Foundation degree advice.

Hi,

I'm currently serving in the British Army and am soon to be medically discharged this year, I have hopes of attending university as a mature student but I need some advice on foundation degrees.

The course in question is a Foundation to Science at Southampton Uni, I have been out of the education environment for a good 7 years and am worried about failing the foundation degree as I am led to believe it is equivalent to an A level.

At school I achieved poor GCSE's "CCDDE", I now have functional skills in Maths,English, IT and an NVQ2 in Mechanical Engineering.
My question is wether jumping straight in to A level subjects (Biology,Chemistry & Maths) will be too much of a workload and confuse the hell out of me

If I was to start the course and be thrown straight in the deep end with topics like trigonometry and logarithms I will just fail....Miserably :s-smilie:

.

I know that there will be some sort of tuition support, but how supportive will it be for someone in my position who achieved a "D" in Maths

Any advice or help will be kindly appreciated.
Nick

Reply 1

Cartagena

Ok, I have just looked at the module syllabus for the Gsci0010 - which is the Mathematics for Scientists module which forms part of the Foundation Year Science at the University of Southampton.
I assume you have had a look at it as well? If not, here is a link to the module page - http://www.southampton.ac.uk/engineering/undergraduate/modules/gsci0010_mathematics_for_scientists.page

I guess to the uninitiated, it probably looks like quite scary stuff - I can't assume that Southampton will offer you all the guidance that you require to pass this module (and the rest), but I think that there is a very good chance that they will do their best to support you and the other students on the course, enabling you to pass in the process, particularly as the aim of the course is to help you get on a course at the University of Southampton!

I think I read that they may administer a test to determine your suitability for the course if you are a mature student, so I would spend some time brushing up on your math's is that is the case.
It is likely that they will do this if you have been out of study for a while. A really good site for math's revision, and this is going to sound really ridiculous, is http://www.mathsisfun.com/index.htm
I can't recommend enough - it even covers Logarithms http://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/logarithms.html

I would also advise contacting the University if you haven't done so already, and seeking further advice on entering the course, preparing for exams if necessary etc...

Hope this info helps.

Reply 2

Schadenfreude65

I agree with the above. From the look of the syllabus, they will be starting you off at Higher tier GCSE / beginning AS Level maths. You should be able to cope with it, especially if you prepare by doing some GCSE level practice before you start. examsolutions.net is another good website to get you started. It's worth buying a GCSE textbook too - any exam board will do - and try to do a little practice every day.

Reply 3

Nick3012

Thanks for the replies,

I did look at the modules and you were right, I did get me a bit worried but i'm currently on the "Mathisfun" site trying to revise. I'm still uncertain on what science degree to go with though, all I've ever known is being a soldier and mechanical engineering so its pretty daunting deciding on another career.

I've also just purchased an AS level revision book, it's probably too late to go university this September so I can take the time this year to revise.

Thanks for the help and the useful links, really appreciate it!

Foundation degree advice.

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