Access course vs A levels

vertical_fool

I was recently intending on going back to college, I had gone to enrol yesterday expecting to basically sign up. I was expecting to do three A levels (maths, economics and philosophy). However i was steered away from doing the A levels and pointed towards an access course. Reasons stated were that the college has a younger attitude (I`m 28) mainly 16 year olds, I already have A levels ( although C is the highest grade and personally I consider these as failures) an access course would have adults which are more tolerant and understanding ( I`m on antipsychotic medication which Is quite draining for me and on incapacity benefit).

My worries are that if i end up at university that an access course would limit my potential course options. That access courses are looked down on by universities and employers( I do personally). If I don`t go to university then employers wouldn`t regard an access course with much worth. That from an access course I wouldn`t get a good idea of where I want to go career wise, I think A levels would help me more with this. I`m also worried with regards to maths as I would like the option of taking a maths or a maths related degree, also I thought doing a maths a level would give me a better assessment of my maths ability and enjoyment of the subject.

Tonight there is an open evening so I shall go to this and see what
information I can gleen from this. Maybe I`ll have to go for this access course, maybe find A levels somewhere else, nightschool even, maybe distance learning.

I would appreciate anybodys responses, particularly people with similar experiences, there seems to be a number of people on mse who have done ou degrees particularly maths. I would appreciate there experiences especially to know what they have used there degrees for and employers reactions to them.

Regards Steven Child

blinko

go to both A levels are difficult eg

its sensible to do Maths A level if you want to do maths degree but for some eg accountancy degree you can do any A levels.

It depends what degree you want to do, as a mature student i would not go on the access course as there is little point you already have A levels and most access courses are higher GCSE lower AS at most !! and some are not even transferable to different uni's.

its also a way for the Uni to get more money out of you!

which degree would you like to do !!

chugalug

The good thing about an access course is that it prepares you for University study. You learn the skills you need at university ie research, presentations, seminars and you do a project of approx 5,000 words on a chosen subject to give you some idea of how to do a dissertation.

On the negative side, access courses are more subject specific ie if you want to do a maths course then an A level would be more suitable. At the college I went to Access courses were available in Social Science, Science based and a course suitable for entry to nursing etc. But different areas offer different courses.

If you're worried that an Access course is somehow a lesser qualification then dont - its perfect for entry to Uni.

On the other hand, employers may not understand what they are (and no they're not GCSE level!) so might not give you full credit for the hard work involved (yes, they are hard work)

You could also consider Open University as their courses give you credits which you can transfer to a 'normal' university if you decide to study full time.

I think you need to know where you want to go in order to decide how to get there!! HTH

vertical_fool

Thanks Blinko
At the college I went to tonight the access course is classed as full time and therefore free, £15 admin fee
I think your rightr about the maths A level

Thanks Chugalug, I really wish I did know which direction I wanted to go in.
Thanks for the thought of preparation, I didn`t consider this and have just realised the importance of this.
I`m going to have a good luck at the OU although I`m afraid that I won`t have the self discipline to suceed. Maybe I should do the access course for the experience of relearning to study and to develop the self discipline.
Also I think for the OU i`d have to sign up by tommorrow (9.9.05)
Again Thanks.

jazzyjustlaw

vertical_fool wrote:

I was recently intending on going back to college, I had gone to enrol yesterday expecting to basically sign up. I was expecting to do three A levels (maths, economics and philosophy). However i was steered away from doing the A levels and pointed towards an access course. Reasons stated were that the college has a younger attitude (I`m 28) mainly 16 year olds, I already have A levels ( although C is the highest grade and personally I consider these as failures) an access course would have adults which are more tolerant and understanding ( I`m on antipsychotic medication which Is quite draining for me and on incapacity benefit).

My worries are that if i end up at university that an access course would limit my potential course options. That access courses are looked down on by universities and employers( I do personally). If I don`t go to university then employers wouldn`t regard an access course with much worth. That from an access course I wouldn`t get a good idea of where I want to go career wise, I think A levels would help me more with this. I`m also worried with regards to maths as I would like the option of taking a maths or a maths related degree, also I thought doing a maths a level would give me a better assessment of my maths ability and enjoyment of the subject.

Tonight there is an open evening so I shall go to this and see what
information I can gleen from this. Maybe I`ll have to go for this access course, maybe find A levels somewhere else, nightschool even, maybe distance learning.

I would appreciate anybodys responses, particularly people with similar experiences, there seems to be a number of people on mse who have done ou degrees particularly maths. I would appreciate there experiences especially to know what they have used there degrees for and employers reactions to them.

Regards Steven Child

I did an access course it was access to business studies and computing. I have never heard of anyone looking down on it. In fact it helped me I did a law degree and it gave me mega points. I would have thought it was the other way round.

Anyway when you are in your chosen profession and have a BSC MA and PHD who cares. When I am a solicitors no ones going want to know whether I did a levels or not. I also believe that at 28 your better off doing an access course, the college were right in telling you that. A lot of matrure students do better when there are other mature students for support.

niknaks

I agree with Chugalug and Jazzyjustlaw. I think Access courses are better for mature students. They understand that you have been out of education for some time, and look at giving you the skills you might need to learn - not just academic skills. I also think that you would enjoy it more - there is a lot more diversity I think, and you would meet some great people.

I have never had an employer look down on me for doing an Access course. Indeed I used it as a selling point. 'Best thing I ever did, got me into Uni etc'.

I did my degree in English Literature, then got a graduate job with an IT firm. I now work freelance as an IT Consultant. I am also doing a Masters at York Uni and hand my MA dissertation in two weeks tomorrow (OMG!!). Just mentioning my credentials to show where you can go from an Access course.

The best thing about my Access course was that it was such a supportive environment. (Oh, and mine was 'Humanities and Social Science' and I was ummm 23!)

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Stick at it and I am sure you won't regret it.

Nikki

raeble

What A levels do you already have? C isn't a failure. During clearing we were offering entry to students with three c's. I don't work at one of those universities that is purely interested in money, and takes just about anyone. If you've already got a levels I wouldn't waste time doing an access course at an FE college. I you can decide what subject you want to do you could see if any university near you offers a foundation degree in the subject - this gives you an extra year of study to bring you up to the level before you start your degree proper. If you don't feel comfortable going straight into a degree program.

saintstreaky

vertical_fool wrote:

Also I think for the OU i`d have to sign up by tommorrow (9.9.05)

This is true for the courses starting in October, Vertical, but most of the courses start in January/February, so you'd have until the end of October to sign up for those. Even most of those courses starting in October also have presentations in February.

There are also short courses that start in November, if you want a 'taster'. Those that I've done are extremely interesting in their own right.

I'm studying with the OU, hoping to graduate with a Physical Science degree after Christmas. The quality of the materials is, with very few exceptions, excellent, and you have a lot of flexibility. But you definitely need to be motivated.

As Chugalug said, one option would be to do the full time equivalent of one year of OU courses (120 credits) then transfer to the second year of a traditional university course. You'd need to investigate this very carefully, though, and discuss it with the university you were interested in, because they'd have to be convinced the courses were equivalent.

kittiwoz

Access is certainly not a lesser option than A-levels. Access courses are normally very intense. The problem with access from your POV is that they are directional. Access to education. So if you don't plan on continuing into HE then no, it's not a good idea. Also if you do want to go on to do a degree you will need to know what area you want to go into. You can't really do an access course to find yourself. Because they are directioal and demanding you have to have a clear focus on what you want to get out of it. On the plus side tutors on an access course are likely to be more sympathetic to your personal situation and more able to spend time supporting your own learning needs.