What now?

I was demotivated and depressed throughout college. This subsequently led to me not achieving the grades I'd hoped for. I did come out with one A-level, but I didn't do so well in the subject I was most passionate about.

After just a few months of working, I already feel like I could gain higher grades if I had the chance to give college another bash. College life led me astray though. I feel like a better person in the working world, but I'd love to gain some qualifications on the side. What options are available for a failed college student? I was researching distance learning and evening courses, but I really don't know where to start. A-level is preferable. I'd like to go on to do a degree one day. Thanks in advance.

Reply 1

Exotica-xo

Dont beat yourself down too much, everyone makes mistakes many more so than others but it OK.
It depends how old you are? what kind of career do you see yourself doing.
well most sixth form and colleges inform us that 19 is when alevels are non applicable but i might be wrong.
Best advice is to apply for an access course and then you don't really have to through Alevels route anymore.

Reply 2

creep00

Thanks for your response. I'm 19 years old. I finished college earlier this year. I was hoping to pursue some form of career relating to philosophy, but I'm just clinging on to whatever job I can get for now. I hope that's enough information for someone to assist in pointing me in the right direction.

Reply 3

placenta medicae talpae

You could study yourself and find a college to enter you as a private candidate.
Or study by distance learning (e.g. correspondance -- I used to be a student of Mercer's College).
Or by evening classes.
Or you could just plain apply to college again!
Lots of options :smile:

Reply 4

creep00

Would achieving an A-level through a distance learning course on a subject I failed at college override my initial grade? Any detailed information on this would be appreciated.

Reply 5

placenta medicae talpae

Original post by creep00

Would achieving an A-level through a distance learning course on a subject I failed at college override my initial grade? Any detailed information on this would be appreciated.

Yeah, if you retake any units, get your 'centre' to 'unlock' your qualification so any improved unit scores can be factored in.
Then you can recertificate :smile:

Reply 6

creep00

Thanks for responding. There are so many modules under each of the units in the distance learning course. We only studied a select few at college because of this. The syllabus and exam board for the distance learning course are the same as they were at college though. Would I still be eligible to override my initial overall grade if I had to study different modules to the ones I studied at college? The units would still be the same though. This concept is all very new to me, so I'd really appreciate it if you could elaborate.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 7

placenta medicae talpae

Original post by creep00

Yeah, you can retake units or do new ones to 'stand in their place'.
So long as you fulfill all the requirements for the qualification with any new units you take, when combined with relevant old ones, everything will be fine.

Which particular qualification is it?
If it's maths, I can go into specifics :smile:

Reply 8

creep00

Thank you very much for your help. It's for AQA Philosophy. If, for example, I obtained a B grade on my distance learning course; what would be the next step? Would I need to contact my college? What would the procedure be? My overall aim is to completely override my unfortunate college grades.

Reply 9

placenta medicae talpae

Original post by creep00

The best thing for you to do is to get the centre to unlock your units, so that the best combination of units can be used when 'aggregating' your qualification (finding your new overall grade).
This means that your new qualification will be built from a combination of units you did a while ago and ones you're just doing now -- the ones which give the highest marks possible will be chosen automatically.

I think you might need to get the centre you originally did the qualification with to do this, but I'm not sure.
Your new centre (if different) might be able to do it.

If you do a distance learning course, you normally have to sort out your exam arrangements yourself.
This means entering at a college or other centre as a private candidate.
I.e. sweet talking exams officers.
You'll normally have to pay something like £40 to do the paper, plus costs for invigilation.
Bear in mind that deadlines for centres to put in for exams are pretty early: if you're going to do an exam this summer, try and get talking to your centre pretty soon.
Otherwise 'late entry' or even 'very late entry' fees might apply.

By the way, you'll need to make sure that you are doing the same board and the same specification as you did in the first place: otherwise this might not work!