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Mature Student Hopeful from Canada needs help!

Hello everyone! I am currently living in the UK with my husband and will qualify as a home student for the 2013 school year. I did all my previous education in Canada where I graduated from Canadian high school and attended one year of university, before personal problems forced me to leave. It has been nine years as of now and ten once I apply for uni, that I have been in education period. Admittedly the whole process for applying to uni is so completely different over here I am having trouble wrapping my head around it all.

I have begun my UCAS application and pretty much completed it and am awaiting a employer reference as its not possible for me to get an educational one. I am applying for History and English joint honors. On top of everything I am disabled and suffer from Multiple Sclerosis, but I have read that most uni's are quite good at accommodating people with disabilities.

I am just wondering will my lack of recent education be an issue? I am obviously not studying at the minute due to the fact I don't want to pay crazy international fees even at a college level. And should I even bother applying at all if they wont consider my application at all. Not really sure what to do...so any help anyone could shed on this would be lovely!

Reply 1

returnmigrant

Yes it might be an issue.

The Uni's will need proof that you can study at this level and have an established interest in the subject. The fact that you completed one year of Uni puts you in a slightly different place, but that was still a while ago.

I suggest that *before* you actually submit your UCAS form you phone your preferred Uni and check what they require. They may, for instance, simply set you a sample essay question or something similar. Or they may think you need to do 'something else' first. Every Uni is different.

One idea you might want to think about is Open University (distance learning degrees) - you can do just one Uni level course (ie. not a whole degree). This is easier to fit around domestic life/job than formal college, gives you a refresher course in the subject area and gives you a current academic reference (the OU tutor). If the Uni does think you need to do some prep work, ask if this would be acceptable. See http://www.open-university.co.uk/what-can-i-study.php#anc1

PS. I have a weird form of viral arthritis that is very unpredictable; most days I'm fine, other days I can hardly move. All the Unis I've been to (x3) have been very understanding and practical about coping with this. Make sure you make contact with the appropriate Disability Support dept at the Uni before you start to make them aware of your MS issues and make sure all your tutors know - dont assume that someone will tell them.