What would you do - opinion needed please?

rainbowfairydust

Bit of background first ..I am 33, single and have no children and wanting a change in career ( i have worked in administration all my working life ) and hoping to move into the social work area. I left school at 16 years old and started working straight away, so i never did any A-Levels or college.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago and i knew i couldnt carry on working in administration. I find it monotonous , and tedious work and the though of spending another 30 + years fills me with dread . Added into this is the awful pay and no chance of ever being able to earn a decent wage.

After doing a lot of research last year i decided to apply for a place on an access course & was accepted. I unfortuantley had to turn down my place because i was unable to find part time work and i felt i couldn't take the risk of walking out of a full time job on the "off chance " i'd find a part time job.

I am now in the same position i was last year and wanting to reapply for a place HOWEVER although i have saved some cash its not going to be enough to see me through a year and again this is dependant on my success finding a part time job.

As this is an access course i will be on , i am not entitled to ANY student loans because this course is considered to be further education rather than higher education.I am also not entitled to any help from the college either because i am working full time .. I would have to pay for the course fee myself (£1500 ) and living expenses for during the year . I have no issue in paying for the course myself nor supporting myself.. so my question is do i take the risk & reapply again for 2012 and pray i find a part time job? or continue saving and reapply in 2013 when i will have more savings? I dont want to apply for a place and then have to turn it down AGAIN because of financial reasons.

I should also say that i dont want to do an open uni course because i believe being in a class room will be more beneficial to me, and i have also considered an A-Level online but again after a lot of thought i think being in a class room will be more beneficial to me.Added into that it would take me 4 years to get enough ucas points if i went down the A-Level route.

Oldernotwiser

rainbowfairydust wrote: »

I should also say that i dont want to do an open uni course because i believe being in a class room will be more beneficial to me, and i have also considered an A-Level online but again after a lot of thought i think being in a class room will be more beneficial to me.Added into that it would take me 4 years to get enough ucas points if i went down the A-Level route.

Whilst I don't wish to ignore what you've said about the OU, I would seriously rethink this as it would make things so much easier for you financially.

You'd only need to do one year with the OU and level 1 courses normally have regular class meetings so you wouldn't be doing it on your own. Of course, you'd need to contact universities you're interested in to check that they would accept this entry route but several of my clients were offered places on the basis of doing one of these courses as well as having the required GCSEs in English and Maths and relevant experience.

http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/k101.htm
http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/dd101.htm

Access courses are fantastic but not really worth beggaring yourself at the start of a 3 year degree course.

Whatever you decide, I wish you luck.

MrsManda

Have you looked at your current outgoings and worked out the minimum amount you need to live on?
If you reduce your outgoings to the minimum now then you will be able to put everything you earn above that into savings for when you are no longer working FT. Plus you will know your budget is feasible.

This will give you an idea of how much you can save before the start of the course and thus how much you'd need to earn while studying in order to continue. It'll hopefully give you better information for helping you make your decision.

Voyager2002

Firstly, are you sure that the Access course is what you need? Presumably you plan to follow it with a degree course relevant to social work: have you contacted any universities that offer such courses? You may find that they would accept you straight on to a degree course on the basis of your life experience, although they might recommend some study first (perhaps part-time) to build up your study skills and confidece before beginning a degree. Again, they might advise that your chosen Access course is not appropriate for your ambition, so you need to check this out.

Secondly, I cannot imagine why you believe that doing 'A' levels would take four years! A motivated mature student can often complete A2 in a single year, so this is something to discuss with your local college.

MusicalLawyer

I am doing A Level Law online and it'll take me one year to do the full course.

As the access course is your first level 3 course, you may get it for free?
I did Access to HE back in 2008 and I was 20. I got it free as it was my first level 3 course.
I was also working whilst I was studying.

Lizling

I would also recommend reconsidering the OU. I'm doing a level 1 OU course and I get an optional 2 hour classroom session for each section. It's enough to cover most of the material, although I still need to study it on my own too, to run through the exercises and make everything sink in.

Oldernotwiser

KellyKing1987 wrote: »

I am doing A Level Law online and it'll take me one year to do the full course.

As the access course is your first level 3 course, you may get it for free?
I did Access to HE back in 2008 and I was 20. I got it free as it was my first level 3 course.
I was also working whilst I was studying.

Unfortunately you have to be under 25 to get a level 3 course free automatically.

flea72

if you want to study via the Access course, then look around to see what other colleges offer it as the fees vary

my local college wanted £1500, but the one in the next town subsidised their course, so it was only £850 or free if you didnt hold more than 5, level 2 qualifications

unfortunately, i thought as i had been out of education for over 20years, i would ease myself back into learning gently, so did the free adult education classes in literacy and numeracy as a starter. then found out to my dismay that as they were level 2, i had to pay for my Access Course

working part time whilst doing the access course is not easy. most courses are a minimum 30hrs study a week, so that doesnt leave much time for work/social life. however social work degrees entry requirements are usually just that you pass the Access Course, they dont want grading descriptors , so for most people that is easily attainable, without too much pressure.

you say you dont want to start the course until you have a p/t job sorted, but until you know your college timetable you wont know what hours you are free to work, so you would need to have a flexible employer, unless you only plan to work at weekends or evenings?

Personally, now i have nigh on completed my access course, i would say for me, that it wasnt all it was billed to be. My subject knowledge base is lacking compared to A2, which if you want to go into a specialist area leaves you at a loss. all i do have in my favour, is the ability to structure essays and Harvard referencing skills.

i think if there are certain qualifications outside maths and english that your university course requires, then OU will give you a better grounding as you can study longer and to a more indepth level than the access course offers, or even better get A levels

F

rainbowfairydust

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Whilst I don't wish to ignore what you've said about the OU, I would seriously rethink this as it would make things so much easier for you financially.

You'd only need to do one year with the OU and level 1 courses normally have regular class meetings so you wouldn't be doing it on your own. Of course, you'd need to contact universities you're interested in to check that they would accept this entry route but several of my clients were offered places on the basis of doing one of these courses as well as having the required GCSEs in English and Maths and relevant experience.

http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/k101.htm
http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/dd101.htm

Access courses are fantastic but not really worth beggaring yourself at the start of a 3 year degree course.

Whatever you decide, I wish you luck.

Thanks for the information but i have a friend who is doing one of these courses and i dont think she attends any classes? I will ask her to find out. Its certainly worth another look at least

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Firstly, are you sure that the Access course is what you need? Presumably you plan to follow it with a degree course relevant to social work: have you contacted any universities that offer such courses? You may find that they would accept you straight on to a degree course on the basis of your life experience, although they might recommend some study first (perhaps part-time) to build up your study skills and confidece before beginning a degree. Again, they might advise that your chosen Access course is not appropriate for your ambition, so you need to check this out.

Secondly, I cannot imagine why you believe that doing 'A' levels would take four years! A motivated mature student can often complete A2 in a single year, so this is something to discuss with your local college.

Yes i have contacted numerous university's, and have been advised that i would need 240 ucas points to be accepted on the degree in addition to voluntary experience. I have already put my name down at our local victim support office and i am awaiting a place on the 5 day course they run.
I was advised that the best route for me to go down was the social work one because this degree has the most career opportunity's and wouldn't be restricted to having to go down the "one road" so to speak.

As for the A-Levels , i thought 2 A-levels would equate to the 240 ucas points needed to be accepted on the degree, with each A-Level taking 18 months?

MrsManda

rainbowfairydust wrote: »

As for the A-Levels , i thought 2 A-levels would equate to the 240 ucas points needed to be accepted on the degree, with each A-Level taking 18 months?

This depends on how you're studying for them and how motivated you are/what time you're able to give to studying. People studying A-levels full time (such as those who go to 6th form after their GCSEs) usually do 3 or 4 in 2 years, some manage to study 5 or 6 so studying PT it's possible to do 2 in 2 years.

UCAS points will depend on what grade you achieve, to get 240 points with 2 A-levels you need to get an A on both.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/QualificationsExplained/DG_10039018

A-levels and Access Courses are not the only way to get the required UCAS points. It may be worth looking at the UCAS tariff tables to see what your other options could be though you need to check that the university you want to apply to will accept different qualifications as many don't give offers just on UCAS points but take note of what was studied to get those points.
http://www.ucas.com/students/ucas_tariff/index.html

elsien

Re the job front - have you considered care work as an option to earn money while you are studying? It's certainly not well paid but it is flexible - I manage a home for people with learning disabilities and have employed several staff who were working around doing various social work courses. It does tend to be more evenings and weekends but staff have also worked around their lectures - if you are able to be flexible and can find a flexible employer it won't just earn you cash but could help with experience as well. Plus there's the option of taking on extra hours in the holidays - anyone who wants to work Christmas and New year is always appreciated!