Open University Credits or Access? Degree now or later?
Hi all!
It's been about a year since I posted - Since then, i've kind of wasted a year again and it's time to put that to a stop whilst i'm still relatively young.
A little information - I'm 26, have terrible GCSE's (Only 4 GCSE C grades and the rest were D or lower - I had no interest in school) and live at home still.
I do have GCSE Maths and English both at Grade C, however, I was considering redoing just them 2 GCSE's just to give myself more universities to apply to. There is a chance I could just stick with the GCSE's that I have and just do well at the rest of my education.
Here's the important information:
I have a long-term ambition to work for myself and set up a business. I don't know what this business this will be, but I know I will set up a business and at least try to succeed in business.
I want something to fall back on and this is where the idea for a degree comes into play – I'm actually quite flexible as to what course this is – I figured something well rounded like Business Management would serve me well, but literally, anything would suffice here. Social Sciences would be fine, Marketing...etc.
I don't know what to prioritise – I was thinking of perhaps going into full-time work and starting a business on the side now, whilst doing my education alongside this. Perhaps just forgetting the idea for degree for now and revisiting the idea perhaps taking an Open University degree later on?
So my 2-3 questions would be as follows:
1) Would you do a degree now or later given the information provided?
2) Would you study with the Open University or with a brick university?
3) If studying with a brick university, would you do Open University credits alongside GCSE Maths and English for 2 years or would you just dive straight into an Access Course?
Thank you
It's been about a year since I posted - Since then, i've kind of wasted a year again and it's time to put that to a stop whilst i'm still relatively young.
A little information - I'm 26, have terrible GCSE's (Only 4 GCSE C grades and the rest were D or lower - I had no interest in school) and live at home still.
I do have GCSE Maths and English both at Grade C, however, I was considering redoing just them 2 GCSE's just to give myself more universities to apply to. There is a chance I could just stick with the GCSE's that I have and just do well at the rest of my education.
Here's the important information:
I have a long-term ambition to work for myself and set up a business. I don't know what this business this will be, but I know I will set up a business and at least try to succeed in business.
I want something to fall back on and this is where the idea for a degree comes into play – I'm actually quite flexible as to what course this is – I figured something well rounded like Business Management would serve me well, but literally, anything would suffice here. Social Sciences would be fine, Marketing...etc.
I don't know what to prioritise – I was thinking of perhaps going into full-time work and starting a business on the side now, whilst doing my education alongside this. Perhaps just forgetting the idea for degree for now and revisiting the idea perhaps taking an Open University degree later on?
So my 2-3 questions would be as follows:
1) Would you do a degree now or later given the information provided?
2) Would you study with the Open University or with a brick university?
3) If studying with a brick university, would you do Open University credits alongside GCSE Maths and English for 2 years or would you just dive straight into an Access Course?
Thank you
Original post by BenTheBlue
1) Would you do a degree now or later given the information provided?
2) Would you study with the Open University or with a brick university?
3) If studying with a brick university, would you do Open University credits alongside GCSE Maths and English for 2 years or would you just dive straight into an Access Course?
Thank you
1) Would you do a degree now or later given the information provided?
2) Would you study with the Open University or with a brick university?
3) If studying with a brick university, would you do Open University credits alongside GCSE Maths and English for 2 years or would you just dive straight into an Access Course?
Thank you
1. That's up to you, but I don't think doing a degree for the sake of it is a good idea, especially if you're not even sure what you want to study. You don't need a degree in business to set up a business, if you are to do a degree let it be in something that you like - what are you actually interested in and want to learn more about?
2. The OU is a great option if you have a job already, or want to fit your studies in around work experience, internships or travelling - but if you won't be doing much in-between studying then I would go to a brick uni, partly for the student experience but also because it's a good place to make contacts.
3. You don't need to spend 2 years on English and Maths GCSEs, you could do them in 6 months. I'd do an Access course and your GCSEs at the same time and get it all done in a year.
Original post by Snufkin
1. That's up to you, but I don't think doing a degree for the sake of it is a good idea, especially if you're not even sure what you want to study. You don't need a degree in business to set up a business, if you are to do a degree let it be in something that you like - what are you actually interested in and want to learn more about?
2. The OU is a great option if you have a job already, or want to fit your studies in around work experience, internships or travelling - but if you won't be doing much in-between studying then I would go to a brick uni, partly for the student experience but also because it's a good place to make contacts.
3. You don't need to spend 2 years on English and Maths GCSEs, you could do them in 6 months. I'd do an Access course and your GCSEs at the same time and get it all done in a year.
2. The OU is a great option if you have a job already, or want to fit your studies in around work experience, internships or travelling - but if you won't be doing much in-between studying then I would go to a brick uni, partly for the student experience but also because it's a good place to make contacts.
3. You don't need to spend 2 years on English and Maths GCSEs, you could do them in 6 months. I'd do an Access course and your GCSEs at the same time and get it all done in a year.
Well if you're asking me where my interests are right now, I'd narrow it down to Psychology, Neuroscience and Philosophy. I do find myself looking into Philosophy a lot right now but I also suffered from anxiety/OCD in my personal life and so I'd find either Psychology or Neuroscience as fascinating subjects also or maybe even both – starting out with Psychology and getting a masters in Neuroscience.
My fear is that these 3 subjects may not serve me too well in the real world – Would you go along with that?
Original post by BenTheBlue
My fear is that these 3 subjects may not serve me too well in the real world – Would you go along with that?
No, I wouldn't go along with that - your degree subject is not relevant for the vast majority of graduate jobs, really, nobody cares these days what you study.
Original post by Snufkin
1. That's up to you, but I don't think doing a degree for the sake of it is a good idea, especially if you're not even sure what you want to study. You don't need a degree in business to set up a business, if you are to do a degree let it be in something that you like - what are you actually interested in and want to learn more about?
2. The OU is a great option if you have a job already, or want to fit your studies in around work experience, internships or travelling - but if you won't be doing much in-between studying then I would go to a brick uni, partly for the student experience but also because it's a good place to make contacts.
3. You don't need to spend 2 years on English and Maths GCSEs, you could do them in 6 months. I'd do an Access course and your GCSEs at the same time and get it all done in a year.
2. The OU is a great option if you have a job already, or want to fit your studies in around work experience, internships or travelling - but if you won't be doing much in-between studying then I would go to a brick uni, partly for the student experience but also because it's a good place to make contacts.
3. You don't need to spend 2 years on English and Maths GCSEs, you could do them in 6 months. I'd do an Access course and your GCSEs at the same time and get it all done in a year.
Hey. Just a question regarding point number 3. I actually had an Access course interview once, and I asked them what they thought about the idea of doing a Maths and English GCSE at the same time alongside the course. Whilst saying I can do whatever I want, they strongly advised me not to. They said my grades could suffer – What do you make of this?
Original post by BenTheBlue
Hey. Just a question regarding point number 3. I actually had an Access course interview once, and I asked them what they thought about the idea of doing a Maths and English GCSE at the same time alongside the course. Whilst saying I can do whatever I want, they strongly advised me not to. They said my grades could suffer – What do you make of this?
That's up to you, only you know if you could handle the workload without your grades suffering.
Original post by Snufkin
That's up to you, only you know if you could handle the workload without your grades suffering.
In fairness, I think i've still got 2-3 months until the start of the next access course, so I could get a head start on my GCSE's until then.
Original post by BenTheBlue
In fairness, I think i've still got 2-3 months until the start of the next access course, so I could get a head start on my GCSE's until then.
Definitely - indeed, that's enough time to prepare to do the exams in November (it depends on how much you need to learn, but I think that's achievable for most people). Could you afford a tutor? Even just two hours a week can make a big difference.
Original post by Snufkin
Definitely - indeed, that's enough time to prepare to do the exams in November (it depends on how much you need to learn, but I think that's achievable for most people). Could you afford a tutor? Even just two hours a week can make a big difference.
I doubt I could afford a tutor, but I never even knew they offered exams in November for Maths and English.
Original post by BenTheBlue
I doubt I could afford a tutor, but I never even knew they offered exams in November for Maths and English.
Not sure about other exam boards, but CIE still does November-entry for IGCSEs.
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