 I have been wanting to start a distance learning doctoral program for a few years. I have had a series of circumstances which affected my time and my finances, so I could not start. But, I did explore many different programs during that time.I decided on the program at Oxford Graduate school because of a variety of reasons. One of the primary ones was that I wanted a 'real' doctorate at a 'real' school which was fully accredited. Another was so that I could do the research I wanted to do (and not be stuck studying what the university wanted me to learn and researching what my faculty adviser wanted me to research). But, one of the most important to me was having on-campus residency. I need to have direct face-to-face contact with the faculty and I need to do some of my studies in a group setting. When I went through my first Core week at OGS, I was especially delighted with my choice to go there. The administration and faculty were genuinely interested in me and what I wanted to achieve in school. the structure of the schedule was intense, but it was also a relaxed context and I felt good there. I discovered that the caring attitude they had for me when talking with me about their program by phone and email, was the same attitude they had when I was there in the on-campus residency. I'm glad I made the choice to go there. | 
