Jamie Henderson

"Hi, my name is Jamie and I am currently studying Law through the Arden University Distance Learning programme, as well as working as a Dispensing Assistant at a pharmacy and a Leisure Attendant at a local leisure centre, whilst doing voluntary work experience at a solicitors.

As I was preparing for university, tuition fees increased from £3,000 to £9,000 per academic year, making the choice very difficult for me and many students my age.

Although the fee hike didn’t put me off at first and I was determined to get the right grades to get into university, the doubts eventually crept in. Whilst tuition fees don’t have to be paid until you earn a certain amount, the debt would stay with me until I was 54! That’s when I decided that university wasn’t for me; it was time to find a different way to progress my career.

I began my search by looking into Apprenticeships, taking extra interest in Legal Administrator programmes, however I had no luck with the countless vacancies I applied for. As time went on, I realised that I need to find an alternative and started considering Distance Learning.

An internet search showed that you could study a Law Degree online. I looked through different organisations on the internet including local universities and online organisations, which is how I came across Arden University. My first opinion of the Arden University website is that it looked professional which attracted me to this organisation. I went on to read the comments of current students, where I noted one student said about being able to send your work through the Internet rather than having to send it through the post and how much easier it was doing it that way.

I then looked at how much this course would cost and found that for a year’s tuition fee at university, I could almost pay for the whole course with Arden University. This was made even better by the fact that I could pay for it with student finance as at the time I was only working part-time.

Since I have started my studies with Arden, my experiences have been good. The learning materials are of a good quality and you also get to do your own research. This means that when you are ready to do your assessments, you have the skills and knowledge needed for a high grade.

The staff are very good, responding to queries quickly, usually within the next day. This allows you to deal with any problems you may have quickly, allowing more time to concentrate on your studies which is great! To add to this, you can communicate with other students, say if you are unsure of the meaning of a sub topic you can hear different people’s opinions, which allows you to broaden your thoughts and look at that subject from a different perspective.

To summarise, the benefits of studying part-time with Arden University are that I am able to work and earn money whilst I am studying for my Degree, without the massive overheads that I would have had, had I chosen to study at a more traditional university.

Studying part-time has also made me into a reputable candidate, as I have been able to gain valuable experience in different work places. The fact that I have chosen to study at home allows me to demonstrate that I am a determined worker who will work hard to be successful.

All in all, I believe that studying with Arden University was one of my life’s wiser choices which I am very happy with and if anyone was to ask for my opinion on what they should do, I would definitely suggest part-time study.

Thank you for reading my story, I hope you have enjoyed it and that I have opened your mind to other methods of further education studies."