I'm new to this bored, and I've been doing some research on Athabasca university for a bit. I just dropped out of a hairstyling program, I'm 19, and I'm much more interested in doing Psychology. I live in Kingston,Ontario, and I'm not sure I can get into Queen's, I have good grades from high school, just not enough advanced courses. I'm basically asking, how does Athabasca compare to other universities. Is this a good investment? Do employers recognized a diploma from Athabasca? Would it take over 4 years to complete my BA? Any advice would be appreciated, also if you'd like to email me it's [email protected] Thanks!
Then a major point of this board gets usurped. All responses -- unless there's a darned good reason for them to be private -- should be right here, so that everyone can learn along with Melissa. I wish people would stop doing this... asking for private responses, I mean. It seems to be happening more lately. Oh, well. [sigh]
Athabasca is a good school and should you earn a degree from there you will find it accepted virtually everywhere. The time required to complete a degree varies widely and depends on how many courses a person takes at one time. In general, I would advise people to start slow, just so that they do not get overwhelmed with the workload. If, after a couple of semesters, you feel that you could handle more courses, then you could bulk up a bit. Jack
Hi Melissa: Welcome um abored. Jack's (and Gregg's) advice is good. AU is certainly going to stand you in good stead. Since you are Canadian you will not get charged the punitive surcharges inflicted on foreign students by AU. In my contacts with AU they have been very professional, cordial, and competent. IF you have in mind eventually transferring to Queen's (when I was a kid I wanted to go there; fine school), it would be wise to confirm what QU's transfer policy is, just in case. Best of luck to you. Janko Preotul
You will find there are many graduates from Athabasca University from the psychology program. If you want to determine whether you can work as a clinical psychologist or the like perhaps a call or email to the appropriate provincial association would give you some reassurance. Since Athabasca University uses, for the most part, traditional correspondence courses your progress through the degree will largely depend on the time commitment you can put into your education. If you can afford not to work while studying your progress should track closely with any on-campus program. Athabasca University courses match the rigor and academic demands on the student that enforce the feeling of quality and a well-spent education dollar. Good luck!
Re: Re: Advice on Athabasca I agree with DesElms. If anybody wants to debate this point of view with me, send me an email.
Thank you for the advice. I have another question. If I were to get some arts courses ( say 4) in a year, would it be possible to transfer those over to Queen's University, if I eventually choose to go to Queens?
I second uncle janko: "IF you have in mind eventually transferring to Queen's (when I was a kid I wanted to go there; fine school), it would be wise to confirm what QU's transfer policy is, just in case." Queen's will no doubt have some restrictions on how many credits they will accept for transfer. Every school is a bit different, the only way to be sure is to contact Queen's directly. Brandon
