Starting Foundation Year.

Hi people.
I am writing with a question about uni. I was thinking of starting university and getting my life back on track by getting a degree to help me pursue a career I'm interested in. Me being a foreign person that came to the UK and joined high school in year 8, by the time it came out to gcses i just started to get comfortable with english and all that stuff so my grades were not the greatest. I dropped out of college after a year due to family issues and started working. Now i read a lot about unis and stuff but cannot find a straight up answer to my question. I understand that my gcses are probably not enough for uni so I heard that it is possible to do a foundation year first and then the course itself ? Another question is, Do foundation year students get student and maintenance loans or will i need to pay for all that by myself and also work to get by with food and stuff ? If anyone could explain the process to me i would be forever grateful.

Regards Tom

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by FreeQQ219

Hi people.
I am writing with a question about uni. I was thinking of starting university and getting my life back on track by getting a degree to help me pursue a career I'm interested in. Me being a foreign person that came to the UK and joined high school in year 8, by the time it came out to gcses i just started to get comfortable with english and all that stuff so my grades were not the greatest. I dropped out of college after a year due to family issues and started working. Now i read a lot about unis and stuff but cannot find a straight up answer to my question. I understand that my gcses are probably not enough for uni so I heard that it is possible to do a foundation year first and then the course itself ? Another question is, Do foundation year students get student and maintenance loans or will i need to pay for all that by myself and also work to get by with food and stuff ? If anyone could explain the process to me i would be forever grateful.

Regards Tom

Tom is a very English sounding name for a foreign person. Is it short for something else e.g. Tomaz?

I understand that my gcses are probably not enough for uni so I heard that it is possible to do a foundation year first and then the course itself ?
No they are not. Typically, you would need English language and Maths as a minimum at GCSE and they need to meet the grade requirements for the specific degree and uni that you intend to apply for (they vary from uni to uni for some reason).
On top of that, you would need a level 3 qualification(s) that meet the requirements of the specific degree that you want to do. Foundation years tend to be for people who have level 3 qualifications but either not meet the grades or are in the wrong subjects.
If you want to do a Level 3 qualification, you should still be able to get funding for it through the Student Finance company since you techinically didn't finish yours. I would check with Student Finance to be sure though.
The typical Level 3 qualifications you should be eligible for include:

•

A Levels at specific adult colleges - you will need to check with the individual college as some have age restrictions for up to 25 or 19.

•

BTEC at adult colleges - again the age restrictions; need to check if you have the right type of BTEC in the right subjects for your degree, assuming the uni accepts BTECs for the degree you're applying for

•

Access to HE - need to check if you have the right type of Access course in the right subject for your degree, assuming the uni accepts Access courses for the degree you're applying for

If none of the above suits you, then you can try to self fund (via online colleges) and self study the 3 A Levels that you need for your degree. Do note, you would likely not be eligible for student finance for this, since the course needs to be held at a recognised further education institution. Also note, some subjects are a complete pain to do because they contain NEAs or have specific requirements.

Do foundation year students get student and maintenance loans or will i need to pay for all that by myself and also work to get by with food and stuff ?
Yes, students eligible for foundation years do get student and maintenance loans, but you're looking at £9k+ for tuition, which is significantly more expensive than say paying £1000 for each A Level subject (including course fees, exam fees, etc.) yourself. Even if you have to pay an extra £1000 on top for some practical NEAs required for specific subjects, you're looking at a max of £6k, which is still cheaper than the tuition for a foundation year.

If you do a foundation year, you're in the uni's territory and that means you're in higher education technically, so all your finances are related to higher education not further education. On that note, apparently you can do as many foundation years as you want (I don't see the point of doing more than 1, but that's me).

If you're studying an allied health profession related subject, you can sometimes get access to the NHS bursary. Even if you aren't, you can sometimes get access to certain uni bursaries due to low household income status, though the amounts tend to be small.

If you do get a part time job during your studies (if permitted by the uni, and most allow this), then I don't recommend anything more than 20 hours a week on top of 40 hours of full time studies. Anything more than 20 hours, you're working against yourself in your studies. If anything, I would try to limit it to 10 hours where possible.

If you want specific help on your degree subject or your choice in career from me, then do specify which field you want to go into and which specific degree at which uni you intend to study.

Original post by FreeQQ219

Hi people.
I am writing with a question about uni. I was thinking of starting university and getting my life back on track by getting a degree to help me pursue a career I'm interested in. Me being a foreign person that came to the UK and joined high school in year 8, by the time it came out to gcses i just started to get comfortable with english and all that stuff so my grades were not the greatest. I dropped out of college after a year due to family issues and started working. Now i read a lot about unis and stuff but cannot find a straight up answer to my question. I understand that my gcses are probably not enough for uni so I heard that it is possible to do a foundation year first and then the course itself ? Another question is, Do foundation year students get student and maintenance loans or will i need to pay for all that by myself and also work to get by with food and stuff ? If anyone could explain the process to me i would be forever grateful.

Regards Tom

Hi Tom,

Not all courses have foundation years but there are lots that do! There are also some that will look at life experience and passion for subject area and experience within that career field. So it doesn't necessarily mean you would need good GCSE qualifications to be accepted onto the foundation year either. It will definitely depend on the subject area and university chosen.

Do you know what course/subject area you are interested in? Once you have an idea of what subject area you are interested in, look at the different careers in that field and what job satisfaction and opportunities are like. These are just tips to help you narrow things down a little, if you are unsure. If you know what courses you are interested in, your best bet is to look at the entry requirements and maybe contact the admissions department, and go to an open day to find out more.

In terms of student finance, yes you can get funding for a foundation year, but bare in mind that you will only get 4 years undergrad funding, so with a foundation year and a 3 year undergrad degree, you wont be able to get funding if you have to repeat a year.

I hope this has helped a little, let me know if I can be of any other help.

-Victoria
Wrexham Uni Rep

Starting Foundation Year.

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