My problem ... Universities that take Merits at Access to HE

Hi, I'm got an Access to HE interview in Social Sciences tomorrow and presuming I get in, I've been looking at unis to go to. All the universities I'm interested in want high grades (around 30 Distinctions and 15 Merits at Level 3) and I can't find anywhere decent that asks for just Merits.

Obviously I'm hoping to get the high grades, but does anyone know of decent Politics departments (or unis that do combined Social Science degrees) that ask for Merits? Aston seems good, but I've got nothing on my list apart from that.

I don't really want to end up with no place because I don't do as quite well as I hope I do. Any thoughts?

(edited 9 years ago)

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Reply 1

Schadenfreude65

It depends what you mean by "decent". I know Portsmouth generally make offers of merits and is ranked about the same as Aston for Politics, but I guess the more prestigious a university is, the more they will demand.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2

Slowbro93

Original post by Mr. Nice Guy

What "rank" uni do you have in mind?

Reply 3

username1221160

The majority of competitive universities ask for a significant proportion of the grades to be distinctions. As long as you are relatively competent, you should be able to get them. The average access course student has got more chance of dropping out rather than completing the course with poor grades. So as long as you are committed and life does not get in the way, I would not worry.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 4

Mr. Nice Guy

Original post by Slowbro93

What "rank" uni do you have in mind?

I'm looking at a range - Cambridge, LSE, Bath, Warwick, Exeter, Birmingham, Aston.

Original post by Quantex

That's interesting. This is a worry for me as I have mental health problems, but I feel the best thing to do is make sure the college knows, and get the right support, and work hard.

Reply 5

Slowbro93

Original post by Mr. Nice Guy

I'm looking at a range - Cambridge, LSE, Bath, Warwick, Exeter, Birmingham, Aston.

That's interesting. This is a worry for me as I have mental health problems, but I feel the best thing to do is make sure the college knows, and get the right support, and work hard.

The best bit of advice (which will be fairly long but will be useful in the longrun) is to look at everywhere in the country that does Politics, eliminate places you really don't want to go to (for example due to location) and then go from there. :smile:

Reply 6

Mr. Nice Guy

Original post by Slowbro93

Actually that's very sensible. My plan is have two less risky courses so I only need to find one.

Exeter is weird that they have a range from 33 Level credits at Distinction and 12 at Merit, to 12 at Distinction and 21 at Merit. If it was the lower offer it would be "safer" I guess. I presume the lower offer is pretty rare though.

Reply 7

username1221160

Original post by Mr. Nice Guy

That's interesting. This is a worry for me as I have mental health problems, but I feel the best thing to do is make sure the college knows, and get the right support, and work hard.

I can certainly empathise with you. My own health problems were a greater impediment to getting through the access course than the academic challenge or work load. Consider the access course a dry run. If you can get through it, then you'll probably be prepared for having a shot at university. Dropping out of an access course isn't a big deal as you can probably give it another shot. Dropping out of university is a bigger deal.

You're are right about informing the college. Tutors have a pastoral as well as academic role. A sympathetic tutor can make all the difference (I speak from experience).

Reply 8

Mr. Nice Guy

Original post by Quantex

You're are right about informing the college. Tutors have a pastoral as well as academic role. A sympathetic tutor can make all the difference (I speak from experience).

I was pretty lucky as they offered to let me see one of the people from the support team, and I felt it was really positive.

Reply 9

Schadenfreude65

It's a good idea to apply for a broad range, especially for people doing Access, as you may have little idea of how you will perform when you apply, but by the time you have to make your choices in May, you should have a very good idea of what you will achieve.

Reply 10

Kelytha

Exeters typical offer is 33 merits and the remaining credits at pass. It's ranked 10th in the UK and is a Russell Group uni too. :smile:

- I'm starting my first year in a couple of weeks. (Sociology)

Reply 11

rac1977

You could always look at UCAS to see which universities offer politics - they list the entry requirements, but please bear in mind they do not always mention the access course requirements. It is listed under other academic qualifications.

These are the universities that offer politics:-

http://search.ucas.com/search/providers?Vac=1&AvailableIn=2015&Query=Politics&Page=1&flt8=2&flt3=1&flt9=1

Good luck

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 12

Mr. Nice Guy

Thanks everyone for all the support.

I do find it annoying how some unis seem very tight-lipped about their entry requirements. I know it's good to contact them anyway, but my lord has it taken a lot of time to e-mail them all.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 13

Millie1986

Hope your interview went well and you have got your place on the course! It is really hard looking at universities when you have no idea what sort of level you're likely to be able to achieve. I talked to my head of course after she'd marked my first assignment and asked if it was realistic for me to aim for universities asking for X number of distinctions. When you're doing it all in a year you don't have the advantage of AS results to use as a filter, so it can feel a bit like guess work. I'd advise getting the first pieces of work in and then speaking to your tutors and asking what would be realistic for you to aim for. Good luck!

Reply 14

Mr. Nice Guy

Thanks! Yes I did get a place.

'm reluctant to put huge amounts of weight on AS this as I was suffering reasonably badly and I wasn't supported, which I hope will not be the case here. (I'm meeting the support officer to draw up a plan Tuesday).

AS was ABBC, so I guess I'm looking for a reasonably large leap in performance. However my second round of AS exams pretty much tanked due to anxiety/depression issues.

But I'm sure I'll have further conversations with them etc and have more of idea when the time comes..

Reply 15

Kayinator

Most universities put higher requirements than they actually accept because it just makes them look better if they aim higher. I wouldn't worry too much. Just think about which universities you'd like to go to based on location then choose the most appropriate.

Get as many distinctions as possible in assignments then as long as you don't flunk the exams you should get pretty high grades anyways.

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Reply 16

Snufkin

Universities Forum Helper

Considering how famous Aberystwyth's Politics/International Relations dept is, they have quite low entry requirements. Phone them up and ask if they'd take merits.

Reply 17

Millie1986

Original post by Mr. Nice Guy

I think you'll do well on the Access course. You got good AS results, and if you're willing to work hard you'd be capable of doing really well. I was also struggling a lot with mental health problems when I sat my A levels, and actually stayed on an extra year to do them, and ended up with ABB after the 3 years, but I got 60 distinctions on the Access course. Aim high, if you're willing to put the work in it sounds like you have the potential to do really well.

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Reply 18

Mr. Nice Guy

Original post by Samual

Considering how famous Aberystwyth's Politics/International Relations dept is, they have quite low entry requirements. Phone them up and ask if they'd take merits.

Thanks for the tip ... I might pop them an e-mail.

Reply 19

RobertsClan

Original post by Mr. Nice Guy

I've just completed an Access Course and most offers that everyone on our course had needed either a high number of distinctions or just to pass the course. For some reason there wasn't anything in between. They also didn't seem to bear any relation to the A level grades needed for entry to the courses. For some of us that was because we had other relevant experience as mature students but also seemed to depend on how the University viewed the Access qualification. There were quite a few people however that found their offer from the university was dependant on a lower number of Distinctions and Merits than they were originally told they needed.

To be honest though if you're focused on studying it may sound like a lot but 30 Distinctions is only 6 standard assignments and some of our modules were actually worth 6 credits. Even having to get a further 15 Merits that still leaves you with 15 credits where the grade could be as low as a pass. It's probably a lot more achievable that you think.

Trust me I know how you feel, I sat in my first level 2 physics lesson last September and wondered what the hell I was doing there as it all went completely over my head. At that point I didn't even expect to pass the course at that point seeking as it was the Level 3 credits that would count. I ended up passing the course with distinctions across the board. If you listen to what the tutors want(they all have different requirements usually) put in the research then you'll get what you need.

Good luck!

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