How can i get to university?

postingalwaysposting

i have 'old' qualifications of gcse's and a btec national diploma (merit merit merit) in a totally unrelated subject. How can i get to uni? I am just about to undertake a years course for a maths gcse but should i take alevels in my chosen degree in order to be accepted next year? How can someone in full time employment fill in a ucas form... ie it asks for a tutor's comment or such (this was 3 years+ ago)? Am i dreaming or can this be done? can i challenge myself and believe in myself enough to get out of a minimum wage job?

msmicawber

Hi - I assume you'd be applying as a mature student (i.e. you're over 21). It seems to depend on which course you want to apply for. I'd have a look at the courses and their pre-requisites online, then phone up the Admissions tutors at a few Universities and see what they recommend, I think that would be the best start.

sharon59

my hubby was a mature student at age44 and trained to be a teacher so its never too late!!! Have heard of people doing n access course that lasts a year before going onto chosen course-not sure if this is financially viable for you but worth looking into!If you dont try you will always regret it!good luck

postingalwaysposting

msmicawber wrote: »

Hi - I assume you'd be applying as a mature student (i.e. you're over 21). It seems to depend on which course you want to apply for. I'd have a look at the courses and their pre-requisites online, then phone up the Admissions tutors at a few Universities and see what they recommend, I think that would be the best start.

thansk msmicawber, yes i will be 22 this coming september... when i look online, i really want one of two unis which doesnt help, they both require a levels or btec's linked to my chosen subject. I suppose i can do an ou course... that may be easier too

msmicawber

It might be an idea to take an A Level or BTEC at evening class to get into the habit of studying, give yourself confidence and then see whether you'd like to study at Uni. or at the OU. The reason I suggest this is that I've been studying for A Levels by correspondence course while working full-time (I'm also a single parent) hoping to get to Uni. and it can be hard and lonely. You're considerably younger than me, so will have studied a lot more recently than I had (!) and this may be unnecessary in your case, but it's just a thought.

I wish you the best of luck - whichever route you take, it's definitely the way to go.

postingalwaysposting

i think the ou is the way to go personally... as i think there is 100 places between the two unis i want and the chance of me getting one of those isnt very high... so i will prob take this route depending if i get my c in my gcse maths... god i want this qualification so much

msmicawber

Go girl - you can do it!

postingalwaysposting

msmicawber wrote: »

Go girl - you can do it!

watch out this time next year for my grade then i am determinded to get this

eira

It used to be that if you went the A level route as a mature student you had to compete with 'youngsters' with super duper A levels. If you do an Access course there are places specifically allocated for mature students and the place allocation is different. The course my daughter is doing were looking for 'non-standard' applicants and she did a Foundation course as part of the degree. Interestingly a lot of her friends are the same age and profile. I think there are courses that the universities know require maturity and commitment to complete. The university laid great emphasis on the Personal and Tutor statement.
The UCAS site will give you a) a checkup of what points you currently have and b) the university requirement for points and courses. This will give you some guidelines. As I remember BTEC are worth more points than A levels depending on the grade you got If you are applying for next year you have a time to build up a profile that will mark you out from the herd. The OU registration period expires round about December. Local colleges will be recruiting round about now-llok out for Open Days. LocaL universities do a range of fantastic courses on all sorts of subjects. The OU has a counselling section to guide you re course choices.
Good luck

dmg24

Best of luck pap,

If you need any help on the maths, feel free to PM me ... I'm a trainee maths teacher! x

Gemmzie

Access courses are often a good route and as eira said, it often has it's own route in too.

And definitely go to an OU open day and chat to an advisor, that's what they are there for