Just deciding to give distance study a go is a huge first step, especially if the whole idea of study is new to you. The next step is deciding exactly what you want to study. This is likely to be a much easier decision. After all, you will probably have some ideas about what you are interested in.
However, if you have many interests deciding which one to pursue can be a bit of a nightmare because every second course may sound fascinating and valuable. If this is you, I've listed some points below that will help with your decision.
Is Your Focus Business or Pleasure?
Why do you want to study? Are you the type of person who will study purely for personal reasons? For example, are the fascinated with European History and would love to learn more about it through a distance study course simply to expand your knowledge?
Alternatively, are your reasons for studying more practical? You may want to study to enhance your business skills and get you that promotion you've been chasing.
Deciding why you want to study will make it easier to decide what to study.
Brainstorm a List of Distance Study Courses
To get yourself thinking about what you would like to study jot down a list of subject ideas that you'd like to study. This can be anything and everything, even if you think you are unable to find a suitable course on the subject. From there you can start researching online for the distance study courses that are available. This is your first step on the road to fulfilling your aspirations.
Don't Rush Your Decision
You may be excited about the prospect of commencing study but give yourself the time and space to make your choice of distance study course. Even if you have found a course that you think is the right one, don't rush into enrolling just because the deadline for enrolment happens to be next week.
In most cases your chosen distance study course will commence at least twice a year and sometimes more often than that. It will be better for you if you take your time and wait until the next intake so you can have a good look at the course and any others you are interested in. With that extra research time you may find an even better course that you would have missed out on had you rushed to make your decision.
What if you Choose the Wrong Course?
If you find, after starting your course, that it's not the right one for you, don't despair. Take a step back and look at the other distance study options you were considering? Changing your course is not the end of the world.
Distance study is about personal growth. Even if you feel you've made the wrong choice and you want to withdraw from the course, think about the positives you can take from what you have learnt.
Focus on the experience and what you have achieved in beginning the course. You can then continue to move ahead and find another course that better suits your goals. Make sure you use the experience to ask questions of the course coordinator for the next course to ensure it is right for you. There is sure to be a distance study course out there that suits your needs.
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Plants are shaped by cultivation and men by education. .. We are born weak, we need strength; we are born totally unprovided, we need aid; we are born stupid, we need judgment. Everything we do not have at our birth and which we need when we are grown is given us by education.
(Jean Jacques Rousseau, Emile, On Philosophy of Education)
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