Mature students 2011 entry

Wow, you're studying Arabic, are you from that part of the world or just have an interest in the language?

Most Theology degrees incorporate the study of a scriptural language, I'm hoping to bias my degree towards Islamic Studies and would be taking Qu'ranic/Classical Arabic to compliment this. I thought I would spend this year learning Modern Standard Arabic to help familiarise myself with the style of writing/pronunciation, plus I shall be going to Egypt in the summer so thought it might come in handy there too. Its challenging, I naively thought I'd be fine, seeing as I speak reasonable French and can get by in Russian, but really struggled to begin with; good fun though.

So no, I'm not from that part of the world, rather ironically I am actually half Greek so not only would you think I'd be opting to study Ancient Greek, I also have to confess to only speaking half a dozen words of the language. Talk about rejecting ones culture

The waiting is over; I am officially an offer holder, woohoo! So surreal and I am still in shock, although if I want grounding all I need do is read my offer conditions: 'Distinctions in all parts of my Access course' (the standard Access requirement is usually 45 credits at distinction, so for me it means gaining all of my 63 credits at distinction) and Grade 1 in Arabic (which is fine as it is Grade 1 or fail), yikes!

Congrats!!
See you in October then (provided we meet our offers ), I am a Lucy offer holder (through the pool), can't wait :>. What do you think about the college? I have seen only photos on the college website, and would greatly appreciate your impressions, etc :>.

The waiting is over; I am officially an offer holder, woohoo! So surreal and I am still in shock, although if I want grounding all I need do is read my offer conditions: 'Distinctions in all parts of my Access course' (the standard Access requirement is usually 45 credits at distinction, so for me it means gaining all of my 63 credits at distinction) and Grade 1 in Arabic (which is fine as it is Grade 1 or fail), yikes!

The waiting is over; I am officially an offer holder, woohoo! So surreal and I am still in shock, although if I want grounding all I need do is read my offer conditions: 'Distinctions in all parts of my Access course' (the standard Access requirement is usually 45 credits at distinction, so for me it means gaining all of my 63 credits at distinction) and Grade 1 in Arabic (which is fine as it is Grade 1 or fail), yikes!

woohoo indeed! When does your Access finish?

Well done!! Doesn't that mean all level 3 units should be at distinction? In my course, only the level 3 units were graded, but my course is different. I just counted my marks, I got 69 credits overall, 57 at level 3 and 45@ a distinction grade, should have been all 57 but handed in two late, and the other two I didn't try hard enough but atleast I've got the 45 distinctions required. Even if thats not enough, I'm setting 4 A-levels next year.

Thank you! Congrats on your place too! Lucy is lovely, everyone I encountered, staff or students, were really approachable and friendly. The grounds are immaculate and there is a mix of architecture ranging from Victorian buildings to more modern additions (lots of oak and glass). The library and dining hall/bar area were my favourites, both very light and airy. It has a very tranquil, peaceful, almost bohemian, feel. Intimate and informal. I can't add much on accommodation as I won't be living in halls (I have a family) but the student who gave me a tour on my interview day said the accommodation was very modern and well kept. The students I met were rather diverse, I would say the majority seemed to be in their twenties but, again, the lady who gave me the tour assured me there were plenty more like her; in her forties and embarking on her first undergrad degree.

I think there is an open day in July for offer holders, will you be attending? I might see you there, if not, grades permitting, perhaps in October!

Disclaimer - This is all based on two visits: a mature students open day last September and my interview day, both were outside of term time thus not fully stocked!

Not long to go, it finishes the end of June and my Arabic course finishes early July, so by then I will know whether I have met the terms of my condition.



The exact wording is 'Distinction in all parts of your Access to Higher Education Diploma', I interprit that as all level 3's to be at distinction. I am doing 63 level 3 credits as I have some qualifications that exempt me from needing level 2 credits. When I initially enquired about the acceptability of Access to HE I was told the 'typical' offer was 45 level 3 credits at distinction. One way of thinking is Lucy actually require ALL level 3 credits to be at distinction and thus the typical offer is 45 level 3 credits at distinction because that is the minimum number needed to actually pass the diploma, thus being the amount most people take; just like 3 A-levels at A*AA. The other is that it is a higher than standard offer. If you had asked me to guess the conditions I would have said 45 distinctions, specifically that the two optional module credits all be at distinction. Either way, be it my guess or the actual conditions, I stand or fall based on getting a single assignment wrong; good job I like a challenge.

Wow 4 A-levels, sounds like you are doing a great deal of preporatory study. All I will say is, from my conditions and others from the December applicants, prepare for them to specify results for all 4 even though 3 is the requirement. I would also say that they are most interested in your current studies (I was stressing over a C grade Maths AS-level I did for fun - it never came up) so I would not worry about your past Access course; what ever happens in your A-levels will trump Access. Good luck with your future study and application for 2012.

Dear all,

I received my letter today. I have been accepted, but the offer is conditional on me obtaining a Grade A* in English Literature (that's 90%, but I already have 100% in half the course already). Does anyone know when the Open Day offer in July is and is it only for those that have been made an offer? I should book my train tickets in advance! Congratulations to everyone else as well

Congratulations in regards to the offer.

Thanks. Have you thought about which college you want to apply to next year?

St Johns, why, do you have some advice??

I don't know anything about St. John's but when I enquired at one of the other colleges they informed me I would probably be better off at one of the mature students college. It might be a good idea to visit the individual colleges and speak to the DoS and Admissions Tutor.

Dear all,

I received my letter today. I have been accepted, but the offer is conditional on me obtaining a Grade A* in English Literature (that's 90%, but I already have 100% in half the course already). Does anyone know when the Open Day offer in July is and is it only for those that have been made an offer? I should book my train tickets in advance! Congratulations to everyone else as well

Congratulations, that is fantastic news! Sounds like you should have no troubles meeting your offer condition. Will Cambridge be your firm or will that go to UCL? Think I read something about booking for the July open day online but haven't investigated it yet so not sure when it is exactly, I'm on holiday 10th-24th July so if it is outside of those dates I shall be attending (that and providing I don't blow my offer by then!) so perhaps I shall see you there!

Did you have a chance to look at the financial guarantee form? A degree at Cambridge will cost over £37,000, £13,000+ of which is a hefty 'college fee'. Living costs are commensurately high. I thought Cambridge was relatively cheap, compared to other universities? Clearly this does not ostensibly appear to be the case...

I live in Leicetershire, so everything south of me, relatively speaking, is extremely expensive. I haven't actually opened/possibly even had my letter yet! I am away from home at present so asked for my decision letter to be emailed to me; I was sent the first 3 x pages so haven't seen the finance sheet. It is my understanding though that if you are a home student, studying for your first undergraduate degree, that the University pay the College your College fee on your behalf. Have you looked into the bursary packages for mature students? I think most qualify for at least £3K and if, like me, you have dependents, perhaps even £5K. I have to do some serious thinking regarding finances, rent for a family home is likely to set us back approximately £1200 PCM, ouch.