French student for an access courses

Hello everybody,

I'm french and I'm 20 years old. I would like to study an Access Courses in Science from September 2010. I have already sent my applications to various colleges. Then, I would like to study biology at the university.

I have some questions :

_ Is it hard ? I stopped my french high school 3 years ago. How many hours am I going to study ?

_ I contacted Cambridge University to know if it's possible to go there after an Access Courses. They answered me this : "If you are considering applying to Cambridge as a mature student and are studying an Access to HE Diploma, please note that we require 60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at level 3 (or equivalent).

Applicants may be asked to meet further subject-specific requirements such as an additional A level in Mathematics or be able to demonstrate an aptitude for languages."

What does it mean ?

Does somebody speak french here ? :smile:

Thank you very much
A+

Reply 1

niscott

OP

Hello,

Please can somebody help me ?

Also, what is a foundation year ? What's the difference with an Access Courses ?

I would like to study biology at the university but I don't have the Baccalaureat ( high school diploma in France ). So what is the best way for me to go to the university ?

Thank you for helping me, I really need it
A+

Reply 2

tinywings

7

They mean they require you to gain 60 credits with at least 45 at level three from your access course and that you may also require additional qualifications depending on the subject you want to study. I would contact Cambridge's biology department directly as I have a feeling an access course alone is not sufficient for a science subject.

The main difference between a foundation year and an access course is that a foundation year is usually run by a specific university for direct access to one of their courses on completion. With an access course you can apply to numerous universities but a place is not guaranteed. You can easily find more information about this by using google.

Reply 3

niscott

OP

Thank you tinywings for your help.

Can you explain to me in detail about credits ? What does "45 at level three" mean ? I don't find any informations on google...

And what do you advice me between an access courses and a foundation year ?

Thank you very much

Reply 4

tinywings

7

niscott

Thank you tinywings for your help.

Can you explain to me in detail about credits ? What does "45 at level three" mean ? I don't find any informations on google...

And what do you advice me between an access courses and a foundation year ?

Thank you very much

I don't do access so I can only make assumptions and try to explain as best I can. You gain credits while on the (access) course and at least 45 of the credits you gain must be at level 3, which I assume is the highest level. So I am guessing you can also gain credits at level 2 and so on, but these are not sufficient for university access. Level 3 is the same level as A level. If you choose to do your access course I'm sure they will explain it a lot better, it's not really important at this point anyway, as pretty much all uni's will ask for 45 credits at level 3.

In theory a foundation year sounds better, purely because you get a guaranteed uni place. However you can only go to the university where you are doing your foundation year, also not all universities will offer foundation years. I don't know much about entry requirements for them, but a lot of them imply you need a good reason why you don't already have level 3 qualifications. I suppose how strict they are depends how popular the programme is. You'd be better off contacting individual institutions to find out whether you would be eligible for one, should you choose to pursue this idea. I'm pretty sure it's too late to apply for september though.

Reply 5

niscott

OP

Hello,

I have received some answers from several colleges. They gave me interview dates. Do you know how is the interview takes place ? Is it difficult ? Which kind of questions do they ask ?...

Do you know Oxford and Cherwell Valley College or Somerset College ? Are they good ?

Also, can somebody explain me what does BTEC, GCSE, HND, HNC mean ?

Thank you very much

Reply 6

Vostochniye Skazki

Greetings I hope the below helps you,

In general you require 60 credits to complete the access course.
45 of these credits need to be of ‘level 3’ standard.

When you complete an assignment or piece of work you are awarded some of these credits at a level 2 or a level 3 standard.

Level 2 standard is equivalent to a ‘GCSE’ standard of work
Level 3 standard is equivalent to a ‘A Level’ standard of work

For example on my access course which was in business, each assignment we completed we were awarded 3 credits which could be at a level 2 or a level 3.

Vary rarely did anyone get a level 2 credits for things but sometimes some of the international students did – i think maybe because of the language barrier and so on.

As of this year 2010, when you are awarded a level 3 credit it can be broken down into the following
Level 3 pass
Level 3 merit
Level 3 distinction

When you start to receive offers from universities they may now request that you pass the course with 45 credits at level 3 with at least 50% of the level 3 credits being at ‘merit’ level 3.

I really hope this helps you out – we had some international students studying in our access class and they came from all over the world including China, Hong Kong, Yemen, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

French student for an access courses

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