Going to uni! (1 Viewer)

[susieq1969]

Hi Everyone

I'm a 'mature' student (lets leave it at that LOL) and I have a young child who's turning 4

I would really like to become a teacher and I'm weighing up the pro's and cons.

I have to do a years study at Newcastle UnI, the Open Foundation as I did my schooling in
England so didn't sit the HSC.

My question is, if you want to do it part time, would it take 8 years as opposed to the 4?

Also, when they say full time does that mean 5 days a week for lectures or is it only a couple of
days plus studying.

I do currently work part time and financially I don't know if I can study full time if there's no time for work

Just wanted peoples experiences etc and what they did and how they coped.

Any info would be really helpful.

Thanking you all in advance

 

[enoilgam]

Well, full time study means you have a full time course load, but it doesnt necessarily mean that you will be at uni every day. Like, at my uni, a full time load is four subjects a semester which equates to around 12 contact hours per week. Depending on how lucky you get with your timetabling, you could get all your stuff done in two or three days a week. With education, I think the contact hours are generally pretty low (around the 12-15 hour mark), but you would have to check with the uni.

Have you considered going through open universities? My Aunty is nearing the end of her B Ed in Primary Education and she did it via open universities (she dropped out in Year 10). She has three kids and works part-time and she seemed to enjoy the flexibility of being able to do things at home as opposed to going into uni.

 

[Carrotsticks]

Glad that you wish to become a teacher!

First question:

No, it would not necessarily take 8 years. Taking any number of credit points that is NOT full-time, will instantly be considered part-time. So for example, an average semester needs 24 credit points (4 subjects x 6 credit points, but Newcastle Uni may not work the same way necessarily). Say during that semester, I wish to do 18 instead of 24, so 3 subjects. I will then be considered part-time.

The ratio is usually 1/2-load, 3/4-load (both of these are part time) or full-load (full-time). If you were to take 1/2-load every single semester, then 4 years will indeed become 8. However, if you were to take 3/4-load, 4 years will only become 6 etc.

However, it's not restricted to just those categories, because you can freely play around with your credit points (but you may not be able to do less than 1/2-load). So one semester I could do 1/2-load, another is 3/4, back to 1/2 etc. But then you have to watch out for prerequisite subjects.

Second question:

No, full time does not necessarily an 5 days a week. Some students take full-time studies, but only have 4 days of lectures. The full-time is determined by the number of credit points you have, not the number of days you attend uni for lectures. Some universities allow you to freely play around with your timetable, and I've had some friends studying full time, yet only have 3 days at uni! (mind you, these were pretty packed days).

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I did my First year part-time, and a bit of my Second year part-time too. It helps in the sense that you can focus on fewer subjects. Full-time isn't bad either, but it really does depend on your circumstances. I suggest working out a timetable with the admins there to see what it would look like IF you were to study full-time, and if you can fit it around your work schedule. If you cannot, then reduce to part-time 3/4-load and see if it works. If that doesn't, then try 1/2-load etc.

Have you considered doing a course via correspondence? It may be more suitable for you if you cannot work out something that fits your work schedule.

 

[susieq1969]

Thank you so much!

Makes things a little clearer!

I am going to an open day on the 24th August so will ask these questions then

 

[isildurrrr1]

Thank you so much!

Makes things a little clearer!

I am going to an open day on the 24th August so will ask these questions then

I think you might be able to skip foundation stuff if you did well enough in your GSCE's or A-levels. I was educated in the US system so I just applied through UAC and sent them my diploma and SAT marks and they just automatically converted an ATAR for me.