Friday 6 April 2012

School's Out

Well. That’s me finished now until October. No, seriously, I had my last lecture a couple of weeks ago and don’t have any more until Michaelmas term. I have two summatives to hand in on 2nd May but I don’t have any more attendance at Durham this academic year. This probably sounds a bit strange or confusing, but the reason is pure and simple – it’s because I’m a part timer. The trouble with this course is that it’s not really a part time course – it’s a full time course which I’m ABLE to do over 2 years instead of 1. This means that during the summer term the full timers are busy doing their dissertations so that leaves me as a part timer with pretty much nothing to do until the NEW full timers start in autumn.

Before I get lambasted, I’m certainly not complaining. But I don’t plan on wasting my summer. A fellow classmate has offered to give me copies of the reading lists for the modules I’ll be taking next year so I can get a head start over the summer (as well as having Open University study to carry out too), but it gives me the opportunity to do a bit of extra reading as well.

For now though, I have summatives to think about and oh boy, it’s all I’m gonna be thinking about until they’re handed in. Luckily (for my studies that is, not for me), I have 3 weekends in a row of pure study potential – my better half is at work Saturday and Sunday for the next 3 weekends so that’s my chance to hit the library and get 14 hours of study and revision in. 14 hours of pure uninterrupted study is a LOT for a part timer but in truth it’s still not really enough. I just need to make sure I make the most of that time and try and fit in a bit of extra study/think-time alongside it. I’m absolutely determined to do well.

So Durham will be without me for 6 months and it will seem strange since I was only just starting to get used to the twice-weekly pilgrimage. Not to worry though, on the plus side it means I’m better off financially as it means I don’t have to take unpaid leave from work to get to lectures for the next 6 months, I don’t have the 120 miles worth of fuel to account for each week and I don’t have the £4 of parking charges to fumble about for either. I know it doesn’t sound like much but all-in it equates to about £50 a week on top of the cost of fees. Actually, when I look at it that way this MA is costing me a bleedin’ fortune! Makes me all the more relieved for my 6 months off.

Although I say '6 months off' but it's not really the case. I have 2 Open University modules starting up at the beginning of May to keep me occupied, and either excitingly or stupidly enough I've just reserved myself a place in the Great North Run in September so considering the fact that at present I can't run for more than about 30 seconds I have a LOT of training ahead of me. More details to follow on that, but for now I just wanted to reignite the blog and say hello - I'm still here.

1 comment:

  1. I think the summer term the full timers are busy doing their dissertations so that leaves me as a part timer with pretty much nothing to do until the NEW full timers start in autumn. you can find here a useful math website which offer math learning classes free of cost.
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