How Beth changed her path and ignited a passion for chemistry

For Open Study College student Beth, she followed a path she felt she was stuck on, doing a university course she didn’t enjoy, but after finding out she had a borderline ovarian tumour she decided to change the path she was on and studied GCSE chemistry with us.

Beth tells us how choosing to study through distance learning has made her happier, sparked a newfound love for chemistry and hopes to become a doctor.

“Like most people, I went to university at 18 straight after my A-levels. I studied English Literature, Geography and Performing Arts, so very little relating to Science at all. I did not really enjoy what I was studying, but I stuck it out because I did not know my options back then.”

“However, a year and half into my degree I got very sick with a borderline ovarian tumour and made the decision to drop out of university altogether.”

Having found out about her health issues, she decided to change her life path.

“My health issues made me want to learn about something I was actually passionate about, which is how the body works, and to eventually aim to do graduate entry medicine and become a doctor so that I can help people how my doctors helped me.”

“I took a year out of studies before signing up to study Health Sciences with the Open University part-time when I was 21 and I am now halfway through the degree. I signed up to study Chemistry with the Open Study College earlier this year to do alongside my degree.”

Studying for her GCSE Chemistry is helping her to understand other elements of her degree.

“Chemistry underpins every scientific discipline and can really help you to understand human biology and disease, which is a huge part of my degree. Chemistry is also important when applying for graduate entry medicine and I’d like to get to the stage where I am able to study it at A-Level.”

“I used to think that studying chemistry was something you had to be naturally good at or predisposed to study, but as I was introduced to concepts slowly through my degree, I realised that you can really learn anything if you put your mind to it, so I decided to just give it a go.”

Beth is studying for her degree through distance learning so she understood the concept and chose it because it was so easy to fit around her life.

“As I was already studying my degree via distance learning, I knew it was much more flexible and easier to fit around my life and I could study at my own pace, in my own time."

“For chemistry, and any other course really, your study technique is extremely important, and I would recommend for everyone to read about active recall and spaced repetition as a way of learning content. Having the course materials is one thing, but actually learning them is another and these two techniques really help you to truly learn and remember the content.”

Beth chose Open Study College because of her friendly interaction with our team.

“I looked into various distance learning providers as I have worked in distance learning myself, but Open Study College stood out to me because of the staff. They were kind and extremely helpful and told me everything I needed to know, and I trusted that I would be in good hands.”

“The way Open Study College have formatted their course materials is really easy to follow and extremely well structured and up to date. The staff have continued to be extremely helpful and if I’ve ever needed help with anything, they are super quick to get back to me and resolve it. It takes all of the stress away so I can just enjoy learning about chemistry.”

Beth’s advice for anyone considering studying through distance learning will prompt anyone considering to just go for it!

“If you are motivated and disciplined enough, you truly can learn anything you put your mind to. Everybody has the ability to become good at a subject and studying via distance learning has completely changed the way I look at learning and given me opportunities I have never had before.”