help with college!

charlott

hi every wondering if any1 can help me out.
I am wanting to start college to do an access course then go on to a midwifery course at uni, i have spoken to the college and got th facts but adv that the course hould be 1 yr @ £457. Other people i know have mangaed to do the course for free and do 2yrs instead of 1.

I havent been adv of this by college(woman was quite rude) and i am not sure hat i hve to do, i am not able to travel fr as hae 3 young children and i am learning to drive s dont have a car at moment.

i thought that when you are over 19 the course can be free and am 22.

does anyone have any advice for me, i have checked serveral times on the website for colege but doesnt give much advice.

any advise woul b great.

MrsManda

There are various ways of getting qualifications the equivalent to A-levels and G.C.S.E.s without having to pay but it depends on your personal situation and the course you want to take.
Have a look on the learning for free on direct.gov to see if the particular course you want to do is eligible.

Also, have you contacted the universities you wish to attend for your midwifery degree to see what they suggest you do to prepare to apply for the course as different courses/universities have different entry requirments.

charlott

Thanks, my partner works but only earns £12000 a yr andi am on maternity leave bt i only eran about £3000 a yr when i am at work, we rec WTC and CT as income is low so not sure if would rec it free based on that. most people seem to be out of work and going to college but i cant afford to do that i am wanting to do part time access and work 16 hrs a wk so i can get help with childcre too.

Fang_3

I don't mean to be rude (really!) but I would focus on getting a GCSE in English, or at least a basic English qualification because your language skills are nowhere near the required standard for university.

MrsManda

Fang wrote: »

I don't mean to be rude (really!) but I would focus on getting a GCSE in English, or at least a basic English qualification because your language skills are nowhere near the required standard for university.

I'm not sure you can make that judgement based on the OP's typing on a forum. My typing and language usage changes all the time, I don't bother checking my spelling and grammar when texting people, writing emails unless they're formal yet when doing a formal piece of work my use of English is fine.

Fang_3

MrsManda wrote: »

I'm not sure you can make that judgement based on the OP's typing on a forum. My typing and language usage changes all the time, I don't bother checking my spelling and grammar when texting people, writing emails unless they're formal yet when doing a formal piece of work my use of English is fine.

It's about habit though. If you're lazy enough to be using 'txtspk' when you're typing on a computer then something is seriously wrong. It would only take one slip in one essay and you would lose five marks, and possibly drop a grade, fail a module and have to resit a year.

charlott

i didnt realise that we had to be at uni level to type on this site. To be honest i dont think it matters how you type on this as long as people can understand what your trying to say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oldernotwiser

charlott wrote: »

i didnt realise that we had to be at uni level to type on this site. To be honest i dont think it matters how you type on this as long as people can understand what your trying to say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually, your first post was very difficult to understand - it's very rude to expect people to put that amount of effort in before helping you.

elisebutt65

I have to agree with ONW. I hate marking student's work that has text-speak in, and I tend to deduct marks for bad grammar etc.

Having said that, I do tend to not bother too much on forums but I can't understand some of your abbreviations on your first post.

student_advisor

charlott wrote: »

i thought that when you are over 19 the course can be free and am 22.

this would depend on your previous qualifications - this would need to be your first level 3 (i.e. no A-levels, national diploma NVQ 3 etc)

Are you working or claiming benefits at the moment? & do you live with a partner?

You may be entitled to further funding for an Access course depending on your circumstances.

tbh, the fee seems very reasonable - Access fees do seem to be rising around the country (ours are around double that)

In terms in whether you should do one or two years, you need to discuss it with the college. If they are offering a 1 year course, this should give you sufficient credits at the right level to gain entry onto the course of your choice. You may also want to talk to the uni you are interested in studying at to make sure they are happy with the course you are looking at.

hth

divastrop

I am coming to the end of the access course (exams-arrrgghh!). My local college used to offer it on a part time basis but doesn't any longer as the exam board changed. Having said that, the course was only 14 hours a week to start with, dropping to 10 hours in February, and some students have managed to complete the course while still working full time, although with children it's a different matter.
Regarding English skills, we were assessed on ours before being accepted onto the course, and those without GCSE English grade C or above were able to do that alongside the access course.