Hi there
I just wanted to "put myself out here" so to speak. Is anyone else starting this course in October. Having read many other posts, it seems my worries are the same as everyone else. Fitting everything in and having the capacity to switch the old brain on after not only a day at work but a break from previous study. Anybody else in the same situation?
Hi Lisa, my name is also Lisa and I am also starting in October...! It's exciting and a bit daunting at the same time but I am confident that we are all in the same boat so to speak. I am 34 yrs old and have not studied since 1996.... so switching the brain on is going to be a challenge to say the least, although the end result will make all the difference...!
Anyway, best of luck, no doubt we will communicate along the way.
Lisa.x
Hi to both Lisas!
Glad to hear that you have signed up for A815. I started the course when it was first presented in October 2009 but had to take a study break when we relocated to the US. It was hard going with a full time job, being a Mum and trying to keep everything running but I managed pretty well until I then had to do all of the above plus pack up and sell our house!
It must be quite daunting to come to Masters level study having completed study a while ago. I know that I was worried whether I was intellectually capable of a Masters but I had loved the OU undergraduate courses so much, I wanted to carry on further.
You will need to be organised and try to get some of the reading done before the course starts if you can, especially any of the texts that you haven't read before so that you are at least familiar with them before you get the course material. You will also need to become familiar with looking up texts online in the OU library - it is defintely worthwhile playing around with finding things there as you will probably be expected to read around your texts and the course material quite widely.
Anyway, I also wanted to let you know that there is also an OUSA run forum for A815 - look on your student homepage for the link to OUSA Forums on the left hand side, choose OUSA Arts and then scroll down to the bottom of the page for the postgraduate courses - you will be very welcome to join us there!
Karen
(OUSA A815 Co Mod)
Hi there
Good luck to the Lisas! I am very jealous that you have already made the decision to go for this course!
I am considering starting A815 (perhaps even this year if there are still spaces and I can decide before the deadline!), but was looking for a little advice beforehand.
Would anyone have any info on submission dates for assignments? Only I am concerned to see how these fit in with my work commitments.
I am fairly happy that I will cope with the intellectual level of the course, but am just worried about the pressure of meeting deadlines on top of a full time job and tutoring. Any advice?
I could potentially put this off until next year, when my partner will hopefully be earning a bigger wage, allowing me to work part time. But of course if this doesn't turn out to be the case I will have lost more time. (Also I'm really excited by the prospect and just want to get started!)
Many thanks
Karina
Greetings to all! I too am returning student to the OU after a considerable study gap. I started the course last year but due to family circumstances only did TMA01. I found it harder than expected but having had a "dummy run" at an assignement as it were was a useful yardstick and something to build on for this year's course.
I am an Headteacher who took early retirement but hoping to pick up supply teaching work in Denbighshire where I now live after moving from the Midlands.
I think this website facility is really good. You realise you aren't the only one experiencing the loneliness of a "long distance runner" and that we all share the same anxieties and fitting a big commitment into the margins of our time in busy life schedules.
Martin Tibbetts
As far as I know the TMA's are unchanged from last year. I hope so. As a returning student my TMA01 is banked so I re-connect with Bronte/Rhys et al.
My difficulty with TMA 01 was finding secondary sources and resorted to using USA websites which didn't acknowedge sources. The over-riding criticism of that TMA (which passed- just!) was lack of secondary references.
Good luck! I have changed tutors and been sent details of study days in Bristol and Cardiff. I look forward to meeting some of ypu.
Martin
Wide Sargasso Sea is on BBC4 tonight at 9.00. Its a screen version of Rhys's work.
Martin Tibbetts
Lisa. I have had a hige break from study. I have banked my first essay and I have to admit the course demands are more challenging than I expected. The gear change from BA to MA is huge. I love the course though. Martin Tibbetts