{"id":23546,"date":"2023-11-27T18:00:14","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T18:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=23546"},"modified":"2023-11-27T18:00:14","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T18:00:14","slug":"the-biggest-benefit-of-the-ou-is-that-i-can-earn-whilst-i-learn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/business-law\/the-biggest-benefit-of-the-ou-is-that-i-can-earn-whilst-i-learn\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The biggest benefit of the OU is that I can earn whilst I learn\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kianna, 22 from Milton Keynes, chose to study with The Open University (OU) so that she could gain a degree in a more affordable way. Because of the flexibility of the OU, Kianna could continue her part-time role and remain living at home with her parents, which meant she no longer needed multiple loans to fund her education.<\/p>\n

University on my terms <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Kianna recognises that whilst \u2018going away\u2019 to a brick university is still popular, with the current cost-of-living crisis it\u2019s not the best option for everyone her age.<\/p>\n

\u201cI chose to study for a BA (Hons) degree in Business Management<\/a> as it\u2019s an area that I\u2019ve always had an interest in and I would like to eventually have a career within the field. I\u2019m now in my second year of study and am really enjoying learning about the different areas of the ever-changing business world.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew that I wanted to stay at home so that I could be close to my family and friends and continue working in my part-time role in retail. I\u2019ve since secured a new role at Virgin Money, which is more aligned to my degree. As well as funding my studies, I\u2019m also gaining valuable work experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, the biggest benefit of the OU is that I can earn whilst I learn. With bills on the rise, I have friends who don\u2019t know how they\u2019re going to cope with the cost of living away from home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kianna\u2019s friends and family were fully supportive of her decision too. She adds, \u201cThey don\u2019t view the OU any differently to a brick university. If anything, I feel more independent because I\u2019ve made a decision that suits my situation and will set me up for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Student life<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Kianna recognises that some students might believe that studying via distance learning will mean that they\u2019ll miss out on the student experience. Keen to dispel that myth, she shares: \u201cBeing a younger student I was a little worried at first, but there are lots of social groups and clubs to join, which are very diverse, like gaming and gardening. There\u2019s a club for every student.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudent support groups are also available to join through the University. It\u2019s a brilliant way of meeting others. If you\u2019re looking to socialise, there\u2019s still plenty of opportunities to make friends at the OU.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of the quality of education I\u2019ve received, it\u2019s been great. The tutors are on hand to help if you need additional support and will often hang back after a tutorial to encourage questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Securing her future<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Kianna is studying at a full-time capacity, which means that like her friends at brick universities, she will have gained a degree in just three years.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext year will be my final year at the OU. By the time I finish my studies, I\u2019ve estimated that I will have saved around \u00a310,000 in comparison to my friends that attend brick universities. This is due to the cheaper fees at the OU and not needing a maintenance loan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve also got more of a disposable income that I\u2019ve used to learn how to drive, save for a car and do fun activities with my family and friends. If I need to boost my funds, it\u2019s easy for me to pick up a few extra shifts that I can fit around my studies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really proud of what I\u2019ve achieved so far with the OU and already know that once I\u2019ve graduated that I want to do a MSc in Human Resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’d love to have two degrees under my belt, especially from the OU.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kianna\u2019s story was featured alongside research commissioned by the OU, which uncovered that nearly 1 in 2 school leavers in England have reconsidered going to university, as cost of living soars. Read the full story<\/a> to find out more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kianna, 22 from Milton Keynes, chose to study with The Open University (OU) so that she could gain a degree in a more affordable way. Because of the flexibility of the OU, Kianna could continue her part-time role and remain living at home with her parents, which meant she no longer needed multiple loans to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":23547,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,18],"tags":[1525,1640],"class_list":["post-23546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-law","category-student-stories","tag-news-home","tag-ou-home"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}