Don't have A levels? Alternative Routes into University FAQ

Alternative Routes into University

This is a list of the various alternative routes into university for people who, for whatever reason, didn't do or couldn't do A levels. If you have any questions which are not covered in the FAQs, post them below! Open the Spoilers to see a list of FAQs.

Access to Higher Education (HE) Diploma

Access to HE Diplomas (also known as Access courses) are designed to prepare people without traditional qualifications for university. Access courses are the best established and most common route into university for mature students and students without A levels. Each year more than 20,000 people apply to university after doing an Access course. There is a large community of Access students in the Mature Students forum.

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Foundation Year

A foundation year is an extra year of study at the start of a university course. It enables students who do not meet the course entry requirements to fill the gaps in their knowledge. If you pass the foundation year, you automatically move into the first year of your chosen degree.

Please note, foundation years are not the same as international foundation years (these are courses for international students who want to study in the UK but either don't have the right qualifications or need to improve their English language skills before starting a degree).

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Distance learning A-levels

If you want to do A levels but can't attend school or college consider studying them at home. You can either use a distance-learning provider or study them independently. This is a good option if you don’t know what degree you want to do. Doing A levels in different subjects is a great way to keep your options open. Remember to download past papers from the relevant exam board websites, and make use of the Study Help forums and A level study help page.

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Open University Credits

The Open University offers high-quality distance-learning modules which are ideal for people who do not live within easy reach of a school/college, or who have busy lives and need to fit their studies around a job and/or family.

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OpenPlus

OpenPlus is a partnership between The Open University (OU) and other leading universities to create a more affordable and flexible route into a science degree. If you decide to do OpenPlus, remember to visit the Open University forum to talk to other OU students and discuss specific modules.

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Birkbeck, University of London

Birkbeck College offers a number of Certificates of Higher Education (CertHE) which can be used to apply for or transfer into degree courses at other universities.

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Foundation Degree

Foundation degrees are higher education qualifications which combine work-based learning with academic study. They are developed with employers and usually focus on a particular career (e.g. Primary Teaching). Foundation degrees are a qualification in their own right, but they're also the equivalent of the first two years of an undergraduate degree. After you've finished your foundation degree you can 'top it up' into a bachelor's degree.

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(edited 6 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Klix88

There's also the Foundation Degree, which differs from a Foundation Year as it's not associated with a particular degree course and is usually two years instead of one. It can be topped up to a full degree and is generally more transferrable than a Foundation Year.

Reply 2

Snufkin

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Klix88

Yes, that is true. I'll add it in later.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 3

SuperCat007

Don't forget with A-levels you don't have to register with one of the online places. You can just buy the books and find a place to sit the exams. Though for biology, chemistry and physics you generally have to also sit practical exams which are additional cost and have to be invigilated by a college/school.

Some of these online colleges seem wildly expensive when all you really need to do is find a decent tutor, somewhere to sit the exams and buy the books online which could cost up to around £300-£400 for the year. As opposed to some of the online colleges which seem to charge about £600 as a baseline for the books and access to the tutor and you then have to find your own exam centre and pay exam costs on top of that.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 4

O.Ozz

Original post by snufkin

foundation year :work:

.
a foundation year is an extra year of study at the start of a university course. It enables students who do not meet the course entry requirements to fill the gaps in their knowledge. If you pass the foundation year, you automatically move into the first year of your chosen degree. Please note, foundation years are not the same as international foundation years - the latter are courses for international students who want to study in the uk but either don't have the right qualifications or need to improve their english language skills before starting a degree. Check out the university sub forums and university connect to find and talk to people applying for the same course as you.

Hello, i assume you have worked in admissions or something.

I am planning on going into clearing for University of Salford or University of Hull for a foundation year in Music.

I am predicting 12-18 credits at pass for the access course i'm currently finishing. Do you think it is possible to get onto the Foundation year if i tell admissions that i have a document stating what credits i have and what i don't have.

or should i apply and tell them i only have GCSE's hence not mentioning any recent study?

Reply 5

Snufkin

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by O.Ozz

No, I don't work in admissions. I don't know if 12-18 credits would be enough to get into Hull, you need to ask the admissions tutor (contact details can be found on this page). You have to declare all qualifications when you apply to university, so no, don't conceal your recent study.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 6

SalfordUni

Original post by O.Ozz

Hey there

Check out our clearing site here. We offer 3 different types of Music courses:
BA (Hons) Music: Creative Music Technology
BA (Hons) Music:Popular Music and Recording
BA (Hons) Music: Musical Arts

Might not be exactly what you're looking for but our Matchmaker site will help you find the right course for you.

Let me know if you have any further questions about this or anything else Salford related :smile:

Good luck!

Fiza

Reply 7

AR551

Hi im wondering if anyone can help?
Im 24 been out of studying for 3 years i did do a hnc in accounting at college and received a few credits for it but it wasnt for me.
I want to fufill a dream of mine to study in canada for a hotel management degree as ive always wanted to do something within a hotel.The problem is i dont know what requirements i need and i cant seem to find useful information about the course itself .anyone able to help ???

Reply 8

Snufkin

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by AR551

What university are you looking at? Most university websites have an international student page with details of foreign qualification requirements. Canadian universities probably won't accept the alternative qualifications listed above (although it might be worth asking them just to be sure), so you will probably have to do A levels - you okay with that? You should also consider the high cost of studying in Canada, can you afford it? For more information, see the Studying in North America forum.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 9

vickyk82

hi everyone , Im going to apply as an international mature student what are my chances? I have a vocational diploma -3 years of studies Im a nurse's assistant- Should I give it a shot ? Or forget it? whats the best way for me to get a place at a uni? Im taking an ielts test next month...

Reply 10

returnmigrant

Anyone else spotted this new offering from the University of Bristol : http://www.bristol.ac.uk/history/study/part-time/
Its a 15 week, one-day-a-week, course from Jan 2016 for mature applicants interested in applying for History subjects.

Reply 11

Canucked

Original post by AR551

It depends on which university you apply at. It would help if you have a specific school in mind.

Reply 12

Sininen

Access to HE at Birkbeck:

[Costs]Around £4,000. You can take out a student loan to pay for the tuition fees. There are financial implications to taking out a student loan to pay for this course, if you intend to do a degree afterwards then you may not receive full-funding. Speak to a student finance adviser for more information.

---------

So is it not possible to take out 24+ loan for this course? Do I have to take access courses at specific colleges for a debt to be wiped off when I complete my degree?

Reply 13

Snufkin

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Sininen

So is it not possible to take out 24+ loan for this course? Do I have to take access courses at specific colleges for a debt to be wiped off when I complete my degree?

Birkbeck doesn't do an Access to HE course. You can't take out a 19+ loan for a Higher Education course, click here to see a full list of courses you can use a 19+ loan for. No you don't have to do an Access course at any specific college for the debt to be wiped; you just need to graduate from university.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 14

Sininen

Original post by Snufkin

Birkbeck doesn't do an Access to HE course. You can't take out a 24+ loan for a Higher Education course, click here to see a full list of courses you can use a 24+ loan for. No you don't have to do an Access course at any specific college for the debt to be wiped; you just need to graduate from university.

Thank you for your reply. I can't open the doc on my phone but will have a look at it once I'm next to pc.

Slightly confused as to why you're saying Birkbeck doesn't offer access to HE courses... How about these, is it not the same?...

http://www.bbk.ac.uk/study/2016/undergraduate/programmes/UCHMATHS_C/

Reply 15

Snufkin

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Sininen

No that isn't an Access to HE course. A Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE) is a higher education qualification, equivalent to the first year of a degree. Pretty much every university would accept a CertHE as an alternative to A levels but you can't use a 19+ loan to pay for it.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 16

Sininen

Original post by Snufkin

Thank you so much for clarification, all a bit confusing to me :smile:

Do you think it would be sensible to take this course at Birkbeck if I want to study Maths? I would probably need an additional A-level, like Further Maths?...

Reply 17

Snufkin

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Sininen

Thank you so much for clarification, all a bit confusing to me :smile:

Do you think it would be sensible to take this course at Birkbeck if I want to study Maths? I would probably need an additional A-level, like Further Maths?...

To be honest I have no idea. I suggest you email the universities you're interested and ask them what they require. Better to know now what they expect so you don't waste time doing the wrong thing. The Birkbeck course is pretty expensive, I don't think I'd do it unless there was no other alternative.

Reply 18

GiuDell

Hello everyone!
So I just arrived in the UK and was wondering if it would be too hard to take the A-levels independently(chemistry, maths and further maths).
I studied one year of mechanical engineering in Brazil, so I have a strong science background and I am very used to studying alone.
My questions are:
1- How does it work? Since I am not from the UK, I have no idea how the A-levels are and how I take the tests.
2- Do I have to register somewhere?
3- Where can I get the material to study?
4- When do the exams take place?
5- I found two exam boards, AQA and Edexcel, are they the same or is one better than the other?

Thank you for you attention!

Oh, forgot to mention: I intend to do this in one year and progress to chemical engineering.