing

In terms of accelerating your learning, on the program I studied on you could sometimes fast track to the next Unit, however a key thing in H.E is the placing of the exam board at the end of the year to validate the grades for the year which is fixed. This is the same for all Universities and F.E colleges in the UK. Therefore, a three year program would need to be done in three years

Marc
Arden University Student Ambassador

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