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The (un)Official Thread for Access to HE 2011!

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Original post by scotton86
Um... okay let me try and remember a few things from my assessment:

Arranging or re-arranging formulas
Long division and multiplication
Finding the circumference, area etc of a circle
Interpreting data tables (Mean, median, mode, range)
Fractions (converting to decimals, adding and multiplying)
Showing '1.3 to the power of 12' as a number etc
Areas of quadrilaterals
Internal & external angles of a triangle & quad


I had my assessment recently and was surprised at the difficulty of level 2 Maths. It's been about 5 years since I've had to do Maths, luckily my arithmetic is solid, but with a lot of the harder Maths as you can see above, I had to really dig into my memory, or just have an educated guess at it, which was made easier by the fact I had a 1 in 4 chance anyway.

As for the English one, it was infinitely easier. I suppose that because since school I've come in contact with words everyday, and in the past couple years have become an avid reader. That made the English one considerably easier. The test graded me as 'working towards level 3' in English and 'working at level 2' in Maths.

I currently have a C in Maths and a DD in English and I will be retaking both. I hate my English grade as I pride myself on my ability to converse in English, whether in person or on paper, so it kinda sucks to have that grade as the only indicator of my English ability if you haven't met me, when I feel it definitely isn't reflective of my capabilities.
Reply 81
Original post by fexysucker
I had my assessment recently and was surprised at the difficulty of level 2 Maths. It's been about 5 years since I've had to do Maths, luckily my arithmetic is solid, but with a lot of the harder Maths as you can see above, I had to really dig into my memory, or just have an educated guess at it, which was made easier by the fact I had a 1 in 4 chance anyway.


I was surprised too, having got a B at GCSE I thought I might be okay, but there were some real tough ones on there!

Just beware though, although some of them are multiple choice, the lady at the college told me that if you weren't sure of the answer then don't answer it at all, as you actually got deducted marks for selecting a wrong answer. She said it worked out better if you just didn't answer it at all if you were unsure, rather than risk losing marks by incorrectly guessing.

I got exactly the same results as you in my assessments, and I got B for maths and A* for English at GCSE...
Original post by scotton86
I was surprised too, having got a B at GCSE I thought I might be okay, but there were some real tough ones on there!

Just beware though, although some of them are multiple choice, the lady at the college told me that if you weren't sure of the answer then don't answer it at all, as you actually got deducted marks for selecting a wrong answer. She said it worked out better if you just didn't answer it at all if you were unsure, rather than risk losing marks by incorrectly guessing.

I got exactly the same results as you in my assessments, and I got B for maths and A* for English at GCSE...


So much for GCSE's being an accurate way of measuring intellect eh? :tongue:

It seems I did enough anyway, I got my acceptance postcard in the mail yesterday, good stuff.
Reply 83
Original post by DisconcertingWink1
So, a letter addressed to moi arrived this morning and... I've got an interview on the 6th July, at 09:30! :dance: That gives me just under a fortnight — 10 days I count — to revise. (The letter states I will be required to undergo 'Communication and Numeracy' assessments.)

:smile:


Well done for getting the interview. I know how excited you are, I felt exactly the same way. My offer letter arrived yesterday and I've read it about ten times so far.

I did quite a bit of my Maths revision through BBC Bitesize, I'd do the test bit first and if I didn't get 10/10 I'd revise the section until I felt really confident. Good Luck
Reply 84
Original post by DisconcertingWink1


Massive congratulations on the offer! :five: Which Access Course will you be doing?

Just a quick question: Did you have to complete a maths assessment? If so, was it similar to the BBC Bitesize tests?

Again, congratulations. :biggrin:


Thanks for the congratulations :biggrin: I'll be studying Access to Pharmacy in London.

I actually did assessments for two different colleges. The first one said I needed to be working at a Level 1 (GCSE grade D) or above and was a computer based multiple choice assessment with scrap paper and pen for working out. I did hardly any revision for that and just scraped a Level 1, that was for a Biomedical Sciences course which offered a GCSE Maths equivalence alongside it.
http://www.move-on.org.uk/practicetestsResults.asp These practice tests are similar to what the college assessment was like.

The second one was for the Pharmacy course and was looking for Level 2 ability. It was written with a space for working out and a space for the answer. I revised like mad over three weeks using various different websites and a CPG revision book. The college did give a list of things that might be covered which really helped because I'm not sure I could have done the whole GCSE in three weeks. They asked for Add, subtract, multiply and divide with decimals and fractions, Percentages and Ratios, Basic algebra and equations and using formulas to calculate an area or volume. So I concentrated on those areas and made sure I was confident with them. I also made sure I did everything without a calculator, working out percentages with pen and paper is quite different (for me anyway) than doing it with a calculator. I had to learn how to do long division and practice long multiplication too and I found that just by handling the numbers lots and doing the sums it reinforced the times tables (which I never managed to learn off by heart as a child) and the square numbers. I got 18/20 which I was very pleased with.

Is much Maths required for Humanities? If not I'm guessing your assessment will be more like my first one and that they'll be looking for Level 1 ability.
Reply 85
ive deffinitely been offered my place on the access to HE diploma in psychology! SOOOOOO excited! september cant come fast enough!
Has anyone completed the Art and Design Access course? Can anyone give me any clues as to what it's like?
Reply 87
Fexysucker - Good times! Well done on getting accepted! Don't get me started on the whole 'exams accurately measuring intellect' argument, I could be here all day! I got good at exams... whether I got good at the subject is a different matter...

DisconcertingWink1 - Well done on getting your interview date through! If I were you, I wouldn't be so worried about getting a mega grade in your assessment. If I knew it was a weakness then I'd revise like you, but then if it didn't go so well I'd also concentrate on making yourself look so totally amazing in the interview (not just academically, but with extra curricular interests, confidence etc) that they'd be foolish to turn you down. Very best of luck for your interview, you'll have to let us know how it goes!

The numeracy assessment I took was all on computer, non calculator. You got scrap paper to do your workings out on, but it went in the bin at the end. All that's counted was what you inputted on the computer. The assessment was timed, but there was no time limit.

Jami74 - I found Bitesize a massive help too. Seemed just about at the right level for the assessment too. And big congrats on getting your offer letter!

RinniieX - Congratulations on getting a place!
Well I have put my application form in for a different access course (one that doesn't require maths) today.

I really hope I get in.
Reply 89
Fingers crossed for you Beebumble!
Reply 90
Anybody here starting an Access course in september at Newcastle College?
Original post by scotton86
Fingers crossed for you Beebumble!


Thankyou.

Does anyone know how access actually works? I'm a bit confused at the moment. Will we get actual letter grades like per subject like A levels? Or is it all percentages? Do they carry UMS? I'm assuming they do.
Original post by Beebumble
Thankyou.

Does anyone know how access actually works? I'm a bit confused at the moment. Will we get actual letter grades like per subject like A levels? Or is it all percentages? Do they carry UMS? I'm assuming they do.


Hey, i've just finished an access course.

The grading is nothing like A levels and there are no UMS.

Basically, each assignment or exam is worth 3 credits. In order to pass the course, you must get 60 of these credits - 45 of which should be at level 3 and the remainding 15 at at least a level 2.

For every level 3 you achieve, you are awarded either a Pass, Merit, or Distinction. If you only achieve a level 2, it's simply a level 2 pass.

Universities will make you offers such as "Pass access course with 30 credits at Distinction and 15 at Merit"

The tutors mark your work based on the grade criteria which is given to you. It tells you what things they expect you to do to achieve a level 3 Merit, Distinction etc.

If you have any questions feel free to message me :smile:
Original post by accesstohe
Hey, i've just finished an access course.

The grading is nothing like A levels and there are no UMS.

Basically, each assignment or exam is worth 3 credits. In order to pass the course, you must get 60 of these credits - 45 of which should be at level 3 and the remainding 15 at at least a level 2.

For every level 3 you achieve, you are awarded either a Pass, Merit, or Distinction. If you only achieve a level 2, it's simply a level 2 pass.

Universities will make you offers such as "Pass access course with 30 credits at Distinction and 15 at Merit"

The tutors mark your work based on the grade criteria which is given to you. It tells you what things they expect you to do to achieve a level 3 Merit, Distinction etc.

If you have any questions feel free to message me :smile:

Oh thank you so much!
I just read a post in another thread that confused me.

So do the tutors decide whether your work is at a level 3 or level 2? Then once they done that they decide whether it's a pass merit or distinction?
Original post by Beebumble
Oh thank you so much!
I just read a post in another thread that confused me.

So do the tutors decide whether your work is at a level 3 or level 2? Then once they done that they decide whether it's a pass merit or distinction?


That's alright :smile:

Yeah, you won't ever get a level 2 though unless the standard of your assignment is very poor & yeah, if your work is at level three, they then decide whether it should be awarded a P, M, or D.

It varies from college to college but you usually have a mixture of exams and assignments, with the majority being assignments. Each is worth 3 credits though. Since each assignment/exam is worth three credits, and you need 60 to pass the Diploma, you're looking at 20 exams/assignments throughout the period of the year. However, you will probably be set a few more. So, if you complete 24 assignments/exams, you get to choose the ones with the highest grades to actually get certified as part of your 60 credits!
Original post by accesstohe
That's alright :smile:

Yeah, you won't ever get a level 2 though unless the standard of your assignment is very poor & yeah, if your work is at level three, they then decide whether it should be awarded a P, M, or D.

It varies from college to college but you usually have a mixture of exams and assignments, with the majority being assignments. Each is worth 3 credits though. Since each assignment/exam is worth three credits, and you need 60 to pass the Diploma, you're looking at 20 exams/assignments throughout the period of the year. However, you will probably be set a few more. So, if you complete 24 assignments/exams, you get to choose the ones with the highest grades to actually get certified as part of your 60 credits!

Wow that's extremely helpful information! I'm not so confused anymore.:redface:

I would give you positive rep but I'm all out.:frown:
Original post by Beebumble
Wow that's extremely helpful information! I'm not so confused anymore.:redface:

I would give you positive rep but I'm all out.:frown:


lol that's good :smile: & it's cool if you want2know anything else quote/message me.
Original post by jaydeebee21
I would say that you wont ever get a Level 2 is strictly true. Quite often you may miss one of the criteria with a minor mistake. So you can fix it and re submit.

Only Level 2 can be re submitted, if its mark at Level 3 you can't improve it, so you can't try and improve from a Merit to Distinction.

I had 2 re-submits last year, neither took more then a 5-10 minute edit on a computer and they where re-marked at M and D.


Do you mean it is not strictly true? But you're right actually, it is easy to make a small mistake which doesn't meet the criteria for a level 3 but you can resubmit so nothing to worry about. Thankfully I didn't need to resubmit anything but many in my class did.
(edited 12 years ago)
jaydeebee21
a 5-10 minute edit on a computer and they where re-marked at M and D.


A 5 minute edit made your level 2 work into a Distinction graded piece?!
can someone who has already done this graded access diploma fully explain do the lecturers when handing out level 3 assignments give u a sheet that tells u what u need to do to be awared a merit or a distinction on that particular piece of work u given in as i am still unsure how it works,does it go off something like this,if u meet the marking criteria its a pass,if u go a bit more into explaining and analyse it its a merit but if u critically evaluate and analyse and harvard reference it its a distinction or isnt it the way the grading works
any advice would be appreciated it

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