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

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

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

I'm starting on an Access course in September and had a quick question, which no doubt has already been answered in this forum, or likely this thread, but anyway, once you've submitted something and say, it gets marked as a merit, do you have a chance to try and raise it to distinction, or do you only get 1 shot, and likewise with exams, is it just that 1 exam, or do you get a chance to retake later on?

Thanks

I'm starting on an Access course in September and had a quick question, which no doubt has already been answered in this forum, or likely this thread, but anyway, once you've submitted something and say, it gets marked as a merit, do you have a chance to try and raise it to distinction, or do you only get 1 shot, and likewise with exams, is it just that 1 exam, or do you get a chance to retake later on?

Thanks

Hurrah! I have my interview date, next wednesday 13th!!! I can't wait, i feel it is very promising and uness i'm totally fecking useless i think i will get a place on one of the access to HE Science courses.

I've got my interview tomorrow morning.

Wish me luck, peeps.

I've got my interview tomorrow morning.

Wish me luck, peeps.

I've got my interview tomorrow morning.

Wish me luck, peeps.

Thanks, guys. I just want to get it over and done with. I bet I'll have difficulty sleeping tonight.

Oh, and Beebumble, have you received notification about your interview yet?

I got accepted into Access (Art & Design) in Camden.
Im so super happy!
I start on September 5th.
Ive quit my job and everything, its really really scary bit also very exciting!

Though my interview was total drama, I had just finished being ill with foodpoisoning so looked like a wreck and wasnt all that energetic.
And in the morning of the interview my computer crashed, where my entire portfolio was stored!
Stupid unorganized me who thought I could just print it all in the morning.

I had to run to Snappy Snaps and get random films developed and hope there was anything show-worthy on them, paint a couple of drawings (in bed with my tea!) and disassemble a lamp I had made so I could bring that too!

In the end the interview went really well and the tutor was impressed by my stuff -and I TOTALLY didnt tell him it was all made in a couple of hours under horrible stress and fever-sweat

So, I just arrived back from my interview — and it went perfectly well.

The interview itself was very informal and relaxed in atmosphere, although no room had been allocated, so the interviewer had to randomly select one of the numerous empty rooms. His choice backfired, however, as the room had been booked in advance by a fellow tutor. This caused a slight problem when, during the assessment period, the door opened and a rather confused and surprised woman entered, to discover two guys scribbling away on paper. Thing is, at the time, the interviewer was in a different room along the corridor conducting a one-on-one discussion with one of the fellow applicants, so me and another applicant had to explain our presence, which did little to clarify the situation. Eventually the woman decided to leave us as we were, without even bothering to consult our interviewer, and sauntered off to locate a separate room for her own interviewees. There were several more interruptions in the same vain, but they weren't too disruptive, to be honest.

Anyway... The interview consisted, essentially, of three parts: An overview of the course, the modules involved and any questions we had about the Diploma; an assessment period; and a one-to-one exchange with the tutor, discussing your aims, travel arrangements and a brief evaluation of your current qualifications.

The first part basically involved the interviewer, a tutor of history on the course, explaining the complexion of the various modules. The modules of the course included English Literature — a study of poetry and prose, and a specific novel (Howard's End by E.M. Forster); History — primarily a study of 20th century events including World War I, etc.; Philosophy — examining the theories of prominent philosophers of the past including Kant, Nietzsche, Hobbes, etc.; and Political studies — examining a particular conflict, which this year will be North Korea. He then explained our college days would be Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, from 9:00 to 15:30 — quite formal then, which I like.
After that introduction had concluded, we were then handed our assessment, which comprised of two separate pieces of work: one was essentially a personal statement in which you had state your aims, motivation for applying and what you eventually wanted to achieve with regard to Higher Education. The other was an extract from a speech made by Barack Obama which you had to read and answer questions on, for example: 'Circle the words which Barack Obama repeats and explain the effect of repetition in language'. Both were fairly rudimentary stuff, and I was also surprised to discover that we didn't have to complete a Numeracy assessment, even though it stated so in the letter I received. So all that revision!... Oh well.
It was during the assessment that the individual interviews took place, with applicants — there were only three of us, all men — taking it in turns to be interviewed. The interviews were conducted, as I alluded to earlier, in a separate room. I went second. The interview was standard fare, really — just a formal chat about your interests, verifying personal information, current qualifications, which degree you wished to study at university and your career aspirations. He asked me about my GCSE results and informed me that I would indeed need to resit maths GCSE, as most good universites expect prospective applicants to have at least a C in maths. That news was the only negative aspect of the entire interview process. But hey, it's not distrastrous.

After we had completed our assessments — I was the last to do so — and had handed them in, we were free to leave, escorted politely out of the college by the interviewer himself — decorum, eh?

So, all-in-all, a positive and stress-free experience which has made me even more eager to study the course — that's if I'm accepted of course.

Great thing is, I can discover this afternoon whether I've been awarded a place or not, via email. So no anxiety-ridden wait for me, then.

For those still awaiting to be interviewed, I hope your experience is as good as mine.

Good luck.

Well, this September I'll be studying for an Arts and Humanities Diploma!

I can't wait.

Oh dear. Are you eligible for subsidies from the college?

I paid a reduced rate for the course, which I'm very grateful for but as far as I've been told there are no grants or anything to help with travelling costs. Last year when I first started looking at doing the Access course I thought there'd be the Adult Learning Grant of upto £30 a week, but of course that has been scrapped and help with travel costs through the college but that's a no-no too.

It'll be okay in 2012 because I'll be able to apply for a student loan but I think we'll get into debt before then.

They've stopped the Adult Learning Grant? How come? Is everyone eligible for the reduced cost of the course? As I've already studied a full BTEC Level 3, however, I'm not quite sure it's the route I want to take and I didn't do to well in it anyway.

Sorry for just randomly coming in haha, I'm Kiefer and I'm 18, and I was hoping to start the course next year (once I'm 19) after I've did an Apprenticeship for qualifications, work experience and money for the Access Course, so I've been looking through threats on this forum about it. Hopefully, doing an Apprenticeship will help in terms of the experience and it's NVQ level 2 and possibly 3 before starting an Access Course.

Just need to fully decide what to do, though..

EDIT: Initially, if I get taken on for the Apprenticeship to work full time, I might work for another year and gain more money in preparation for the Access Course and University as a whole - or possibly do it part time and continue to work, either one of them.