advice needed

loobyloo1980

one thing I would consider if I was applying to Uni with an already substantial amount of debt is what the fees would be. Have top up fees come into force yet??? I would imagine that the prestigous red brick unis and other high ranking unis would be charging more in top up fees to attend, and this would be a major factor in my decision to go. Just a thought.

on the OP point about access courses and A levels, if you were thinking of applying to one of these top level unis for the better degree, I would imagine that A levels would be your best bet to be honest. Some institutions and companies don't place much value in anything other than A levels. NVQs have never really caught on as an equivalent alternative, and A levels are seen as the more academic route with more academic value. Would you agree with this shadowplay??? Its certainly the feedback I have got from teachers in my area. Not sure about access courses, as I took A levels, but I would imagine the top spots would kind of expect A levels in biology, chemistry etc to do something like Pharmacology. My ex went to Sheffield Hallam (couldn't get into Manchester coz of grades) with B's in psychology, sports studies and biology to get on physiotherapy degree course. Manchester wanted minimum 2 As I think. BUT that was straight out of college and not as a mature student so I'm not sure if the rules would be different for you.

lush_walrus

Shadowplay wrote:

Skye, I work in the Education Sector and would recommend doing the A-Levels in the evening first and then consider your options once you have the grades.

A 'Red Brick' University is a term for the old and established universities like Oxford and Manchester. These degrees have more weight when applying for a job (some people may disagree) than degrees from the Open University or the Trent’s, Metropolitans etc.

I would recommend going through the 'Clearing Process' because you can get onto courses with less points than the Uni requires, even if you get three A's in Chemistry, Biology and Physics competition for places is high. Although going through clearing may need you to be flexible with the course. How set on Pharmacy are you?

I think you are partly right in this statement and partly wrong. It really really does depend on the degree. My advice would be whichever field the OP is going into the best thing to do would be to research into the individual course and check which universities are the most respected for that course, rather than which uni is respected full stop. The uni and respectibility really does vary from course to course.

For example, in my field which is architecture Cambridge offer a degree course, which following your thread of thought must be the best available. However, it is rated one of the lowest courses in the UK, indeed even below some of the ex polys in London. The course is so ill respected in the profession that a few years ago RIBA demanded that Cambridge withdrew their Part 3 course until improvements were made (part 3 is the final part of studying to become an architect). Furthermore, the poor people that were already part of that course were informed that the course would not be recognised by RIBA when they finished.

So I think the point I am trying to make is find out what is the best uni for your own course, rather than the generic best, as it might not necessarily be the same thing.

johannamse

Shadowplay wrote:

There are many examples of this but speaking in a general sense the market favours Red Brick Uni's. Just the same as a lot of employers will bin all 2:2's and below as the first chapter in the candidate selection process. Do you have any experience of this johannamse?

Yes, I agree. So many people have degrees now, employers have to distinguish between alot of the same CV's, and this is a way they definitely do it.

Hey Skye,

Getting back to education will be really hard so why dont you do it in stages? It's the beginning of September now, so get down your local college pronto and do a 1 year alevel in the evening. They only cost about £100. This will get you used to studying again without the financial pressure. You will then be able to prove to Unis next year that you are serious and commited.

Good Luck! You will really gain in confidence when you start studying again!

skye

Thanks for all the info - unfortunately I can't do pharmacy at the open university - they don't have it.

I have e-mailed Liverpool John Moores about the access course and they replied:

Have looked at the information provided and we would accept this Access course as suitable, on the condition that you passed the aptitude and chemistry test and the interview.

I know A levels would be better in the long run HOWEVER my local college only does the human biology in the evening classes and to do them online are around £300 each therefore making the access course cheaper and quicker to do.

I went to the enroll and apparantly there aren't many places left for the access course - I have to go for an interview tomorrow if I want to do it. Still not sure - emailing JMU to see if the access was valid if I can't start the degree next year - if not then I probably won't do it this year.

skye

Just phoned JMU, asked if the access course is valid if I needed to wait til I had paid off more debts before I started uni and they said yes but they really stressed that only 1 in 10 people with the access course as a qualification actually get in.

Don't know what to do now - don't think it's destined to happen!!

loobyloo1980

I know you can't do a specific pharmacy degree with OU, but have you thought about taking some of their level 1 or 2 science courses in relevant field and seeing if uni would take a those instead of access course. Level 1 and 2 is equivalent to year 1 and 2 uni work, so higher level of study than an access course. OU do a level 2 in human health and biology which I have done and is great. There are courses on infectious diseases and genes and alsorts which would bear some relevance to a degree in your chosen area. I would still take a look at OU courses and have a read. You've nothing to lose by looking or asking them whether OU study in the relevant field would help your chances.

I should be on commission to OU!!!!

skye

Thanks that's a good idea - I've got the prospectus at home so I will have a look.

loobyloo1980

skye wrote:

Thanks that's a good idea - I've got the prospectus at home so I will have a look.

Hope you find something that interests you, I am sure you will. I highly recommend the health and biology, I think the code for the course is now SK277. Infectious disease, human nutrition, genes, health and disease should all be relevant for you. Good luck

johannamse

Hey Skye,

Sometimes the routes to our goals are long and winding, but as long as we get there in the end it does not matter.

If you work hard you will get there in the end.

stellagypsy

I got my degree last year at the ripe old age of 48, I have no A Levels, I did an HNC first - converted it to HND - converted that to a Degree, over 4 years part time while I worked full time. (Nearly killed me!). However, I have come out of it with a 2:1 and NO debt. Check with your local college - mine have loads of ways to get qualifications in a way to suit your personal circumstances, I am sure yours will.

Before that I did some OU courses, enjoyed them a lot but I felt isolated.

As Johannamse says, there are many ways to achieve what you want, you just have to find the one that suits you.

Stella xx