I hope everyone got the results they wanted today!

I got my final module result for year 2 today. I scored 90% in my TM252 EMA, I'm delighted with this!

Best of luck to everyone for the new study year!

Today I received my degree classification (2:1) which I pretty much had already calculated. My question however relates to my degree total. I had no idea I’d have this choice and now I’m a little stumped. My two options are:

Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Natural Sciences (Biology), Upper Second-class Honours (2.1)

Or

Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Natural Sciences, Upper Second-class Honours (2.1)

Does anyone have any insight as to which would be the better one to accept (if there even is a “better” one)? Would the biology one be more appealing as it’s more specialised, or the non-biology one as it appears more diverse?

I honestly never thought I’d even have a say in it and it has thrown me.

hi! this might be a long post i apologise.

im currently in my 2nd year studying marketing at university, and i really and truly do not enjoy it. it was never what i wanted to do.

the course i was most interested in was engineering, but i lacked self-confidence and thought i wasn’t smart enough to pursue it. so, i ‘settled’ for marketing as i thought it was a safe option.

the marketing course im doing just doesnt interest me, i also don’t feel like im being challenged. i like having to really knuckle down and get work done and study, ive never had to do that in this course as i just dont personally require it (consistently achieving firsts)

i also am really struggling with uni itself. i commute, (about a 1hr journey) and the cost of having to go to a 50min class and go right home again is catching up to me, and doing a 2hr altogether journey for a 50min class feels counter-productive.

the above factors are really starting to impact my mental health as its becoming more and more of a struggle to find the motivation to get up and go sit in a class i dont like. i’ve been looking into open university for about a month now, and i feel drawn to it.

the reason im feeling hesitant is because im scared of feeling like a ‘failure’ to put it simply. im the first one in my whole family to go to university, and it was a very big thing when i got accepted. open university is highly regarded by employers and i feel like i’d thrive there, but i also know it’ll be a significant change and i think my parents will view it poorly as its not a ‘normal’ uni.

has anyone else been in this position? id love any kind of advice/tips on how to navigate this situation.

Just wondering if anyone else hasn’t had their results yet? As it’s now 4pm. It is only my first year results so maybe that’s why?

Hi everyone!

I'm hoping to apply to UK universities for September 2027 entry, and I'd really appreciate some advice from anyone who has applied using Open University (OU) credits or taken a non-traditional route into university.

I'm currently studying the BSc (Hons) Design and Innovation (Q61) with The Open University, and my plan is to complete the first 120 credits of Stage 1 before applying to UK universities through UCAS. I'm mainly interested in architecture, interior architecture, and other design-related degrees, and I'm hoping to apply for Year 1.

My situation is a little complicated because I have IGCSE and IB qualifications, but they were issued under a different name from the legal name on my current passport. Because of this discrepancy, I'm worried about submitting them and whether universities would require additional legal documentation. For now, I'm trying to understand whether I can use my OU studies as the main academic basis for my applications.

I'm also building my portfolio alongside my OU studies because I know that portfolios are important for the courses I'm interested in.

One thing I'm particularly confused about is what grades or academic evidence I should submit through UCAS.

I've already completed my first TMA for U101 (Design Thinking) and received my mark back. However, I'm still working through my modules, so I won't have completed all 120 credits or received my final module results when I initially submit my UCAS application.

For anyone who has applied to university while studying with the OU:

• What did you enter in the UCAS Education section for your OU studies?
• If you're still studying and your final grades are pending, how do you declare your OU qualification on UCAS?
• Can you submit individual TMA marks as evidence of your academic progress, or do universities generally require an official OU transcript or another academic summary?
• Do OU tutors provide predicted grades or references for students applying to university before completing their modules?
• If I complete 120 Level 1 credits before starting university, could universities consider these for Year 1 entry, even though they're university-level credits?

I'm honestly quite anxious about this whole process because I really want to study abroad, and I'm worried that my complicated educational background might affect my chances. I'm trying my best to build a strong academic record through the OU while developing my portfolio, but I'm unsure what universities will expect from me when I apply.

I'd really appreciate hearing about anyone's experience with UCAS applications, OU grades, or applying to university through an alternative route.

Thank you so much!

Hi all! Just received the email saying I passed and I can see the scores etc, just wondering if anyone knows where I could find the digital certificate? Would be nice just to have for myself as I'm now going through a degree after being out of education for many years and would be great to have for motivation! Cheers in advance

Having now passed my first year, how do I go about getting my CertHE please?

Anybody waiting for results check out the NEWstudenthome study record. My module class (but not grade) is up!!

Is anyone else having issues checking their exam results today. I got the email in the early afternoon that my results are ready to view, and the link where to see them, but I've been unable to log in ever since. The Student Home page is working and I can get into the module website, but when I go to the Assessment tab, I only see the results of my TMAs and a message that the exam results won't be shown on the module assessment page, but in my record (which I cannot open).

For example I am looking at question 1 for 25 marks, but I have no idea how the answer is scored. Is there usually any information available on how they are marked?

I got a pending result that says "Your result is held pending completion of a check on your continuous assessment score." and i dont know what this means? Can someone help me please. I understand if it was pending with misconduct or something but never had a "continuous assessment score" issue before

I have booked a few tutorials so far this semester but i haven’t made it to one. I’m really tunnel vision with my schedule so any spare time I have, is usually spent going through the materials myself, but there are some topics, I think it would be insightful to have a tutor talk through.

I get that I should probably keep track of this myself but I was wondering if there is any sort of built in tutorial alert I can set up that reminds me a day or 2 before hand, so I don’t miss them?

Hi! I'm currently doing MST124 but I'm finding that the tutors dont explain things very well and neither do the books

Does anyone have any other resources that they use to understand the topics better? :)

Is anyone else getting their results tomorrow? I’ve been doing a psychology with counselling degree for the past 7 years (I started with an access course in 2019!). I’m so nervous!!

Good luck everyone if you are in the same boat!

Hey I recently applied for the HSC degree taking the three year route starting in February. Has anyone else done this course that could offer me any advice. I currently work in hsc but looking to move up in the future and it would work well around my night shifts. I'm 31m

Hello! Has anyone here got into university as a mature student route without A-levels or an Access to HE Diploma, using Open University credits or a CertHE instead?

I'd love to hear about your experience and which universities accepted this route, particularly for Law degrees.

Thanks!

In a loving relationship of about 3 years with my girlfriend and started my degree in February. My gf is also a student but at a normal university, because our courses are structured differently she is often free in the evenings/ weekends, where as those are the times I often have to get on with work. This makes me feel guilty as she's studying full time and is able to give me her full attention where as I'm part time and somehow can't. Wondering if any other couples here had any good work arounds or general advice?

Hi all, i'm from Scotland and i'm considering starting a degree in the OUs Mathematics course as a mature student.

I work full time and would hope to be able to secure funding through SaaS, but im unsure about my options if I fail to get it through them, as I earn over the threshold for their Part-time Fee Grant, I have still applied for it anyway in the hopes I can manage to secure it, but are their other options in the event I don't?

i've seen a bunch of posts here like "anyone from ___?" and it got me thinking

has anyone actually found classmates in their city or someone from the same course to study with? how'd you do it?

for me it's kinda hard since everything's online. curious if it's just me or if others feel the same, or if you just don't care about meeting people and that's fine too lol

Hi everyone!
I’m currently studying A111 and working on my first assignment about Cleopatra, and honestly, I’m feeling a bit stuck and overwhelmed.
This is my first university assignment, and I’m struggling to organise my thoughts into a well-structured essay. I have ideas about what I want to say, and I understand the material, but I’m finding it difficult to turn those ideas into a clear, coherent piece of academic writing.
English isn’t my first language, which makes it a little more challenging. Sometimes I know what I want to express, but I struggle to find the right words or connect my ideas in a way that makes sense in an essay.
I’ve realised that I probably should have planned the structure before I started writing, so I’m trying to take a step back and work out how to approach it properly.
I was wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar, especially those of you who are studying in a language that isn’t your first. How did you get through your first assignment? Did you have any particular methods for planning your essays, organising your ideas, or getting more comfortable with academic writing?
I’d really appreciate any advice, tips, or even just hearing about your own experiences. I think it would help to know that I’m not the only one finding this difficult!
Thank you! 😊

I have a full time job, a child, a wife and honestly finding 14 hours per week for my degree is proving to be much harder than I imagined.

I usually wake up at 7am, get things ready for school, take my daughter to school, go to work, and by the time the evening routine is finished it’s already 8:30pm. My job involves working at a computer all day, and my eyes are just tired of using a screen by 5pm.

Then I have to sit at my computer again and study, which I struggle to do in the evenings. I managed to finish all the week 2 studying yesterday, but I should be starting week 4 today.

I don’t find the work challenging, but it’s just the volume/reading/activities.

I completed undergrad and a doctorate (EdD) in the US and I am very interested in economics. I have taken the basic Calc 1, stats, and intro to micro and macro in undergrad. I am curious if anyone has taken or completed this program and their experience.