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Is retaking GCSE Maths whilst doing Access course necessary?

Hi,

I’m thinking of doing an Access to Computing course at College starting next month. I went for an interview and have been given an enrolment form to complete enrolment. The tutor/interviewer said that to get into university that I would need to have GCSE maths aswell as passing the Access course. I thought that the maths included with the Access course would have been sufficient? I asked briefly about this he mentioned something about in the access course you study parts at level 2 & 3, he then went on to repeat that universities will require a GCSE in maths, I would just like confirmation that this is correct? I assume it will be as he’s the interviewer.

Im 30 years old and re-took gcse’s in college in 1999 including maths, the only thing is Im not sure what grades I received (Im guessing at best I could have got a C but probably a D or E) and have searched high and low but I cannot find my certificates from that year. I have contacted the college who have told me that they don’t hold the grades, and that if they searched their archives it wouldn’t tell them the results I got, plus it could take upto 3 months for them to search their archives. They gave me Ed Excels contact details, Ed Excel told me that they cant give out any details over the phone and that I would have to re-apply for the certificate on their website, they said that it could take upto 3 months for me to receive the duplicate certificates.

The problem is, if I’m going to retake the maths course I will have to start it & enrol in the next few weeks, for September to run alongside my Access course & job if I wanted to go to University for next year, if GCSE maths is required. Last year at work we did a maths assessment and I think I got between a level 1 & 2 in the BKSB(I think) assessment, I must also admit that I do feel rusty with my maths.

Do you think I will have to re-do the maths, I think learn direct seems pretty straight forward to do but I’ve heard that this is not accepted at some or most universties, is this true? I want to either go on to study a computer related degree, which I’m not sure of which yet and hope to make up my mind in the Access course, I may also want to go into teaching IT or being an IT trainer after wards.

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Reply 1
The access to social science course that i have done, contained a maths element (level 2) which was enough for the universities that I applied too. maybe your course doesnt contain enough maths, or maybe the universities in your area are more strict? if you need a GCSE maths it will have to be betten an A-C grade to be consided by university.

I think before you start you should ring a few universities that you are interested in and ask them if they accept just the maths element of the access in lew of GCSE maths.
Reply 2
Thanks for your advice. I will most likely go to a university in London, not one of the top ones, but somewhere that I can get to easily from North London. Are London universities normally strict with there maths entry criteria?

I’ve mainly concentrated on finding a level 3 course to take me to University, and thought an access course would cover me & get me there. So I have not really looked at the under graduate degrees entry requirements as Im not 100% with what computing degree I want to do and thought I would work it out during the access or level 3 course whilst studying. I better get onto the websites and see if I can find a course that Im interested in and phone the uni’s up then I guess
Reply 3
Hey mate. I'm in a similar position to you, I did a Level 2 Learn Direct Maths and English course. I passed both with flying colours (they were ridiculously basic,) yet I'm still required to take GCSE English and Maths if I'm to have any chance at a decent uni, because they are 'too basic' and 'can't equate to a proper GCSE' according to my college tutor. Like you, my maths is also rusty :rolleyes:

To be honest dude, I would do the GCSE(s) because they broaden your choices a little, should you want to go for any other uni's outside London or even go for a uni like Kings College - that's just my opinion anyway.

My advice is: if you're going to do any Maths at Level 2/ GCSE level don't waste your time with Learn Direct and do the GCSE Maths - you say your rusty, so why not have some extra practise and a qualification to go with it? Anyway best of luck in whatever you choose.

Edit: Oh, one last thing dude, if you feel really rusty with Maths try looking up khan academy on youtube, his vids have helped me immensely with my Maths.
Reply 4
Hi, I am also doing Access to Computing this year. As far as I can tell the course I have chosen contains both level 2 and some level 3 maths, including algebra and ''computer maths''. I'm hoping this will be enough to get into Uni on a computer science / computing type of course.

My concern is a lot of the higher ranked Universities are asking for the access course PLUS A-level maths or equivalent, never mind GCSE's.

I think the best thing you can do is get advice from your course tutor and then contact some admissions tutors running the Uni courses you are interested in and ask them what to do.
Reply 5
I took GCSE equivalence alongside the Access course because the university requested it. Most entry profiles say that you need both maths and english GCSE at grade C or above.

I conctacted the universities I was thinking of applying to and they were willing to accept the equivalence, but this is not the same as the L2 maths that is included with the course, this was not good enough. I would say that you either need to do an actual GCSE or the equivalence.
It is also worth considering that with the current scramble for places anything that goes against you on your application could mean that you end up in the unsuccesfull pile.
Reply 6
The course breakdown I was given listed the modules and specifically said English & Maths GCSE equivalents... so I guess I'm ok.
Reply 7
wg1234
Hi,

I’m thinking of doing an Access to Computing course at College starting next month. I went for an interview and have been given an enrolment form to complete enrolment. The tutor/interviewer said that to get into university that I would need to have GCSE maths aswell as passing the Access course. I thought that the maths included with the Access course would have been sufficient? I asked briefly about this he mentioned something about in the access course you study parts at level 2 & 3, he then went on to repeat that universities will require a GCSE in maths, I would just like confirmation that this is correct? I assume it will be as he’s the interviewer.

Im 30 years old and re-took gcse’s in college in 1999 including maths, the only thing is Im not sure what grades I received (Im guessing at best I could have got a C but probably a D or E) and have searched high and low but I cannot find my certificates from that year. I have contacted the college who have told me that they don’t hold the grades, and that if they searched their archives it wouldn’t tell them the results I got, plus it could take upto 3 months for them to search their archives. They gave me Ed Excels contact details, Ed Excel told me that they cant give out any details over the phone and that I would have to re-apply for the certificate on their website, they said that it could take upto 3 months for me to receive the duplicate certificates.

The problem is, if I’m going to retake the maths course I will have to start it & enrol in the next few weeks, for September to run alongside my Access course & job if I wanted to go to University for next year, if GCSE maths is required. Last year at work we did a maths assessment and I think I got between a level 1 & 2 in the BKSB(I think) assessment, I must also admit that I do feel rusty with my maths.

Do you think I will have to re-do the maths, I think learn direct seems pretty straight forward to do but I’ve heard that this is not accepted at some or most universties, is this true? I want to either go on to study a computer related degree, which I’m not sure of which yet and hope to make up my mind in the Access course, I may also want to go into teaching IT or being an IT trainer after wards.


I'm in a similar position, I am enroled on an Access course to Business starting September with the view to do Economics at uni in 2011. However, I don't have GCSE Maths - which is a requirement at uni for Economics and definitely will be for Computer Science/IT.

I did my research, emailed Universities etc and they all say I do need GCSE Maths - I arranged an interview with a local college and am now enroled on a GCSE Maths course, will be attending the Maths class one night a week part time, and taking the exam in June.

I am not as old as you are (21) but I also felt rusty on Maths, so I have bought a few revision guides and have begun to self-teach myself Maths for preliminary reading prior to the course.

Enrol ASAP on a GCSE part time evening/weekend class because places may be getting filled!
wg1234
Hi,

I’m thinking of doing an Access to Computing course at College starting next month. I went for an interview and have been given an enrolment form to complete enrolment. The tutor/interviewer said that to get into university that I would need to have GCSE maths aswell as passing the Access course. I thought that the maths included with the Access course would have been sufficient? I asked briefly about this he mentioned something about in the access course you study parts at level 2 & 3, he then went on to repeat that universities will require a GCSE in maths, I would just like confirmation that this is correct? I assume it will be as he’s the interviewer.

Im 30 years old and re-took gcse’s in college in 1999 including maths, the only thing is Im not sure what grades I received (Im guessing at best I could have got a C but probably a D or E) and have searched high and low but I cannot find my certificates from that year. I have contacted the college who have told me that they don’t hold the grades, and that if they searched their archives it wouldn’t tell them the results I got, plus it could take upto 3 months for them to search their archives. They gave me Ed Excels contact details, Ed Excel told me that they cant give out any details over the phone and that I would have to re-apply for the certificate on their website, they said that it could take upto 3 months for me to receive the duplicate certificates.

The problem is, if I’m going to retake the maths course I will have to start it & enrol in the next few weeks, for September to run alongside my Access course & job if I wanted to go to University for next year, if GCSE maths is required. Last year at work we did a maths assessment and I think I got between a level 1 & 2 in the BKSB(I think) assessment, I must also admit that I do feel rusty with my maths.

Do you think I will have to re-do the maths, I think learn direct seems pretty straight forward to do but I’ve heard that this is not accepted at some or most universties, is this true? I want to either go on to study a computer related degree, which I’m not sure of which yet and hope to make up my mind in the Access course, I may also want to go into teaching IT or being an IT trainer after wards.



They gave me Ed Excels contact details, Ed Excel told me that they cant give out any details over the phone and that I would have to re-apply for the certificate on their website, they said that it could take upto 3 months for me to receive the duplicate certificates.


Lol, you could be me, that's exactly what I did, got my certificates after 2 months and after paying a fee I found out my grades were garbage.

Get your GCSE Maths, i'm older than you and left school with basically zip. My advice to you is to see if you can do the 'foundation' type Maths GCSE, which will only get you a 'C' which is sufficient for almost anything, and is much easier.
Hi guys
I did study GCSE maths alongside my Access course this year.

My experience . . .

Some uni’s do want the additional GCSE maths and some will accept just the access course.

The Access course has a GCSE Maths equivalence of a grade C already structured in to it which you will study. This is at a level 2 and these level 2 credits will appear on your final certificate.

I applied to the following uni’s for business and economic degrees
Uni of Birmingham
Uni of Nottingham
Aston uni
And when they finally came back with offers they required my Access plus a maths GCSE grade B or above.

I was studying the Access course full time, 4 days per week and the fact i had to take on extra maths also meant me coming into college on my day off for just the one GCSE math lesson.

I have to say I really really enjoyed doing the maths also what was nice is that the Access maths element and the GCSE maths complemented each other, which made life easy. I often skipped my Access maths class as i had covered far more maths in the GCSE class.
Vostochniye Skazki
Hi guys
I did study GCSE maths alongside my Access course this year.

My experience . . .

Some uni’s do want the additional GCSE maths and some will accept just the access course.

The Access course has a GCSE Maths equivalence of a grade C already structured in to it which you will study. This is at a level 2 and these level 2 credits will appear on your final certificate.

I applied to the following uni’s for business and economic degrees
Uni of Birmingham
Uni of Nottingham
Aston uni
And when they finally came back with offers they required my Access plus a maths GCSE grade B or above.

I was studying the Access course full time, 4 days per week and the fact i had to take on extra maths also meant me coming into college on my day off for just the one GCSE math lesson.

I have to say I really really enjoyed doing the maths also what was nice is that the Access maths element and the GCSE maths complemented each other, which made life easy. I often skipped my Access maths class as i had covered far more maths in the GCSE class.


I'll also be doing the additional Maths GCSE along with the Maths equivalent in the Access course, I will also be applying for an Economics degree programme, so that's reassuring!

What did you end up getting for GCSE Maths?
accesstohe
I'll also be doing the additional Maths GCSE along with the Maths equivalent in the Access course, I will also be applying for an Economics degree programme, so that's reassuring!

What did you end up getting for GCSE Maths?


Hey there,
I ended up with a C as the final result– I was disappointed because I for sure could of pushed myself higher.

You see it was a modular maths GCSE with 3 exams, each module had an exam afterwards. I think the 1st exam was in Nov, 2nd exam was in Mar and the 3rd and final exam was in Jun.

I started out very well with an A in Nov and then a B in Mar, however it was a low score on the final paper that dragged my overall grade down.
Admittedly I became extremely lazy because my 1st uni choice offered me a place which did not require the GCSE maths additional, so I kind of just relaxed way too much towards the end.

As I’ve mentioned, I thoroughly enjoyed maths very much which is something I never imagined myself ever saying and it is extremely doable alongside the Access course.

Anyway, I’m off to study ‘MSci Business and Economy of Contemporary China’ at the university of Nottingham this September.
Reply 12
I'm hoping to start an Access to Science course end Sept. However I'm slightly worried as to how tough and/or rigorous the subjects are going to be, as I'm not the biggest Science fan!
However since my top 3 choices are Warwick, Nottingham & Birmingham uni's for BSc Psychology they require Science subjects + MATHS GCSE grade B.. :frown: I already have a Level 2 Key skills in Numeracy and passed, but afraid that is not enough.
I also have a BTEC level 3 in science related subjects and gained MMM..
I just want an idea to see if the Science subjects are doable...anyone????

thanks :smile:
Reply 13
I've just lost my place at Uni as I was asked for GCSE B along with my access course. I did really well on my access course and had Maths in it which I was lead to believe was adequate, however the University disagreed, I would highly recommend doing a GCSE along with access just to be on the safe side. I am also wondering as now I plan to reapply for 2011 and want to do my Maths GCSE, is it an issue that the GCSE results come out after the Uni places are confirmed as I don't want to find myself in the same position next year. Does anyone know of a faster way to do the Maths GCSE so that I would know my grade earlier.

Thanks
Reply 14
^^^ sorry to hear to you lost your place. If you sit the November GCSE then you will have results by Jan 2011
Reply 15
oldgirl
I've just lost my place at Uni as I was asked for GCSE B along with my access course. I did really well on my access course and had Maths in it which I was lead to believe was adequate, however the University disagreed, I would highly recommend doing a GCSE along with access just to be on the safe side. I am also wondering as now I plan to reapply for 2011 and want to do my Maths GCSE, is it an issue that the GCSE results come out after the Uni places are confirmed as I don't want to find myself in the same position next year. Does anyone know of a faster way to do the Maths GCSE so that I would know my grade earlier.

Thanks


I'm sorry to hear you lost your place! Hope you have better luck next time. I am also planning to retake my Maths GCSE alongside my Access, as my Uni choices are asking for a grade B.
Which uni were you planning to go?
mmmmmmmmm i got offers from 3 unis and got into Canterbury with no maths,i passed the access though with merits in quite a few things, but maths never came up on the radar. i have discalcula and maths is not my thing,so i was worried right up to the last moment. I think it depends what your doing as to whether the maths is crucial. im doing diagnostic radiology,maybe they can teach monkeys to do anything these days!
oldgirl
I've just lost my place at Uni as I was asked for GCSE B along with my access course. I did really well on my access course and had Maths in it which I was lead to believe was adequate, however the University disagreed, I would highly recommend doing a GCSE along with access just to be on the safe side. I am also wondering as now I plan to reapply for 2011 and want to do my Maths GCSE, is it an issue that the GCSE results come out after the Uni places are confirmed as I don't want to find myself in the same position next year. Does anyone know of a faster way to do the Maths GCSE so that I would know my grade earlier.

Thanks


Hi there

Well done on your access course, may I ask what grades you got?

I will be doing Maths and English GCSE's alongside an access course this year and now am quite worried as you mentioned that GCSE results come out after uni places are confirmed! God, I hope this won't be an issue!
Reply 18
I emailed Loughborough yesterday and received a response this morning..... they DO want GCSE Maths and English in addition to the Access course.

This is a major pain in the arse, I assume most other Uni's of similar ranking are going to be following the same line? Makes you wonder what the point of the Access course is really......... now I am going to have to see if I can do GCSE's at the same time.
I got a similar response from Loughborough, they also said I wouls have to gain 70% in my access course aswell as C in English and Maths and would have to go through an interview plus sit an entrance exam !

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