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Lunatyc
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Default Aug 12, 2020 at 04:40 AM
  #1
I have decided to put all my eggs in one basket. I am swithering between going to college and doing an honours degree or studying online at the Open University. I am divided because students at college tend to be "spoon fed." And the class sizes drop like flies so by the time you get to the 3rd year there is sometimes only a handful of students left. It's maybe not a terrible situation as a student will receive more guidance from the tutors if the class is small.
I have always been a very strident and independent learner. I am naturally a thinker and problem solver. I do take other people's opinion and advice on board but I like to do thing's my way. There are two courses - BA(hons) Literature or BA(hons) Creative Writing in Scotland.
The course I want to do online is English Literature and Creative Writing. I know that with this type of degrees, what counts more is not just classroom lectures but what a student does in their own time - read, construct their own stories, plays, poems, screen plays, gather inspiration and ideas. So I feel that it may be worth doing it as an open uni degree rather than college. And doing it by distance learning online, gives me more flexibility to create my own style rather than fall back on how other writers structure and create their art form.
Being in a college environment amongst other people may be more motivating and has social benefits. Except I would be a mature student so chances are there may not be a lot of students my age. Which is 30 incase you are wondering : D
And of course with covid 19, distance learning may be the only option for the next year or two. Nobody knows for certain what is going to happen.
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Smile Aug 14, 2020 at 01:43 PM
  #2
Well... realistically I don't really know anything about this. Plus I'm not in the U.K. So I'm unfamiliar with the educational system there. However I did go to college myself many years ago. So I thought I would simply offer some general thoughts with regard to your post.

From my perspective, I think the first thing you may want to consider is what your objective is in going to college. Are you doing this to enhance your employability, earning potential & potential employment "environment" (the type of situation you work in... for example in a professional atmosphere as opposed to entry-level type jobs) or are you going to college primarily to "expand your mind", so to speak.

If you're going to college primarily to expand your mind, then I would think whichever of the two options you mentioned offers the best opportunity to do that would be the one to choose. (Based on what you wrote, it sounds as though that may be the Open University?) However, if your reason for going is to enhance your employment potential then, it seems to me, what's important to consider is which option is going to make you most attractive to potential employers in the future who employ people to do the kinds of work you'd like to do.

When I was young many years ago, & getting ready to start college, there was a myth in vogue that said... just go to college. It doesn't even matter what you study. You'll be set for life. (How completely inane that was.) So many of us went to college & studied things like English literature, history or philosophy. And upon graduation we found ourselves qualified to do absolutely nothing! So that's the potential trap I think you want to avoid; there again unless you're simply going to college to expand your mind & perhaps hone your writing skills with an eye toward becoming an independent creative writer.

Anyway... those are my thoughts with regard to your post... for what they're worth... if anything. Under any circumstances, my best wishes for great success however you choose to proceed.

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Default Aug 19, 2020 at 07:03 AM
  #3
My top priority was aiming to "expand my mind."
I have my heart set on being a writer. My friend knows someone who can train me to be a dog groomer and I'm really excited as I love animals. I wanted a job with training when I left school but I had to settle for a supermarket job. I didn't know where to look other than the adverts online or in newspapers. I was told if I pulled my socks up I could be a manager in future. But then the whole bipolar rigmarole came and disrupted my life!
There seems to be a shift in attitude in todays world. Youngsters are realising that a college degree is not the only way into skilled employment. But finding an apprenticeship is extremely difficult. Sometimes you need to know the right people or the timing does not play into your hands. After I went off the rails with the bipolar, I rememeber a woman suggesting I try a temping agency for admin since I had a good qualification from school. That her daughter found a full time opportunity in doing so. I didn't feel like I was good enough. I think it was my confidence that had taken a beating. I couldn't envision myself couped up in an office. And sometimes the employment a person finds has no bearing on the degree they study.
For employers, a degree shows how committed a person is to succeed, their willingness to learn, how disciplined they are, that they can think for themselves, that they know how to construct reports and presentations, that they can work under pressure. In simplified terms. But in a competitive job market it is still very hard to secure work. I've read that many students go "back in closet" after they graduate until they are established in their careers. There other barriers to overcome.
I wasn't from a privileged background, I argued with the teachers and I wanted to avoid being on a computer all day long. That was one slice of the pie in the whole cake of reasons why I decided not to do what I was supposed to do. Fulfill my educational promise and become someone with a pretentious title. Once you unlock the creative potential inside of you, it makes no sense to back track. At 18 I knew I'd be a writer.. .. If I managed to stay alive.
Anyway. My dream is to write fiction. Maybe I will do a year of open uni and then decide to go to the college. Who knows.

Last edited by Lunatyc; Aug 19, 2020 at 07:23 AM..
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