Can I take GCSE and A Levels as an individual after dropping out of HS in Romania?
Hi,
I’m trying to get a better understanding of the UK Educational system to see if it would fit me. To give you some context, I’m currently 21 and I’m working full time as a Software Engineer in Romania.
Because I managed to land a job really early (back in high school), I dropped out of high school and I just focused on work.
Everything is going fine with work but I’d also like to go back to school and finish the education chapter in my life for peace of mind. Doing it through Romania would take years, but the system seems to be a bit more flexible in the UK, at least from what I’ve read online.
My latest “degree” so far is what we call “Diploma de 10 clase”. Which is a degree you receive in the 10th grade (HS takes 4 years in RO), and then 2 years later you have to take the baccalaureate exam which you’ll use to get into Uni. I only finished the 11th grade, therefore I don’t have the baccalaureate exam.
What I’m trying to understand is, is it possible to sign up for the GCSE without any prerequisites? Like, can I just self-study and then sign up for the exams in a few months? Or is it mandatory that you finish high school first and then and only then you can sign up for a levels or GCSE.
My plan is to pay tutors in Romania to help me prepare for GCSE & A Levels and then sign up for the exams in the Romanian centers. Once I get the A Levels, I can “convert” that to the Romanian baccalaureate exam and go to universities in Romania. Would this work or did I understand the process wrong?
I’m trying to get a better understanding of the UK Educational system to see if it would fit me. To give you some context, I’m currently 21 and I’m working full time as a Software Engineer in Romania.
Because I managed to land a job really early (back in high school), I dropped out of high school and I just focused on work.
Everything is going fine with work but I’d also like to go back to school and finish the education chapter in my life for peace of mind. Doing it through Romania would take years, but the system seems to be a bit more flexible in the UK, at least from what I’ve read online.
My latest “degree” so far is what we call “Diploma de 10 clase”. Which is a degree you receive in the 10th grade (HS takes 4 years in RO), and then 2 years later you have to take the baccalaureate exam which you’ll use to get into Uni. I only finished the 11th grade, therefore I don’t have the baccalaureate exam.
What I’m trying to understand is, is it possible to sign up for the GCSE without any prerequisites? Like, can I just self-study and then sign up for the exams in a few months? Or is it mandatory that you finish high school first and then and only then you can sign up for a levels or GCSE.
My plan is to pay tutors in Romania to help me prepare for GCSE & A Levels and then sign up for the exams in the Romanian centers. Once I get the A Levels, I can “convert” that to the Romanian baccalaureate exam and go to universities in Romania. Would this work or did I understand the process wrong?
Original post by marianc3
Hi,
I’m trying to get a better understanding of the UK Educational system to see if it would fit me. To give you some context, I’m currently 21 and I’m working full time as a Software Engineer in Romania.
Because I managed to land a job really early (back in high school), I dropped out of high school and I just focused on work.
Everything is going fine with work but I’d also like to go back to school and finish the education chapter in my life for peace of mind. Doing it through Romania would take years, but the system seems to be a bit more flexible in the UK, at least from what I’ve read online.
My latest “degree” so far is what we call “Diploma de 10 clase”. Which is a degree you receive in the 10th grade (HS takes 4 years in RO), and then 2 years later you have to take the baccalaureate exam which you’ll use to get into Uni. I only finished the 11th grade, therefore I don’t have the baccalaureate exam.
What I’m trying to understand is, is it possible to sign up for the GCSE without any prerequisites? Like, can I just self-study and then sign up for the exams in a few months? Or is it mandatory that you finish high school first and then and only then you can sign up for a levels or GCSE.
My plan is to pay tutors in Romania to help me prepare for GCSE & A Levels and then sign up for the exams in the Romanian centers. Once I get the A Levels, I can “convert” that to the Romanian baccalaureate exam and go to universities in Romania. Would this work or did I understand the process wrong?
I’m trying to get a better understanding of the UK Educational system to see if it would fit me. To give you some context, I’m currently 21 and I’m working full time as a Software Engineer in Romania.
Because I managed to land a job really early (back in high school), I dropped out of high school and I just focused on work.
Everything is going fine with work but I’d also like to go back to school and finish the education chapter in my life for peace of mind. Doing it through Romania would take years, but the system seems to be a bit more flexible in the UK, at least from what I’ve read online.
My latest “degree” so far is what we call “Diploma de 10 clase”. Which is a degree you receive in the 10th grade (HS takes 4 years in RO), and then 2 years later you have to take the baccalaureate exam which you’ll use to get into Uni. I only finished the 11th grade, therefore I don’t have the baccalaureate exam.
What I’m trying to understand is, is it possible to sign up for the GCSE without any prerequisites? Like, can I just self-study and then sign up for the exams in a few months? Or is it mandatory that you finish high school first and then and only then you can sign up for a levels or GCSE.
My plan is to pay tutors in Romania to help me prepare for GCSE & A Levels and then sign up for the exams in the Romanian centers. Once I get the A Levels, I can “convert” that to the Romanian baccalaureate exam and go to universities in Romania. Would this work or did I understand the process wrong?
is it possible to sign up for the GCSE without any prerequisites?
There are no prerequisities for GCSEs or A Levels if you go as a private candidate and go by the exam boards. Any prerequisites required of you are usually set by the institution that you attend (if you want to attend a college of some sort). If you choose to study by yourself, you can pick the subjects that you want.
If you want to take International A Levels and International GCSEs, you will likely need to do this as a private candidate and arrange for your own exams (unless you found a college of some sort who would accept you with your background). Most of these are usually not free, so you would ideally look around for funding if you can (I am not familiar with the Romanian education system and funding, so I cannot comment).
See the following:
https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/support/support-topics/understanding-our-qualifications/find-a-pearson-centre.html?Country=Romania
https://www.oxfordaqa.com/exams-admin/entries/ (which would lead you to the following page: https://www.britishcouncil.ro/en/about/contact?_ga=2.123810636.713680579.1681218078-1142157227.1681218078)
https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/why-choose-us/find-a-cambridge-school/?Location=Romania (CIE will always go by the schools they accept)
I wouldn't go crazy and do 10 iGCSEs and 5 iALs when you won't need them. I don't know what the entry requirements for the specific degrees that you want to do, but if you don't need specific qualifications I wouldn't go out of your way to do them unless you want to do them for personal interest.
can I just self-study and then sign up for the exams in a few months?
Exams are held on set dates every year (usually May/June, but you can sometimes get them in November/December). Unfortunately exam admin isn't flexible enough to allow you to take your exams whenever you choose. Having said that, you can do 5 iGCSEs and 3iALs and sit them all in one year, if you can squeeze all them in.
My plan is to pay tutors in Romania to help me prepare for GCSE & A Levels and then sign up for the exams in the Romanian centers. Once I get the A Levels, I can “convert” that to the Romanian baccalaureate exam and go to universities in Romania
I would recommend studying at a college if they accept you at your age rather than self study. Self study is more challenging than studying in a classroom. If you pay for tutors, your costs will likely rack up very quickly. It's a matter of economics (on time and effort, as well as money).
If you want an alternative, you can try searching for online courses at iGCSE and iALs, but each course will vary depending on quality. You will also want to check that the course follows the specific exam board that you want to do the subject in (and the quality of the course and grades will vary depending on the individual exam board your specific is in). You would be provided the material, but you would do much of the studying by yourself with tutor support.
To my understanding, the A Levels are equivalent to baccalurates, so they take their stead. I don't know what the education system in Romania is like, but if the A Levels are accepted like they are in any other country, you can apply for university in Romania with the completed A Levels with no conversions needed. iGCSEs and iALs might not be specified on the specific degree course page, so you might need to look around the university website to find the equivalent requirements specifically for iGCSEs and iALs.
Having said that, if you want to apply for specific degrees, you would need to make sure you have picked the necessary subjects at A Level. For example, if you want to do medicine, I would very much doubt you can get in without having studied Biology and Chemistry at A Level. Having said that, each university has its own entry requirements for the individual degree, so it pays to always check the entry requirements and the international equivalents that they accept.
Some of the subjects will come with practical assessments or coursework as part of the syllabus. As such, the degree course that you want to apply for might specify that you would need to have completed these assessments, so you might want to check for this as well.
If you specify which degree course you want to do (and ideally the university that you want to study at), I might be able to help you further.
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