[TRACY1978]

Hi I am starting a access course in sept....bit nervous and hope I will do ok.Is there anybody who can give me a bit of advice on what to expect.I have not studied for long,long time,currently a full time mum.Becoming quite anxious now.....Thanks !!!

[Soule]

(Original post by TRACY1978)
Hi I am starting a access course in sept....bit nervous and hope I will do ok.Is there anybody who can give me a bit of advice on what to expect.I have not studied for long,long time,currently a full time mum.Becoming quite anxious now.....Thanks !!!

I have just completed mine, I did a general Access to HE, and I loved every minute of it. It is intense, (more so if you are disorganised), and you get out of it what you put into it. The tutors will help you, as the course is geared to those who have been out of education for a long time.

Your first couple of months will be looking at the universities you want to go to, and working on your personal statement, so go with some idea of where you want to go etc. but the tutors will help you as well. It is hard to tell you fully what to expect as the courses vary, for me my first month was tasters in all the level 3 options, so in October we could select which ones we wanted to do for the year, and to also see if the course was for us.

Most of all, remember you will not be the only one in your situation, you will be in the majority who have been out of education for some time, so do not let that worry you, everyone feels a little worried about how well they will do at the beginning and how well they will cope, but you will be amazed at how quick you settle in to it.

This diary that was done a couple of years back might help as well, to let you know what it's like http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/show...ht=TomU+access

[ashtoreth]

hi an welcome tracy

yannow what? i found the best students tended to be the mums on my course. know why?

they were the most organised ppl i have ever come across lool...a case of havin to be...easier said than done but, try not to worry. it's normal to be anxious but, i think u will find that once u start, u won't be given much time to dwell on your fears if your course is anything like mine was looool

[Roodie]

I did my Applied Science Access course quite a few years ago now, but as a mature student and mum of one I was feeling anxious before starting too.

I absolutely loved the course and, in the days before distinction passes, managed to pass with 89%. This was fifteen or so years after being an average student at school. I loved the whole year - it flew by (it was five years ago!!). But, as a previous poster suggested, you need to be on top of the workload. It's not an easy course but it did help prepare me for uni.

Good luck xxx

[KatsToes]

Hi!

I have just finished my Access to Health care course and it was a lot of hard work but so worth it!

Plenty of people on my course were parents in fact around half and they all managed, in fact is Ashtoreth said a lot of the best students were also mum's, some of them single mums, knowing how to prioritise and organise your work is a good skill to have for the course.

One word of advice dont leave your study skills folder until the last week of term like I did! So much stress!! lol
I was never that brilliant at school but I managed to get 45 credits at distinction and 15 at merit so really proud of myself!

Also because the course is for mature students you will find people are there because they want to be there, don't get stressed out, there will be plenty of support there should you need it.

Enjoy and good luck!

Kat xx

[TRACY1978]

Thanks to everybody that took time to post me messages.....a big concern for me is the maths part of the course !!!! had terrible G.C.S.E result F.....could someone please tell me how much maths is involved on the access course.....so,so worried.......Thank you x

[ashtoreth]

don't be. i hated the idea of having to do maths and it's NOT my subject of choice but, surprisingly, i passed the damned thing! mebbe cos i'm older and i wanted to get the cert so i pushed myself. it really isn't as hard as u may remember it...and trust me, if i can pass maths...any monkey can! never mind you!

[TRACY1978]

[QUOTE=ashtoreth;38721767]don't be. i hated the idea of having to do maths and it's NOT my subject of choice but, surprisingly, i passed the damned thing! mebbe cos i'm older and i wanted to get the cert so i pushed myself. it really isn't as hard as u may remember it...and trust me, if i can pass maths...any monkey can! never mind you!
Thank you sooo much for your advice.....starting my course in few weeks but having serious doubts about my ability to complete it. When did you complete yours,if you dont mind me asking ????

[ashtoreth]

the weirdest thing happened and i just managed to quote meself - anyways...deleted that and to ansa u


don't mind at all! i finished may/june just gone...tho we were done way before then...got results/transcripts etc at the end of may and i believe our certs are now ready to be collected.

and pls don't have doubts...honestly, it's just cos it's the unknown...i'll admit i felt much the same and that i was/am thick as a plank and i'd get nowhere etcetc...lol...
ya never know tho, u may find u end up surprising yourself

[TRACY1978]

Thank you all so much for taking time to answer my queries.....feel bit better about it all knowing pretty much all of you felt the same in the beginning.... I want to progress into nursing next.Are any of you out there thinking of doing the same [nursing] ......all thoughts welcome xxx

[Vertigo2012]

Have to agree with Ashtoreth here, out of everyone on our course the full time mums put in the most work and pretty much got the best results.

I think for most people difficulty wasn't a problem, because you get help with everything and they ease you into the workload. The big problem was time management, which for disorganised people like me meant alot of last minute, 3 am essay writing, while most of the mums had everything done at least a week before deadlines (for me this would be a miracle).

So yeah, it's natural to be nervous, but honestly you'll be fine. Access is one of the best things I've ever done.

Good luck!

P.S, I took my College's Humanities pathway (Psychology, Sociology, English, IT, Study Skills, Guidance and Research). We had 3 main blocks of essay deadlines around November, March and May, and took an exam for each of the 3 main subjects. Things get busier at the end of the year because all the fiddly bits like Guidance and Study Skills mount up and then are suddenly all due in at the same time, so keep an eye on those!

[ashtoreth]

(Original post by TRACY1978)
Thank you all so much for taking time to answer my queries.....feel bit better about it all knowing pretty much all of you felt the same in the beginning.... I want to progress into nursing next.Are any of you out there thinking of doing the same [nursing] ......all thoughts welcome xxx

whilst i didn't do nursing...i know from seeing the nurses on the other pathway that maths is going to be important to u.
best suggestion? get some maths books and start to practice.

i found this style book extremely useful because whilst i'm not a visual learner generally speaking - where maffs is concerned and i'm that scared of it, i become one! lol - have included a 2nd link to a book that looks as tho it may be useful for u, but i dunno if it's any good cos i've only used the maths one in the series. but since it helped to simplify maths for me, mebbe it will do the same for u for biology etc.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Help-Your-Ki...3852358&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Help-Your-Sc...ref=pd_sim_b_3

[TRACY1978]

(Original post by ashtoreth)
whilst i didn't do nursing...i know from seeing the nurses on the other pathway that maths is going to be important to u.
best suggestion? get some maths books and start to practice.

i found this style book extremely useful because whilst i'm not a visual learner generally speaking - where maffs is concerned and i'm that scared of it, i become one! lol - have included a 2nd link to a book that looks as tho it may be useful for u, but i dunno if it's any good cos i've only used the maths one in the series. but since it helped to simplify maths for me, mebbe it will do the same for u for biology etc.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Help-Your-Ki...3852358&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Help-Your-Sc...ref=pd_sim_b_3

Thanks so much for all your help....very much appreciated..