Original post by wanderinglily
I have studied biology , chemistry and psychology at a-level and I have realised in my final year of a-levels that I am quite interested in engineering but don’t have the maths or physics a-levels to apply for it at uni . what is the best option for me to pursue an engineering degree at uni ? I was thinking maybe an access course or foundation year which is better ?
As you have already done A Levels, you would require to pay for your next set of Level 3 qualifications. Consider looking into the Advanced Learner's Loan if you are studying from a recognised education provider (usually offline colleges).
If you do a foundation year, you're very unlikely to be able to switch to another university afterwards and you have to pay for 1 year's tuition of £9250
If you do an Access course, you would have a wider selection of English universiities, but even then you won't be able to apply for just any university; you would also need to pay roughly £3500 for an offline course (£1000 for an online one).
Should you decide to do an Access course, you will have to check that the minimum number of credits for maths is 15 and the minimum number of credits for physics is 15. If the course does not offer this, then it's pointless to do it.
I recommend doing maths and physics A Levels. Whilst doing the practical assessment for physics will be a complete pain, it would allow you to apply to any university in the UK (and almost anywhere in the world). Should you decide to do online courses for these, the max cost (including exams and assessments) should be £3500. Should you decide to self study, you're looking at something £1500-£2000.
Is these a specific branch of engineering you are interested in? Some branches require physics, but some don't e.g. chemical engineering requires maths and chemistry, bioengineering requires biology and maths. All branches will require maths.
It can be very hard to find access courses which cover maths content to the level needed to start engineering courses, and some people who do access courses with (in theory) adequate maths find the first year of university is too tough for them.
I would look into both foundation years and taking a year or two out to study maths A level.
I would look into both foundation years and taking a year or two out to study maths A level.
Original post by MindMax2000
As you have already done A Levels, you would require to pay for your next set of Level 3 qualifications. Consider looking into the Advanced Learner's Loan if you are studying from a recognised education provider (usually offline colleges).
If you do a foundation year, you're very unlikely to be able to switch to another university afterwards and you have to pay for 1 year's tuition of £9250
If you do an Access course, you would have a wider selection of English universiities, but even then you won't be able to apply for just any university; you would also need to pay roughly £3500 for an offline course (£1000 for an online one).
Should you decide to do an Access course, you will have to check that the minimum number of credits for maths is 15 and the minimum number of credits for physics is 15. If the course does not offer this, then it's pointless to do it.
I recommend doing maths and physics A Levels. Whilst doing the practical assessment for physics will be a complete pain, it would allow you to apply to any university in the UK (and almost anywhere in the world). Should you decide to do online courses for these, the max cost (including exams and assessments) should be £3500. Should you decide to self study, you're looking at something £1500-£2000.
Is these a specific branch of engineering you are interested in? Some branches require physics, but some don't e.g. chemical engineering requires maths and chemistry, bioengineering requires biology and maths. All branches will require maths.
If you do a foundation year, you're very unlikely to be able to switch to another university afterwards and you have to pay for 1 year's tuition of £9250
If you do an Access course, you would have a wider selection of English universiities, but even then you won't be able to apply for just any university; you would also need to pay roughly £3500 for an offline course (£1000 for an online one).
Should you decide to do an Access course, you will have to check that the minimum number of credits for maths is 15 and the minimum number of credits for physics is 15. If the course does not offer this, then it's pointless to do it.
I recommend doing maths and physics A Levels. Whilst doing the practical assessment for physics will be a complete pain, it would allow you to apply to any university in the UK (and almost anywhere in the world). Should you decide to do online courses for these, the max cost (including exams and assessments) should be £3500. Should you decide to self study, you're looking at something £1500-£2000.
Is these a specific branch of engineering you are interested in? Some branches require physics, but some don't e.g. chemical engineering requires maths and chemistry, bioengineering requires biology and maths. All branches will require maths.
Thank you very much for your reply and advice I really appreciate it
.I’m quite interested in chemical engineering, the only thing I lack is the maths however I’ve saw online the entry requirements for a foundation year was that I get a 7 in GCSE maths which I already have and ABB in my grades. I’d much rather go straight to uni than go to college for an access year . The only thing I I am concerned about is whether a year would be sufficient to get my maths skills up to university level maths .
Original post by wanderinglily
Thank you very much for your reply and advice I really appreciate it .
I’m quite interested in chemical engineering, the only thing I lack is the maths however I’ve saw online the entry requirements for a foundation year was that I get a 7 in GCSE maths which I already have and ABB in my grades. I’d much rather go straight to uni than go to college for an access year . The only thing I I am concerned about is whether a year would be sufficient to get my maths skills up to university level maths .
.I’m quite interested in chemical engineering, the only thing I lack is the maths however I’ve saw online the entry requirements for a foundation year was that I get a 7 in GCSE maths which I already have and ABB in my grades. I’d much rather go straight to uni than go to college for an access year . The only thing I I am concerned about is whether a year would be sufficient to get my maths skills up to university level maths .
You can do an A Level in Maths in 1 year (you won't need physics for chemical engineering); some people did it in 6 months, but sat the exams in May/June along with everyone else.
When I did my A Level, it cost me in total £1000 with an online course, which would be significantly cheaper than doing a foundation year or Access whilst giving me more options in terms of which universities to apply to.
The funny thing about maths at university level, I don't think anything would fully prepare you for university level maths, especially in engineering degrees (I often wonder why Further Maths is not a requirement since there's often quite a few topics on differential equations, difference equations, and matrices). Maths at university is a completely different animal to A Levels (which is in turn very different to GCSE), and you won't need to look very far to confirm this. You can try reading up university level textbooks on maths for engineering (specifically for engineering, as maths is not a small discipline) to get a feel for this. Mathematical Methods for Physics and Engineering: A Comprehensive Guide by K. F Riley, Michael Paul Hobson, and Stephen John Bence is a favourtie amongst physcists and engineers (but only read the parts relevant for chemical engineering), but you can pick books from the Schaum Outline Series (some of the books might go into a bit more detail than you would need, so it might be a good idea to ask some chemical engineering students for an opinion on these books).
The decision is ultimately down to you still.
I do an access course it is very very difficult let me start of with that and can be more difficult than a levels depending on the course that being said it can get you into great unis provided you put the work in but just know that you can fail the course almost immediately
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