no qualifications mature student wanting to studyat uni..how?

jeffy22

Hi
I wonder if anyone can give me some advice…
I’m writing on behalf of my friend. He would love to go you uni to study astrophysics.
He is obsessed with anything to do with space and the universe and reads books and books on the subject. Unfortunately he had a bit of a bad start in life. He is 29 and did not have much schooling and has drifted from job to job. I’ve been telling him how intelligent he is and he deserves to study as much as anyone else... he just needs a chance... I know he would be very successful if he could just get on a course. He has no savings and few GCSE’s but is there anyway he could get onto a course as a mature student? He’s not afraid of hard work and working towards a goal. How could he go about working towards his dream? Are grants or scholarships available?

Thank you for any advice

WestonDave

Might be worth looking up and then writing directly to the heads of department in a few University Astrophysics departments, explaining his background, his ambition and initially asking if they could spare him half an hour to discuss how he might progress. The obvious aim is to get in front of one of these people, impress them enough that they show him a way forward, but asking for a place on their course is a bit too "blunt" a way to go about it!

cmw1212

Has he looked at the open university, this is not a degree but it might be something he would be interested in doing.
http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/qualification/s10.htm

j.e.j.

A friend of mine did physics with astrophysics at university. Entrance requirements were physics (of course), and science subjects. Many, if not most, of the graduates from his course have ended up finding employment as computer programmers.

As far as I understand it much of the astronomy at degree-level is done via computer and with radio telescopes, rather than just observing the night sky.

What is it that your friend would like to gain from going to university that he would not be able to do as an amateur astronomer? I'm bearing in mind here that even Patrick Moore describes himself as an amateur astronomer :rotfl:

denla

WestonDave wrote: »

Might be worth looking up and then writing directly to the heads of department in a few University Astrophysics departments, explaining his background, his ambition and initially asking if they could spare him half an hour to discuss how he might progress. The obvious aim is to get in front of one of these people, impress them enough that they show him a way forward, but asking for a place on their course is a bit too "blunt" a way to go about it!

No point wasting time talking to university admission officers. They will all tell him the same thing: they can't offer him a place unless he meets the minimum entry requirements.

A 'few' GCSEs won't do. What grades are those GCSEs? It's best to do an Access to Higher Education course which last 1 year and then apply for uni.

Don't bother with the course the above user posted. It won't be worth anything in the real world. Not advance as an HND and the credits are level 2 where as Access to Higher Education modules will include a few level 3s and it's more recognised if he's looking for gain entry to uni.

Work experience might also give him the edge, but only if it's work experience from a skilled job. What kind of jobs has he been doing?

madison-nyc

as the pp said he would need to do and access to he course first either full time for 1 year or part time over 2 years , which is what i'm currently doing. Most colleges offer this and part time is 1 day or a day and a half a week so you can still work which makes is accesible to most.

podperson

For mature students they are often a little more flexible on prior exam results but he may need to do an access course or at least have some kind of experience. My OH went back to uni as a mature student, he'd always done very badly at school so had no GCSEs/A-Levels etc but did a one year access course and was accepted into a highly rated uni on the basis of that and his interview.
If he hasn't studied at degree level before then he will be able to apply for a student loan for his fees and a student maintenance loan to help with his living expenses.

Dunroamin

madison-nyc wrote: »

as the pp said he would need to do and access to he course first either full time for 1 year or part time over 2 years , which is what i'm currently doing. Most colleges offer this and part time is 1 day or a day and a half a week so you can still work which makes is accesible to most.

Very few colleges offer Science Access courses and even fewer offer Maths at the appropriate level.

notanewuser

Is he a member of his local Astronomical Society? Costs a few £s a year and would give him access to a lot of academics.

I can't imagine any uni will accept him without the basic requirements though (A levels etc). Is there any reason he couldn't get those at night school?

juno

There are many, many ways into uni!

One way is the usual GCSEs then A Levels route. This could take 2 years for GCSEs, then another 2 years for A Levels, although could be done faster. It would be difficult to do quicker, but financial reasons may mean it's difficult to do at the normal timescale.

Alternatively, an Access course may be suitable. This can take one year or sometimes two. GCSE resits can be taken as part of the course. Can be expensive, although finance is sometimes available.

Another way would be to take a course with the Open University and use that to apply to a brick uni. Doesn't have to be the one linked as anything at level 1 could be suitable. Won't be accepted by all unis, although many will.

Or take the whole degree with the OU. They don't do Astronomy specifically, but it may be possible to take courses in that area. Anyone can enter - so GCSEs and A Levels don't matter. The whole degree usually takes 6 years, so that will be about the same time as taking the A Level first route.

Wyndham

At 29 he's a mature student, and the entrance requirements are often not as rigid. But, he would still need to show an aptitude for the subject, and the ability to work at degree level. This could be done by a pre University course (A levels, access course or even a foundation degree) but it's also not unknown for some sort of 'entrance exam' to be used if the University like the look of him.

As an ex-admissions officer I know that while the entrance requirements are set, there is always room for exception.