What fees would I have to pay?

Oldernotwiser

kittiwoz wrote:

I think you would be better off doing an access course rather than a foundation year because access has a broader scope which I think would give you a taste of a wide area and help you make an informed decision as to what aspects really interest you. Also access is aimed at mature students and will help you get back into the swing of being in education whereas foundation years are aimed at school leavers and will assume you are used to being in education and have good study skills fresh in your mind. (I'm also no to sure about them being classed as HE, they are rather like art foundations which are BTEC and are A-level equivalent so I would think they are FE courses though I may be wrong.)

Yes,I'm afraid you are wrong; as I said, they're usually classed as year 0 of your degree, which is why they come under the HE funding umbrella. I think Access courses are very good but they're not necessarily any wider in scope than a foundation year; they're usually aimed at a subject area such as Humanities or Social Studies. The problem is the funding for them; the OP may be lucky and not have to pay course fees locally but there's no maintenance funding for someone in her situation.

PP, as you're earning good money at the moment, why don't you pay to see an independent career consultant and undergo psychometric testing? I'm all for lifelong learning and personal challenge but you'd be giving up a great deal for what sounds, at the moment, like a whim. As the main bread winner, I'd look at all the possibilities very carefully first; perhaps a year with the OU might help to clarify your thinking about studying Humanities or Science.

kittiwoz

I know Access courses are aimed at a subject area but it is normally a pretty broad subject area whereas foundation years are feeders for what is normally a narrower range of courses and people are expected to come to them with a much stronger sense of direction. I realise she wouldn't get a loan but she is earning a good wage so she has the opportunity to save and access is designed so that people can work part time while doing it whereas foundation years aren't. I'm not saying that she wouldn't be financially better of doing a foundation year but academically I think she'd be more suited to an Access course which I think would help her figure out what she wants to do.

Pauper Princess, do you mind telling us what your current qualifications are? That would make a big difference too.

Oldernotwiser

I don't think that we're really disagreeing on this ;there are just different slants on it. I think though that if you're doing a Science based Access course, the subject matter is going to be very similar to a Foundation Science year. After all, they're both going to have Physics, Chemistry and Biology on them, aren't they? It's also worth pointing out that not all Access courses are compatible to combine with part time work. The most successful 1 year courses are very intensive; if they're not they won't bring people up to speed in the time available.

devils_nose

For some reason I thought access courses were tailored towards the specific sort of degree you follow on to - otherwise, how do they get you to an acceptable entry level in such a broad range of subjects??

I've just been accepted onto a science foundation year leading directly into a meteorology degree, the foundation year feeds lots of different courses, in theory I could go on to do a degree in physics, electronics, robotics, natural sciences, computer science or a couple of others and if I went down a slightly different route there are lots more options available. Foundation years aren't always restrictive.

I would certainly take on the advice of others earlier in the thread though and figure out what sort of degree you want to do before you return to study of any kind - are you tied to going to a local university? maybe have a look at their online prospectus and see if anything catches your eye? Its pretty vital you are interested in the subject matter - I'm also on a route out of accountancy into a new field of specialty and if accountancy has taught me anything, its that I really want some job satisfaction at the end of this and not something I will be bored in (as now)

Good luck - I hope you find something to inspire you!!

kittiwoz

Oldernotwiser wrote:

I think though that if you're doing a Science based Access course, the subject matter is going to be very similar to a Foundation Science year. After all, they're both going to have Physics, Chemistry and Biology on them, aren't they?

I don't know about other unis but at Manchester there are three separate foundation science courses in engineering, biological science and science although they do have a common first semester.

Oldernotwiser

devils_nose wrote:

For some reason I thought access courses were tailored towards the specific sort of degree you follow on to - otherwise, how do they get you to an acceptable entry level in such a broad range of subjects??

In my experience, Access courses cover 3 or 4 subjects, usually grouped around areas such as Humanities, Social Sciences or Science. Some degree subjects would require you to have studied a specific subject on the Access course, whilst others will value the study skills a student has gained rather than particular subject knowledge. After all, many non mature students study things like Economics or Philosophy without having taken them at "A" level.

Kittiwoz
Our local universities offer broadly based or integrated programmes for the Science Foundation Years. If you Google this you'll find that this is the case for many other universities. They usually state that mature students without "A" level sciences are one of their main target groups.The science foundation programme at Manchester seems to be very broadly based as well.
I'm not knocking Access courses, they're often very good, but the funding can be problematic unless you're on benefits. At my local college, the fees are over £800 pa for a full time Access course.

kittiwoz

The ones at Manchester are a bit different then. They are not aimed at mature students without A-levels but at school leavers who have A-levels but either they are in the wrong subjects for the course they want to do or else due to some sort of disruption their grades were not high enough to meet the entrance requirements. I thought that was the norm but apparently not then.

Oldernotwiser

kittiwoz wrote:

The ones at Manchester are a bit different then. They are not aimed at mature students without A-levels but at school leavers who have A-levels but either they are in the wrong subjects for the course they want to do or else due to some sort of disruption their grades were not high enough to meet the entrance requirements. I thought that was the norm but apparently not then.

They are aimed at mature students who don't have the right academic background, the same as for school leavers. As the OP is a Chartered Accountant ( a Level 4 qualification), she falls into this category. If she had few qualifications then an Access course would be the way to go.

Pauper_Princess

Gaaaargh :mad:

Just spent half an hour typing an elaborate response and the flaming thing disappeared!!!!!!!!!!!!

So this is brief now, I've had enough for one day

The access course I looked at was the "Women into Science" course at Huddersfield Uni, fees apparently £1,200 but website says I'd get a grant of £2,700 (this doesn't sound right). Once you pass this (1 year) you're guaranteed a place on any of their science degrees.

I looked at 2 sites where you answer questions and they tell you what might be good careers for you (fast tomato and planit, both aimed at school leavers but they worked okay). Both said I should look at teaching/social work/nursing - not much to do with science then!

Am too tired to think straight now.

Oh, my qualifications. I got decent GCSE grades but only 1 A-level (English) and didn't go to uni, went into work with a view to re-sitting A-levels at night school but it never happened.

I know people think I'm crackers for considering this, most people I've discussed it with have said so too. But this job is just making me so unhappy, and I think I will just have to admit that I cant cope with this level of stress. I've felt like this for 3 years now and every year that passes is another year I haven't done anything about it!

Thanks for all your replies

Oldernotwiser

If you don't cope well with stress, I'd forget about teaching/social work/nursing! The Women into Science course is a foundation year (year 0) leading on to a variety of courses. This is what I've been talking about.

Have a look at this site

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/p!eLaXi

and see how you get on with their "What jobs would suit me?" questionnaire.

I really would consider paying for some professional careers guidance in your situation; it's too big a decision to make without taking proper advice. I'm sure that you'd recommend someone with complicated financial affairs to see a professional accountant; isn't your future worth spending a few pounds on at the planning stage?