Ask an Admissions Tutor - applying at 21+

Thanks for reply its much appreciated and I fully understand. If I were to apply in 2018 that would make me 28, do you know if what the age limit is on internships etc?

thanks

Hi there,
I was wondering if you could help me with the entry requirements for Land Economy degree as a mature student and I do not currently possess any level three qualifications. I applied to read Mathematics with foundation year at university and fortunately received offers to study at University of Sussex and University of Southampton. My first question is that would my application be viewed as competitive as other traditional qualifications on the basis of just foundation year alone? I would also be grateful if could give me advise on which course should I choose as the former one heavily involves A level Maths and Further Maths while the latter one contains equal amount of Maths, Physics and Engineering modules. Would it be better for me to take an A level alongside foundation year as I believe lack of an essay based qualification put my application at disadvantage and the subject I am contemplating to do is A level Economics.

Does the university look at old grades?

I left school due to illness with no GCSE's and took my GCSE's and got poor grades again due to my illness. I'm going to take GCSE's again and then do A levels. I'm aiming to apply to study architecture and was wondering if they would take into account a) that I took the GCSE's a long time ago and b) that I was ill?

Edit: Also I was looking at the statistics for architecture at Wolfsons where I was going to apply and noticed that they haven't accepted anyone in the last five years. So I was wondering should I apply to Kings instead (Kings is my dream college).

Hello

I am a prospective Scottish applicant for Medicine and I was wondering what the significance/influence the grade bands have on the outcome of an applicant's application? Are applicants with all A Band 1's favourable to those who have A Band 2's? I heard that if applicants have at least 3 A band 1's then they can't be automatically rejected and instead they must be placed in the pool, is this true (especially for medicine)? I have heard that A-level applicants must state their AS-level percentages but I'm unsure if these scores are featured on their certificates since for example the Scottish grade bands are not shown on the certificate so therefore how can they be verified? Thank you very much!

Hi,

In regards to a conditional offer for Access courses, is there any room for cases with mitigating circumstances? I have an offer to read HSPS at a mature college provided I get 'distinctions in all relevant subjects', however have received a merit in one psychology assignment (so 3 credits out of 45, the rest of which are at distinction). It was due to an acute period of poor health, and I have a letter of support from my GP. Would this be considered not meeting the offer, or is there the possibility of some flexibility? I have contacted the relevant college, but have yet to hear back.

Thank you.

Hi there,
Thanks for your reply and I was wondering if you could confirm with the other mature colleges that I can apply for Land Economy March Round with Maths with foundation year alone as the reply that I received from Hughes Hall college said University of Cambridge would not normally accept an application from someone who is seeking to leave after one year of a four year foundation course. The email also states that students do not have option to leave after foundation year and that is not the impression that I from both universities particularly University of Sussex. I was also wondering how would my personal statement be viewed as by admission tutor as I am applying for Economics degree at other universities.

Some foundation courses "lock in" students for the full four years, and some do not. It sounds as though both of those you are considering do expect entrants to remain for four years, but you should check the small print on your offers. Once you have done that, I can pursue further inquiries on your behalf.

It is quite common for Land Economy applicants to have a personal statement tailored for Economics, so this should not be an issue. You can use the Cambridge Supplementary Application Questionnaire to explain your interest in Land Economy, specifically.

Can I just check that you are a mature student before I reply?

Hi there,
Thanks for your reply. You are correct in saying that both foundation courses expect students to stay on for full degree courses and I spoke to admission tutors about transferring university after foundation year as my aim was always to do Economics related degree at a better university.University of Sussex is more encouraging in saying that although they want me to study for Mathematics degree programme at their institution after foundation year, I can certainly submit an application to other universities if I wish to. If you want to see the email that I received from Sussex then I can PM you.

Hello,i'm mature student ,I wondered considered strong A level history of art.

Having spoken to Wolfson and St Edmund's, both said that they would in principle consider an applicant in your situation for entry to Land Economy. St Edmund's would, however, encourage you to contact them at an early stage to share the content of the Foundation Year.

I am very grateful for your response. Would I be correct in assuming that it is not the official stance of University of Cambridge not to consider application from a student who is doing a different degree with foundation year at a different university as I have had several conversations via email with Hughes Hall college ,which was the college that I was eager to get into and they were quite insistent in saying that they will not be willing to consider my application due to that. I have recently contacted St.Edmunds college with the course content of both foundation year courses and I am still waiting for their reply. Just to recap our discussion in regards to my prospective application for Land Economy, either of the foundation courses that I have offers ( University of Sussex, Mathematics with foundation year and University of Southampton, Engineering and Mathematics with foundation year ) will be sufficient enough to submit a competitive application for next March application cycle without doing any extra qualifications. I have spoken to course director at University of Sussex about doing an A level alongside foundation year and he was quite sceptical about it as you were due to the intensive nature of the course. Thanks for your help again and I am eagerly looking forward to your reply.

The University of Cambridge does not accept applications from students currently enrolled on a degree programme at another UK University, other than in very exceptional circumstances (and would usually expect a reference from the University in question). I do not think that enrollment on a Foundation Year which is, if you are not "locked into" the four year course, effectively "standalone" counts, in this respect. In principle, such a Foundation Year would enable you to submit a competitive application, if you were performing at an appropriate level, though I do recommend you check the course content with any college to which you are considering applying, as St Edmund's suggest.

I will attempt to follow up with Hughes Hall on your behalf, as it seems that there may have been some crossed wires somewhere, but suggest you focus on other mature colleges for now.

Thank you very much for your prompt reply again. I am not really sure what " locked into" foundation course means as the reply that I received from Sussex university is that although they expect students to progress their respective degrees after foundation year , I can certainly submit application to other institutions during foundation year although I have to enquire whether universities that I intend to apply to accept their foundation year. Although I do confess that the response that I got from University of Southampton is along the lines of you can, if you want to but we gave you offer on the basis of you studying full degree after foundation year. I am currently pondering between Hughes Hall and St.Edmund's as Cambridge university website states that Land Economy applicants to Wolfson would need to submit an essay or two with their application form and I do not think I will be doing any tutor marked essays at the time of my application. Although I will definitely try to take academic essay writing modules during foundation year.